All posts by John

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Adobe Slate for iPad brings storytelling skills to everyone

logo-slate.d0fe69c5And you thought we didn’t need more presentation software! Actually billed as a “story-telling app,” Adobe recently added another tool to our belts with the announcement of Adobe Slate app for iPad.

“Targeted to students, teachers, non-profits, small businesses, employees and photographers, Slate emerges as a sibling to Adobe Voice for iPad, an animated video creation tool released last year.” Check out The Next Web’s write-up for more details and screen shots.

The app looks pretty slick and easy to use! Check out the promotional video below and let us know what you think!

 

General, Special

Prison libraries: A place to learn, a place to read, a place to learn to read.

Uncertain CrossingIn a recent post on CILIP by ex-prisoner Jonathan Robinson, the prison library gets some credit where credit is due. Being a part of the “Special Library” contingency, prison libraries are often the forgotten library in the forgotten type of libraries. But Mr. Robinson is able to give them a small amount of recognition in his post.

“Prison librarians were put on this earth to rehabilitate their customers,” he says. They have customers who may belong there but crave and need the services and materials that prison libraries can only offer. “Inhabitants of prisons… find the library the one place that vaguely resembles life on the outside.”

In the CMLE region, we have two prison libraries. The Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud which is staffed by Teri Hams, and the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Rush City which is staffed by Jonathan Chapman. We applaud them and their work to make a difference in the lives of prisoners, their families, and the community.

Read the full post now and learn more about prison libraries.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/pa2wv2g, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Free Bookends from the College of Saint Benedict

Clemens BookendsA message from our friends at the College of Saint Benedict.

CSB has over 100 6”x6”steel bookends free for the taking.  The bookends are grey with a small label identifying them as from the College of Saint Benedict.   If your library can use these, please contact Bonnie Kalla at Clemens Library (bkalla@csbsju.edu) to arrange pick up and delivery.

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Lake Superior Libraries Symposium 2015

logoweb2Registration for the fourth annual Lake Superior Libraries Symposium is now open! LSLS15, “Sharing Our Stories,” will be held on Friday, June 5, 2015 at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Library staff, administrators, trustees, and students from the Upper Midwest and beyond are invited to attend and participate. Register today!

For just $49, you’ll experience:

• Keynote by Char Booth, Director of Research, Teaching, and Learning Services at the Claremont Colleges Library, and a faculty member of the ACRL Information Literacy Immersion Institute
• 16 inspiring presentations on learning from our successes and failures, and crafting stories to demonstrate our impact and advocate for change
• Lightning round and networking time
• A Deluxe Taco Bar, featuring two types of salsa: midwestern and mild(er)
• A Thursday evening pre-conference social event featuring library pub trivia at Bowery Brothers Pub
• A Friday evening post-conference social event hosted by At Sara’s Table Chester Creek Cafe

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP
For an additional registration fee ($25 for Minnesota Library Association members/$30 for non-members), attendees can participate in an optional pre-conference workshop on student learning assessment facilitated by Char Booth on Thursday, June 4 from noon-4pm. Registration is limited to fifty participants and lunch is included. This workshop is sponsored by the Minnesota Library Association and Minnesota Library Association Instruction Roundtable. Find more information and register here: http://lakesuperiorlibrariessymposium.com/lsls15-pre-conference-workshop/

LOCATION & ACCOMMODATIONS
Our conference is located in beautiful Duluth, the gateway to the North Shore of Lake Superior. The region features world class breweries, restaurants, and outdoor activities.

A block of rooms is reserved for LSLS15 at the Radisson HarborView Hotel in Duluth at a special rate of $85 per night. Call 218-727-8981 and ask for the Lake Superior Libraries Symposium room block. Please make reservations before May 15th.

Have more questions? Contact us: http://lakesuperiorlibrariessymposium.com/contact/

ABOUT US
The Lake Superior Libraries Symposium is a conference developed by library staff members from Northwestern Wisconsin and Northeastern Minnesota. The Symposium was created to promote resource sharing and communication between organizations and to help librarians develop enhanced professional networks. Our continued operations are thanks to the in-kind and monetary contributions of our supporters.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Archives and History: John Decker

logoIf you didn’t see the recent article by the St. Cloud Times about John Decker, Director of Archives at the Stearns History Museum, you should take a minute to read it. It shares some of the history behind the museum, but in particular, highlights the work of Mr. Decker. Did you know he was one of the first staffers when the museum opened in 1977? Stearns county has these valuable resources thanks in part to the work of Mr. Decker!