All posts by John

Academic, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Updates from State Library Services

MDELogoTO: Minnesota Libraries
FROM: State Library Services
DATE: January 14, 2015
SUBJECT: Updates from State Library Services: LSTA Mini Grants, MBTBL job opening, and more

LSTA Mini Grants
State Library Services is pleased to announce the second round of mini grant projects supported by LSTA funds. With a maximum award of $10,000, these eighteen mini grant projects support activity-based partnerships between schools and libraries as well as the creation of engaging play-friendly spaces and experiences for children ages 0-8 years old and their caregivers. To learn more about the mini grant recipients, visit the State Library Services LSTA page.

Position Opening at the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library
The Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library is seeking qualified candidates for a full-time library technician. Located in Faribault, the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library provides library services to individuals with a visual, physical or reading disability that prevents them from reading standard print materials. The vacancy announcement and application form may be found online at the State Job Search website. The closing date for the position is January 20, 2015. For more information, please contact Catherine Durivage at 507-384-6860 or catherine.durivage@state.mn.us.

90-Second Newbery Film Festival News
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is an annual video contest in which kid filmmakers create movies that creatively tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in about 90 seconds. The submission deadline, Friday, January 16, is right around the corner. Make your last-minute edits and submit your film. Access details about the 90-Second Newbery video competition).

Please plan to attend the first-ever Minnesota 90-Second Newbery screening Saturday, February 28, 2015, from 3-4:30 p.m. at Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central. Although you don’t have to register to attend, we’d love to know you’re coming. RSVP to attend the event, which will be co-hosted by madcap authors James Kennedy (The Order of Odd-Fish) and Kelly Barnhill (The Witch’s Boy). For more details, please contact Jennifer Verbrugge at jennifer.verbrugge@state.mn.us or 651-582-8356 .

Minnesota Public Library Annual Report Training
Data collection for 2014 Public Library Annual Reports will start in early February. Public library staff are invited to attend a webinar to learn about the process, changes for this year and more. Please visit the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Calendar or contact Mary Ann Van Cura at maryann.vancura@state.mn.us for the dates and times of webinars.

Libraries Serving Youth Meetup
State Library Services invites you to join us at the Libraries Serving Youth Meetup on Saturday, April 18, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Here’s a chance for school librarians and public librarians to meet, network and share ideas. Learn about successful public library and school collaborations, get creative ideas and enjoy a free lunch. Presenters include Erin Smith, Mike Evavold, Nina Shimmin, Donna Ohlgren, Chad Lubbers, Ellen Morehouse and Brianna Belanger. Registration opens February 14, 2015. Stay tuned to the State Library Services website and listserv for more information.

Summer and At-Risk Food Programs for Kids
Fewer than 17 percent of Minnesota kids who benefit from the free or reduced-price school lunch program have access to summer and afterschool food programs. Limited access to free food programs, particularly during the summer, leaves many children hungry. Public libraries can help make sure kids have access to nutritious food when school is not in session.
Begin planning your summer 2015 participation by attending an informational webinar on February 4, 2015, at 11 a.m. Jenny Butcher, USDA Summer Food Service Program Coordinator at MDE, will tell you how your library can be involved. Pre-registration is not required. Login to the February 4 webinar. Please contact Jennifer Verbrugge at jennifer.verbrugge@state.mn.us with questions or to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event.

Note: MDE requires a two-week advance notice in order to provide the requested accommodation and requires a 48-hour notice in order to cancel a requested accommodation.

Help People in Your Community Reach Their College Goals
Minnesota College Goal, statewide volunteer program that provides free information and assistance to students and families completing the FAFSA, is looking for sites to host financial aid events and would like to partner with libraries. Hosting a Minnesota College Goal event in your area provides students the opportunity to complete their FAFSA with the support of trained professionals. To learn more or to register as a host site, visit the Minnesota College Goal website. Contact Emily Kissane at emily.kissane@state.mn.us or 651-582-8508 if you have any questions.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Get ready for Minnesota Library Legislative Day 2015

Minnesota Library Legislative Day 2015

Early Registration is Open!  

 Who:  All are welcome!
 What: Minnesota Library Legislative Day will begin with a legislative briefing from our  lobbying teams of Elaine Keefe and Sam Walseth on the evening of March 2nd.  On March 3rd, the briefing will be repeated at 9am before you meet with your  specific legislators throughout that day. It is important to schedule meetings with  your representative in advance! (Please see below to learn how to schedule meetings with your representative).
 Where: Best Western Plus Capitol Ridge (formerly the Kelly Inn)
161 Saint Anthony Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55103
 When: – Monday, March 2nd – 5:00-6:30pm Legislative Briefing
– Tuesday, March 3rd – 9:00am Legislative Briefing followed by meetings throughout the day. (MLA Hospitality Suite Open Until 1:00pm)
REGISTER HERE
 Why: It’s important for MN library professionals to connect with legislators and advocate as active constituents. Use your voice!

How to Schedule Meetings with your Representatives:

1.)    Visit www.mnvotes.org

2.)    Go to “Get Informed”

3.)    Click on “Find Elected Officials”

4.)    Click on “State and Federal Elected Officials”

5.)    Enter city, state or zip code to find your representatives’ contact information

 

How to Effectively Communicate with your Representatives:
Click HERE to Open Document 
General, School Media Specialist

Great websites for kids

logoNot that you need more websites to visit and read, but these are some “great” ones! Selected, approved, and vetted by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, the Great Websites for Kids website has hundreds of great websites for your students. The site has groupings of websites broken by categories like: Animals, Sciences, the Arts, Math & Computers, Social Sciences and More!

This weeks site is the Seattle Times’ online information about Martin Luther King Jr.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

3 Upcoming Free Minitex Webinars

 

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Content as a Service: How Libraries Can Support Faculty Exploring Alternative and Affordable Course Content

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
1:00 PM–2:00 PM (Central Time)

Over the past two years, the University of Minnesota Libraries eLearning Support Initiative has invested in numerous projects designed to encourage and support faculty exploration of alternative and affordable course content. This webinar will:

  • share the goals of the eLearning Support Initiative,
  • demonstrate potential course content support models by providing information about the Open Textbook Library and Initiative, the Project for Affordable Content, Digital Course Packs and a campus-wide Coordinated Service Model,
  • and provide a forum for discussion about what others are doing to support alternative and affordable course content at their institutions.

Presenter:
Kristi Jensen
Program Development Lead, eLearning Support Initiative
University of Minnesota Libraries – Twin Cities

Google Tools as Teaching Tools: Creating Infrastructure, Assessment, & Saving Time

Wednesday, February 4, 2015
1:00 PM–2:00 PM (Central Time)

This webinar will share examples of the use of Google Tools to create learning infrastructure and assessment tools for both online and in-person learning environments. The presenters will cover uses of Google Sites, Google Drive, and YouTube as platforms for teaching and assessment. The presenters will also provide an overview of Google “plug-ins” and “add-ons” that can help content creators and instructors create and manage their tools more efficiently. Attendees will take away:

  • Practical cases of Google Tools application in teaching and learning
  • Ideas for both formative and summative assessment techniques using Google Tools
  • Examples of timesaving widgets and plug-ins for Google Tools

Presenters:
Jon Jeffryes
Interim Director of Social Sciences and Professional Programs
University of Minnesota Libraries – Twin Cities

Lisa Johnston
Research Data Management/Curation Lead and Co-Director of the University Digital Conservancy
University of Minnesota Libraries – Twin Cities

Fabulous and Free Open Online Resources for Teaching

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
10:00 AM–11:00 AM (Central Time)

Attendees will learn about sources of high quality, free online education resources for teaching and learning. Participants will walk away with multiple resources for teaching in all content areas, strategies for integrating digital resources with curriculum, and how to use these resources to engage and inspire students. Tools for game-based learning, flipped learning, and inquiry based learning will be discussed, along with opportunities for participants to share other resources used in their classrooms.

Presenter:
Mary Mehsikomer, CETL
Technology Integration Development & Outreach Facilitator
2014-2015 President, Information and Technology Educators of Minnesota (ITEM)

General

Millennials are old news, on to Generation Z

“Move over, millennials,” writes Hayley Peterson of Business Insider. “Marketers are beginning to target a new crop of young people… Generation Z.”

Generation Z? They were born after 1990 and surprisingly this makes them the largest generational group in the U.S.

So what keeps Generation Z ticking?

  • Gen Z wants to change the world.
  • Advanced college degrees are less important to them.
  • They are more entrepreneurial than millennials.
  • They are digitally over-connected.
  • They prefer to work independently.

Check out this chart for some of their interests:

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/53ab00a36bb3f72c3a91ee42-1200-632/screen%20shot%202014-06-25%20at%201.00.33%20pm.png