Category Archives: Academic

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE Weekly Review: 3/10/2016

 CMLE Updates: State & Regional News
– eBooks Minnesota has gone public!  More
– Cambridge community-wide read More
– Spring ITEM Conference: Call for proposals and registration More 

Upcoming Events and Registration Information
– Check out statewide library professional development events More
– A national calendar of online learning for library staff  More

Resources You Can Use
– AASL Recommended App: Adobe Voice More
– The FART test and website evaluation More
– Do you need a bed bug guide for your library? More

Tech Bits and Ideas
– Google search tips to use with students (and use yourself) More

Food For Thought
– Amazon launches OER platform for K-12 More

– Open Education Resource (OER) Primer More

Just for Fun
– Irish jokes for St. Paddy’s Day!  More
Academic, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Google search tips to share with students (and use yourself)

Google has become synonymous with searching the web, but what if you could do it smarter and faster? Jayne Miller of Chalkup to the rescue with her list of Google search tips! From classics like “site:” to librarian classics like “OR”, there are tons of tips. The long list is worth a look as there are even some more obscure tips and Miller does an excellent job of including images when appropriate. For book lovers, check out how to get a list of books from your favorite author:

Books by Hemingway

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Bed bug guide for your library

No SignAre you worried about bed bugs infesting your library?  What would you do?  Here is a wonderful resource specifically written for public libraries but can also be useful for all types of libraries.

The book’s expert author, Sarah Kittrell, is the Collection Development Division Manager of the Wichita,Kansas Public Library. She has served as her library’s pest management coordinator since 2012.  Her expertly written guide is meant to “help you and your library develop the plans and tools that are necessary to ensure introductions are caught and dealt with as quickly as possible”

This book will help you:

  • Recognize the signs of bed bugs
  • Create an action plan
  • Develop policies to work with customers who have bed bug issues
  • much more

Some chapters include:

  • Working with Customers Suspected of Returning Items with Bed Bugs
  • Talking with the Media and Public About Bed Bugs
  • The Fall and Rise of the Modern Bed Bug Problem

Click here for more information on the Bed Bug Guide and to digitally download it.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/h68gcm4, licensed under Public Domain
Academic, General, School Media Specialist

OER: Open Educational Resources primer

photo-1443745029291-d5c27bc0b562Leave it to Edutopia to give us an excellent primer on open educational resources or OER. OER has become quite the buzz acronym recently but did you know it’s basically FREE stuff you can use in your classroom or library?! Technically, “open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.” We like FREE things too!

But OER isn’t just about consuming, it’s about contributing to the repository too! Edutopia has you covered there, giving you ideas on how you can get some of your lesson plans, ideas, and materials added to the network.

Read all the details about OER and how you can get started contributing to them!

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/cF6fz9QwfrY (William White), licensed under CC0