Our purpose at CMLE is always to support our members. We have been working to put out all kinds of information for you to use yourself, or to use for your members.

(Have you seen our daily “What Are We Doing Today?” pages? We have new activities for kids of all ages, every single day. Share with your community members, and try some of these things yourself!)

But we miss talking with you! We were enjoying having member events on a regular basis, and getting the chance to talk with you. We definitely encourage you to Stay Home/Stay Healthy now! So let’s do a virtual book group event!

Join us! Come to chat! Come to share a book!

We would love to hear about your work, how things are going for you, and the books you are enjoying!

Thursday: April 16 at 4:30pm. https://tinyurl.com/tsen5ut

You can drop in and out, as your schedule permits. We’re just going to be there to enjoy some cheerful chatting and socializing!

Topic: CMLE Virtual Book Happy Hour!
Time: Apr 16, 2020 04:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting: https://tinyurl.com/tsen5ut

Crafting is a great program to hold in the library, and also to do at home. We know that most of you are at home right now, and may be also working with kids in person or online. So our weekly crafts will be more kid-friendly, to be sure everyone can participate!

As so many of us are at home right now, you probably have some handy extra toilet paper or paper towel rolls around the house. And if you want to make some extra friends to keep around the house, we have just the craft project for you!

You can get all the directions, along with some good pictures of the step-by-step process, on this blog.

Here are the materials you can collect before you get started:

• Paper Roll (Toilet paper roll, paper towel roll, or wrapping paper roll)
• Green or Red Construction Paper
• 2 Medium Pom Poms
• 2 Small Pom Poms
• 2 Medium Googly Eyes
• Red, Yellow and Orange Tissue Paper
• Glue Stick
• Glue Gun or Glue Dots

And, of course, like any craft project you can feel free to make it however you want! So feel free to swap out colors, add glitter, do some painting – whatever makes your dragon feel personalized.

Welcome back to Reading With Libraries Season Five! This week we’re welcoming Returning Guest Host Leah Larson from State Library Services! Thank you for joining us to chat about YA Fantasy with a Latinx focus!

(CMLE edit: please note the author Anna-Marie McLemore uses they/them pronouns. We apologize for using the incorrect pronouns)

You can find our full show notes page here. We have all the links to the beverages we enjoy, the background materials, and the books we have to share.

Thanks so much to you for joining us this week for the book group! It’s always better when you are here with us. Join us on Patreon, to get some behind-the scenes secrets after every episode. Official Office Dog Lady Grey appreciates your support. (She’s paid in treats, and a portion of your support goes directly to rewarding her for being such a good doggo!).

Be sure you are subscribed to this podcast to get every episode, genre, and book suggestions dropped right into your favorite app. And if you prefer to stream them, every episode we have created is on our website.

We are all going to be home for a few more weeks, and things are going to start to get a little harder.

CMLE is here to help support libraries, to create resources, and to help you to keep providing service to your community members.

Take any of these things. Add them to your website. Send them out in newsletters or emails. Tell people about them in Zoom sessions. Share them on social media. And if you need more individual assistance, email us at admin@cmle.org.

We are here to support our libraries!

This is your chance to show your community how valuable you are to them. There are a lot of services you can continue to provide to people who are at home, bored, and in need of the work a library can do.

We may be in a social isolation period for weeks – you do not want to let your library community members go without you for that long.

Here are a few things you can use and share right now:

• Special CMLE Postcards: We will be sending out special postcards to ANYONE who signs up. (They should be here to send out in the next few days.) Do you want a cheerful postcard? Sign up! Sign up your kids, parents, neighbors, friends, students – anyone who could use a little burst of happiness in their day.
• What Are We Doing Today?: we are setting up a new page every day with activities kids (and others!) can do at home
• Library Life Online page: we are posting information about working at home here, as well as a lot of suggestions for library services and links to material you can share
• Reading With Libraries: this is our book group podcast. We look at a new genre each week, have genre-related beverages, and chat about books. You can link to our website to stream episodes, and people can subscribe in any podcast app
• Armchair Travel to Minnesota State Parks: this is our Goodreads book challenge game. We look at every state park in Minnesota, and give a related book prompt. People find a book to read that meets the prompt, and can record it on our page. We are also recording a quick weekly podcast to share book ideas for each park: Browsing Books.
• Linking Our Libraries podcast: This is of more interest to our library staff members, and other library staffers. Each episode we look at a new library skill, and chat with a Guest Host who shares their experience with the skill.
• CMLE Training: We have some training classes here, available FREE to all while schools are closed; go through the short classes and get an hour of PD/CE credit.
• Weekly newsletter: We will continue sharing our content and resources for you daily, and will collect all the articles into a Friday newsletter as usual. Subscribe here, and it will drop in your email every week!

What else do you need? What would be helpful? What are you missing in your library work to share online?

We have several years worth of content on the site, so search for material you might need on topics important to you. And let us know what else we can do to help you to provide great service to your community!

Each week we assemble a collection – a bouquet, if you will – of books you can read for yourself, or use to build into a display in your library. As always, the books we link to have info from Amazon.com. If you click a link and then buy anything at all from Amazon, we get a small percent of their profits from your sale. Yay!!! Thanks!!! We really appreciate the assistance! 💕😊

We hope you are continuing to stay home and stay healthy. And we can all spend time dreaming about getting back outside for long trips! And while it’s okay to go outside each day for a walk – good for your physical and mental health! – long distance hiking is not on our agendas right now. But we can travel by book, and be planning for the day we can all head back outside to enjoy more outdoor time.

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Mexico to Canada, by Bruce Nelson

One April morning I left the Mexico border and walked north on the Pacific Crest Trail. For five months I hiked through the California desert, the snows of the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington. My goal was to succeed in an epic challenge: to hike 2,650 miles and reach Canada before the October snows. It was an unforgettable summer of sunrises, river crossings, and high mountain passes; of physical and mental challenges and peaceful wilderness camps under the stars. In the fall colors of September I reached the border of Canada.This is the story of my thru-hike.

Platinum-Blazing the Appalachian Trail: How to Thru-Hike in 3-Star Luxury, by by Bruce “RTK” Matso and Michael “Sharkbait” Neiman

When thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, where can I find some fine dining or the best ice cream? After many nights in the woods, how can I add some “luxury” to my hike? And which are the very best hostels and other experiences along the AT? Which is the best Trail town for a visit? Platinum-Blazing the Appalachian Trail will point you to the very best or “platinum” meals, accommodations, and other experiences available to the tired hiker looking to splurge from time to time when taking a break from the Trail.

Old Lady on the Trail: Triple Crown at 76, by Mary E. Davidson

Adventure on National Scenic Trails does not need to end when one is old.

Not beginning long-distance hiking until age 60, Mary takes us with her on her trail journeys to experience encounters with the beauty of wilderness from the Eastern ranges of the Appalachian Trail, the challenges of desert, snow, granite and thick forests of the Pacific Crest Trail, and the rugged and the remote grandeur of the Continental Divide Trail.

Along the way, she introduces the Trail Community. Hikers of many ages and walks of life labeled with colorful monikers called trail names, and trail angels, planned and total surprises, grace her journey. Bears, moose, deer, coyotes, turkey vultures, hawks, eagles, owls, pronghorn, and endless supplies of squirrels and chipmunks share the world through which she walked.

Everyday challenges of completing seemingly endless miles, encountering new adventures, sometimes with friends and much of the time solo, brought Mary to the first pages of this book on a glorious day sighting two grizzly bears and completing long-distance hiking’s Triple Crown at age 76.

Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, by Heather Anderson

By age 25, Heather Anderson had hiked what is known as the “Triple Crown” of backpacking: the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail – a combined distance of 7,900 miles with a vertical gain of more than one million feet. A few years later, she left her job, her marriage, and a dissatisfied life and walked back into those mountains.  

In her new memoir, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Heather, whose trail name is “Anish”, conveys not only her athleticism and wilderness adventures, but also shares her distinct message of courage – her willingness to turn away from the predictability of a more traditional life in an effort to seek out what most fulfills her. Amid the rigors of the trail – pain, fear, loneliness, and dangers – she discovers the greater rewards of community and of self, conquering her doubts and building confidence. Ultimately, she realizes that records are merely a catalyst, giving her purpose, focus, and a goal to strive toward.

High and Low: How I Hiked Away from Depression Across Scotland, by Keith Foskett

Keith Foskett refused to let his dark mood define his limitations. Unknowingly suffering with depression, he took to hiking the wilds of Scotland to face the inner demons that threatened to gnaw him to the bone. From the craggy Highlands of the Cape Wrath Trail and West Highland Way, to the canals criss-crossing the low country, 600 miles of unforgiving hiking terrain called his name. 

Keith repositioned his compass to what really matters in life. As laughter became his traveling companion, he discovered that when dealing with emotional baggage, it’s best to pack light. Pushing his mind and body past breaking point, his journey could set a brave new course for coping with depression. 

Battling ferocious weather, the ubiquitous Scottish midge, strange-sounding local delicacies and substandard TV sets, this is one man’s battle to conquer the wilds of Scotland, and his own psychological demons.