Category Archives: Check it Out:

Check it Out:

Popular Books at the New York Public Library

New York Public Library 1908c
New York Public Library 1908

We know that libraries are cool, and that they check out tons of good books. It’s not the only thing libraries do, but it’s really our brand!

Public libraries in the United States are not too old, but the New York Public Library is one of our older ones – turning 125 years old this year. That is a lot of cataloging records, and books circulated. Let’s admire their books!

“To celebrate, the library dug into its records and calculated a list of the 10 books that have been checked out the most in its history.”

  1. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats: 485,583 checkouts
  2. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss: 469,650 checkouts
  3. 1984 by George Orwell: 441,770 checkouts
  4. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: 436,016 checkouts
  5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: 422,912 checkouts
  6. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White: 337,948 checkouts
  7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: 316,404 checkouts
  8. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: 284,524 checkouts
  9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling: 231,022 checkouts
  10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: 189,550 checkouts

Wow – I’ve read every book on this list! And you probably have too – there are some really popular books here – just the kind of thing to have in a public library.

At your library, do you have a list of the most commonly circulated books? It would be neat to check on that. And send us a list if you have one!

Check it Out:

VR Beating Isolation for Retirement Communities

We are excited about sharing our VR kits with members. (Thank you to the Minnesota Dept of Education, Library Services; and to the IMLS, for the funding for this project!!) Virtual Reality kits are very cool, and we have so many good educational resources for people to share.

And we are enjoying finding all sorts of articles on different ways VR is being used to entertain and educate people, in all sorts of different areas of life.

This week we look at an article discussing one very cool use: using VR to help people living in retirement communities to beat the problem of isolation! This is a tough problem for people who have trouble traveling around, or keeping in touch with friends and family that had previously been important in their lives.

‘Virtual Travel’ With Real Friends is Combating Isolation

Retirement communities embrace 3D virtual reality technology

“At Carlsbad By The Sea, a senior living community in California, a group of four residents recently came together to take a vacation.

Or, rather, a “vacation,” experienced courtesy of a virtual reality (VR) program that the nonprofit Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing directed. The participants donned Samsung Gear VR headsets.

When one suggested they go to a beach in Belgium he remembered visiting as a child, “the facilitator took him and the whole group to that spot, and he just immediately lit up when he saw the pier,” says Davis Park, vice president of the innovation center. In the past five years, the center has been testing VR technology at Front Porch communities such as Carlsbad By The Sea, a little more than 30 miles up the coast from San Diego.”

What a great idea! Everyone can browse the images, and you really feel like you are present, exploring and experiencing some neat things you may net ever see in real life. The chance to experience these things with your community is even better!

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Browsing Books: Itasca State Park

We have a new podcast – just for you!!

We’ve been talking about our Goodreads challenge/game, and now we have a podcast to help you find books: Browsing Books: Itasca State Park.

We like books; we like parks – and Minnesota is lucky to have both of them! Join our Goodreads book challenge: Armchair Travel to Minnesota State Parks.

We give you a link to each state park, a short fact, and a prompt for you to find a book. You find it, and read a book, and then tell us all about it.

In this podcast, we give you a few suggestions for books to fit a prompt for each park. Try one of these books, or find one of your own to enjoy!

The first state park in Minnesota is Itasca State Park. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_par…

We are celebrating that distinction with a prompt to read the first book in a series. You can also use any other book with a plot involving “first” status.

Listen to this podcast on your favorite podcast app! It is a small podcast that is helping people to keep occupied on the Reading With Libraries feed while we are producing new content on our library training podcast: Linking Our Libraries.

Search for Reading With Libraries on your favorite app (I like Pocket Cast, or Stitcher; but any of them is fine!). Subscribe. Wake up with a fun new podcast each week!!

Enjoy parks, enjoy books, and let’s get involved in sharing them together!

Check it Out:, Conference, Guest Blogger

Impact Education 2019 Conference Scholarship: Ryan Hiltner

This is a guest post written by Ryan Hiltner, ITS at Sartell High School. Do you need a scholarship to attend a conference or participate in professional development?  Apply today!

The Impact Education Conference is a great opportunity to not only learn new things but to network with other professionals at a variety of different levels.

This year I tried to focus on that networking part. I spent time talking with other Technology Integrationist from different districts throughout the state. I also had the chance to talk with teachers and principals from different schools to get a variety of perspectives on how technology is being used in their schools. I really enjoy this network piece as it helps with questions that I have at the time but also gives me a network to fall back on later in the year.

This year I went to some sessions by leaders from different parts of the country. These people are well known in education and have a large presence on social media and have produced books.

One of the sessions dealt with creating an entrepreneurial course in school. We are starting to look at producing and creating items for people in the general public in a few areas in Sartell and this session was great to get more background knowledge.

The conference also gave out books from different educators this year and I am excited to dig into mine soon.

I am grateful for the opportunity to attend this conference! Thanks to CMLE for allowing me to go and connect with other passionate educators and better my practice!


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Upcoming Literary Events at St. Ben’s in Feb. and March

CMLE members, we would love to have you join us in February and March to attend some author events at the College of St. Benedict! RSVP at the bottom of this post and let us know if you can join us! 😊

From the St. Ben’s website:

In February:
“Sally Wen Mao is the is the 2019-2020 Sister Mariella Gable Award recipient for her work Oculus and will be in residence February 2, 2020 through February 5, 2020. Her reading will take place on February 4th in Upper Gorecki at 7:00 PM. “

In March:
“Susan Steinberg’s first novel Machine will be published by Graywolf in August 2019. She is also author of the story collections Spectacle (Graywolf), Hydroplane (FC2), and The End of Free Love (FC2). Public Reading: March 10 in Upper Gorecki at 7:00PM.”                      

More info available on the St. Ben’s Literary Arts website.

RSVP to attend with CMLE and let us know if you can attend in February or March or both!