We know that our school library people need PD time, so we are here to help you with it!
You probably know that our podcast, Linking Our Libraries, helps library people, across libraries and job titles, to strengthen their skills in library work. We know a lot of our members don’t have significant library training before they started working in the library. Not a problem!
Our storefront of classes available is here. All classes are free at this time, and will continue to be available to members at reduced cost down the road.
We have one hour of PD available for each of the eleven topics we are covered in Season Five of LOL. Classes are self-paced, and can be done on your own schedule. Flexibility is one of the big things people said they wanted in PD training, so we made it as flexible and easy to access as possible!
Classes are available to anyone, and we will be happy to give you certificates for one CE/Continuing Education credit per class finished if they apply to you. Or, just enjoy some extra learning that you can add on to your annual review to wow your supervisor!
We cover some general library skills in Season Five (available now!); and in Season Six we are focused on more skills specifically for school library staffers. (Starts Thursday, Dec. 19!) Season Six classes will be added weekly, as each podcast episode drops.
We want to make classes relevant to YOUR needs! So let us know topics important in your library. We can set up classes on literally any classes, or series of classes. Most of these topics were requested by our members, or they were some of the most commonly requested skills for library staffers.
For each topic that we cover, students will listen to the podcast, take a short quiz, then watch a video where we discuss reasoning for each of the answers. We anticipate it taking about an hour to work through a topic.
At the end, we give you information about how to get your certificate of completion for one hour of PD credit.
Our classes are hosted on the Podia website. You can set up a free account there, and have access to all of them. (They won’t spam you!)
ClassVR will share basic information and allow time for Q&A
UPDATE: all the December spots for this webinar have been filled. Watch our website and newsletter for updates on the next available free webinar, hopefully taking place mid-January.
It’s been such an exciting year at CMLE sharing our VR headset kits with our school members! However, since this is such a new program, we know we are not experts. That’s why we have been pleased to share these free webinar opportunities from our ClassVR vendor, which provide demonstrations and allow time for Q&A.
Register for your spot here! The November webinar did fill up pretty quickly, so we recommend securing your seat ASAP. We have also found it helpful to keep a list of questions nearby as you work with the headsets, in order to update it with any concerns you may have, because these webinars are the best time to ask them!
From their website: “Part one: Demonstration with the opportunity for questions afterwards. Part two: ClassVR updates followed by questions.
CMLE is planning some more in-person training for the VR kits in late January/early February. We will share these dates on our site when they are scheduled.
This program is funded in part with a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education using federal funding, CFDA 45.310 – Library Services and Technology Act, Grants to States Program (LS-00-19-0024-19).
This segment of the trip was my first away from home. I was visiting my in-laws in South Carolina, and had a fun day renting a car to do some traveling. (I think they were a little confused about why I was doing this; but to be fair – it sounds a little silly to me too.)
When you are doing a multi-stage car trip (here: plane and then car), it’s good to think ahead about what you are going to need. You probably don’t have access to your usual travel stuff – but it’s okay to do some shopping along the way. Pack what you can in advance (those car-friendly snacks are expensive when you buy them on site!), but just be ready to go with the flow.
Think about the kind of road trip you want to have. I like to keep moving, and get where I’m going without a lot of pointless delay. So I tend to eat at gas stations: V8 juice, cheese sticks, almonds, bananas, peanut M&Ms if you aren’t in a great place. But a lot of gas stations are adding nice sandwiches, and even some hot food. If you can avoid stopping at a restaurant, you will save a LOT of time. I’d rather spend that time exploring, stopping at sights, and setting up a tent at the end of the day. But if traveling in a leisurely way is better for you – do that. It’s your car trip; enjoy it your way!
South Carolina
I flew in here, so this was my first state visited in this batch of states. I’ve been visiting my in-laws here for more than 20 years now, so am pretty familiar with their Northeastern corner of the state. Yes: I have a favorite pancake location! (This is key in any southern state.)
I like this cozy mystery series – and as an uneducated Yankee I had never heard of the Lowcountry until I started going to South Carolina. And wow: the food is So Very Good!! I’m now in love with shrimp with grits.
“Private Investigator Liz Talbot is a modern Southern belle: she blesses hearts and takes names. She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape.
When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer. She’s
fit to be tied when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the
investigation, so she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops
in and things really get complicated.
When more folks start turning up dead in this small seaside town, Liz must use more than just her wits and charm to keep her family safe, chase down clues from the hereafter, and catch a psychopath before he catches her.
North Carolina
I’ve said this before, but: I used to live here! When I needed more library school, I headed to University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill to get it. And while it was VERY VERY HOT there in the summer, it was really gorgeous in the spring and fall. The campus was the most beautiful I’ve seen; if you are in the area, stop by!
This is a fun YA series, set in the mountains of North Carolina. You might also have enjoyed her Elemental Assassin series for adults.
Touch of Frost (The Mythos Academy #1), by Jennifer Estep
“My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.
But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I’m determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why – especially since I should have been the one who died . . . “
Georgia
While I’ve spent hours and hours and hours in the Atlanta airport (thanks, Delta!), I had not ever been outside in the state. So it was fun to check it out and see the state! Admittedly, I saw it driving 80 mph on I-95, so probably can’t really claim much knowledge. But it was fun!
I read this book when it first came out, and was slightly goggled in a Yankee way by the eccentric Southern culture.
” Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt’s sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. “
Florida
This was definitely the part that my in-laws thought was odd. (They weren’t wrong.) It was a five hour drive down there – but my brother was on a break from working for his boss at the Daytona 500. His company sponsors a team: Justin Allgaier. (Go, Justin!!) So that day, he drove north to Jacksonville, and I drove south. And we got to have lunch together!
Hi Chucks! Thanks for the birthday lunch! And today, as this is publishing, is his birthday! Happy birthday!
Wacky Florida Stories is an entire genre, and you aren’t going to go wrong with many of them. I love the Serge A. Storms series! (And they often involve road trips. I listened to this book while I was in Florida!)
“Serge and Coleman are back on the road, ready to hit the next stop on
their list of obscure and wacky points of interest in the Sunshine
State. This time, Serge’s interest is drawn to one of the largest
retirement villages in the world—also known as the site of an infamous
sex scandal between a retiree and her younger beau that rocked the
community.
What starts out as an innocent quest to observe elders in their natural habitats, sample the local cuisine, and scope out a condo to live out the rest of their golden years, soon becomes a Robin Hood-like crusade to recover the funds of swindled residents. After all, our seniors should be revered and respected—they’ve heroically fought in wars, garnered priceless wisdom, and they have the best first-hand accounts of bizarre Floridian occurrences only Serge would know about. But as the resident’s rally for Serge to seek justice on their behalves, two detectives are hot on the heels of Serge and Coleman’s murderous trail.”
Go out this week and enjoy some books, as you think about your own travels!
Reading With Libraries: podcast book group, with new genres, books, and beverages each week
So, yeah – we are big fans of podcasts! They can be such a good way to share ideas with your community.
Each week we share a podcast about books and/or libraries, so you can
join us in expanding podcast community and admiring the work others
are doing to share cool info!
“Remember Reading is a monthly podcast from HarperCollins where we talk about classic children’s books. In each episode, we rediscover one classic book, uncovering the unique story behind the story.
While sitting down with authors writing for today’s kids, we seek to find thematic parallels between books of the past and books of the present and deep dive into the special magic that makes a children’s book timeless.”
You can enjoy some favorite books, and share them with kids newer than you! Some recent episodes are:
Book fans, listen up! We’re excited to be trying something new. CMLE has started a Meetup Group called Relaxed Readers. It will be an in-person book group, but instead of everyone reading the same book and having Very Important Literary Discussions (also fun, don’t get me wrong) we want people to come to chat about whatever book they are reading at the moment. And just an FYI, you are welcome to join us even if you are not a CMLE member!
If the group indicates interest in all reading one book together, awesome! We can do that! If everyone would prefer to just share their own Currently Reading selection, fantastic! We just want to enjoy dinner and some easygoing book conversation. We’ll have fun questions prepared beforehand and look forward to hearing about what you are reading!
Wednesday, Dec. 11th at 5:30 we have reservations at Mexican Village in downtown St. Cloud!
And Wednesday, Jan 8th at 5:30 we will be at Mexican Village St. Cloud again.
If you are interested in joining our group and have a suggestion about a different location, definitely let us know! Leave us a comment or email admin @ cmle.org (no spaces).
It’s going to be a cold and snowy winter – cozy up with some books and reading friends! Hope to see you there! 🙂
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
