Category Archives: Check it Out:

Books, Check it Out:, Programs

Ideas for Banned Books Week 2019

Banned Books Week 2019 is from Sept. 22nd – 28th, 2019 and there are so many ways to participate in this week of fighting against censorship and embracing intellectual freedom!

CMLE’s Executive Director shared this article last month, all about the different types of censorship and activities for educators working with students.

You should also definitely visit the ALA site for Banned and Challenged Books. They provide you with history, free downloads, display ideas, and more. Check out the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2018 and explore the TONS of resources they have for supporting intellectual freedom!

Are you hosting an event or did you make a display for Banned Books Week? Leave us a comment and tell us all about it!

Check it Out:, Materials

Offer: Free Shelving Available!

We wanted to share a very generous offer with you from the Morrison County Historical Society.

From their Executive Director:
“We are in the middle of a project to install mobile shelving in our Archives. In doing that, we have removed the original shelving in the Archives, which we have been told by our shelving contractors is actually typically used for books. We are offering this shelving free to any organization that can use it. The only thing we ask is that someone come pick it up in Little Falls, MN.

I’ve attached some photos of the shelving in use and completely dismantled. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get photos of the shelving assembled but empty because the emptying and dismantling occurred so quickly.

Shelves are approximately 13 inches deep. Shelves are attached to 2
sides of each 2-part frame unit, so figure that each full 2-sided unit
is approximately 26 inches deep.

Each shelf section is approximately 36 inches wide – 2 of these sections were attached together to make each unit approximately 72 inches wide. The shelving is about 84 inches tall.

The shelves are adjustable vertically on the frame and the units are
easy-to-assemble.

The color is a neutral cream.

  • Shelving in use
  • Shelving in use
  • Shelving in use

If you are interested in the shelving, please contact Mary Warner at staff @ morrisoncountyhistory.org or call 320-632-4007

Check it Out:, CMLE

This Thursday! Join us for our Welcome Back Event!

Hello library friends! 😁
We hope you can come to the St. Cloud Public Library this Thursday, Sept. 26th from 4-7pm for our Welcome Back Event!
We’ll be in the Bremer Room and please feel free to stop in and leave as your schedule allows!
Email Angie (ajordan @ cmle. org) with any questions.

We’ve got lots of great resources to chat with you about, and if you work in a member school library, you can pick up your own VR kit to bring back to your school! Just email admin @ cmle.org to begin the application process. (It’s simple, we promise!!) Or, RSVP below and we’ll contact you.

More fun things to look forward to at the event:

  • Information on how to request and use our VR kits for your school
  • Try out a VR headset! Swim with sharks or explore international destinations!
  • Details about our scholarship and mini grant programs
  • Advocacy information you can share far and wide
  • Raffle for books, CMLE merch, and other fun prizes
  • Light refreshments
  • Delightful library company!

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist

AASL Recommended Apps: Green Screen by Do Ink

Green Screen by Do Ink makes it easy to create incredible green screen videos and photos. The green screen effect works by combining images from multiple sources into a single video. These images can come from photos or videos in your camera roll, or from the live video camera. With Green Screen by Do Ink, you can tell a story, explain an idea, and express yourself in truly creative and unique ways.

Platform: iOS
Cost:   $2.99
Grades: All

Read a review of the Green Screen app on Common Sense Education. Teacher Cast has this article about how to use Green Screen on iPads in both a makerspace and classroom. This article on Smore has tips for getting started with Green Screen as well as activity suggestions and videos. And this post on Makerspace Education has free downloadable guides for the app, plus student challenges and resources.

Watch this video (1 min 30 sec) for a kid-guided tour through the app:

Check it Out:

Library Happiness Episode 101

Welcome to Happiness in Libraries! Each month we are looking at a few stories about happy things that happen in libraries, or happy things that libraries contribute to their communities.

Libraries are great organizations, and can be so important to the communities they serve. Those communities can be an entire city or town that a public library serves, the teachers and students in schools, the patients, nurses, and doctors in hospitals, or whoever else the library community is serving. 

In these little bonus podcasts, we want to highlight some of the interesting and positive things a few libraries are doing! If you have some great things to share, send them to us at admin@cmle.org. 

Thanks so much for joining us this week. It’s so great to have this time to spend together to enjoy the work libraries are doing all over the place! We hope you are inspired to take a few moments today to enjoy your library, and the work going on around you.