Were you unable to attend the recent MEMO Conference in St. Cloud? Did you attend the conference but upon returning to work you were completely buried as a result of taking time off to invest in yourself? Perhaps you cannot even find those notes you took during the conference. No matter what your story is, Michelle Kiley and I attended the conference in order to report back some of the things we learned, and to help you feel more professionally connected too. With that in mind, some conference resources you may find interesting and helpful include:
Twitter hash tag for the conference was: #mnmemo. Many MEMO colleagues were tweeting during the conference and often embed links that may not be made available anywhere else, so check it out!
Tip: Through social media I often find out the Twitter hash tag for national conferences I am unable to attend. Then when I go into my Twitter account, I do a search for the hash tag to view conference content. Sometimes, even the keynotes are available in this way. Try it out!
We’ve Learned… is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in CMLE libraries/media centers. Please keep us informed of any “happenings” regarding staff members in your area so that we can include them in the next write-up! Happenings can include: changes in staffing, awards, honors… you get the idea!
Carla Lydon, ECRL Assistant Director, was elected to the MLA Board
Friends of the Cambridge Library won the Evy Nordley Award for Best Project by Friends of Libraries (see article below). This was the 2nd time they won the award, they also won in 2009. (The Friends of the North Branch Library were also nominated for the award this year)
The “Hall of Fame” listed 2 longevity of membership award winners: Katherrine Morrow for 10 years and Tom Sauer for 5 years
Vickie Sorn, as Chair of the State Summer Reading Program Committee, oversaw the information booth introducing the new Illinois iReads program that will begin in 2014
Karen Lee was a co-presenter for the program by the Minnesota Association of Library Friends about Friends programs and also accepted the award for the best program
Lisa Wagner was a conference volunteer, and introduced programs. She also was a contestant in the Thursday night trivia contest
Sarah Hawkins, in charge of ECRL’s Twitter marketing initiative, tweeted highlights throughout the conference.
Content above is an excerpt from East Central Regional Library’s E-Connect (October 2013.)
Information in this post was provided by MDE, State Library Services.
You are invited to participate in bi-monthly training webinars offered by Proquest
The Historical Minneapolis Tribune is a great resource for local history, genealogy and History Day research. In collaboration with State Library Services, Proquest has established bi-monthly one-hour webinars that will help you increase your skills and knowledge. Training sessions provide a review of the content and search options as well as strategies for getting to the most relevant articles on your topic.
Sessions are currently scheduled through March 2014 and the full list of free webinars can be viewed at Proquest’s Training Website. We’ve set up a range of days and times designed to fit a variety of schedules; advance registration at the Training page is requested but not required.
If you are interested in scheduling in-person training at your location, or would like more information about the webinars, please contact Jennifer Nelson at 651-582-8791 or jennifer.r.nelson@state.mn.us.
CMLE would like to note two, free webinars being hosted by WebJunction this November!
Serving Job Seekers: Library and Workforce System Partnerships That Work on November 6th from 1-2pm (CT) Link
Learn how innovative partnerships between state and local libraries and their workforce systems can amplify services to meet community employment needs.
Grace Under Pressure: Tips and Tricks to Cultivate a Positive Approach on November 12th from 1-2 pm (CT) Link
Explore stress-reduction skills and strategies to help face challenging situations that impact our personal work styles, our organizations, and the communities we serve.
Also, the following archived webinars are now available online:
Serving Readers: Beyond the Basics (from October 8th) Link
Where Teens and Technology Meet: Engaging Teens with Digital Media (from August 8th) Link
Image by Tulane Public Relations. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Many librarians assist patrons, often students, with research. As you know, it is important to take into consideration the varied skill-set for each patron and the types of resources available. In the article,Tacit Knowledge and the Student Researcher, author Barbara Fister identifies practical approaches to library instruction from the perspective of today’s researchers. Some ideas discussed in this Insider Higher Ed article (June 2013) includes:
News verses opinions
The value of a table of contents and indexes
The relationship between articles and journals
Finding facts
Tip: For those librarians that have been in the field for many years, Fister reminds us that accessing some materials has changed over time, which may not be common knowledge for all researchers.
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
