Category Archives: Children’s services

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Report from EdCamp MidMN

Nearly 60 educators joined us for EdCampMidMN 5.0 in Princeton, MN. Princeton Public School’s singing superintendent kicked our day off with a singalong as attendees enjoyed coffee donated by Jules Cafe and donuts donated by Kwik Trip. After two rounds of sessions attendees joined back together for lunch from the PIzza Barn and conversations. We had two more rounds of sessions while enjoying snacks from Benetech! Our day closed with prizes in the main rooms with top prizes like a free registration to the Impact Education Conference and Transforming Learning Summit and hands-on tools like Makey Makey! The day wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors like CMLE!

Here is what attendees are saying about EdCampMidMN 5.0:

“What did you enjoy most about EdCampMidMN 5.0?”

  • Networking with other professionals and the content of the sessions.
  • I enjoyed the sessions that were available to attend. I got something from each one that I feel I can take back to the classroom.
  • I love connecting with other teachers and gaining new ideas
  • I came without anyyyyyone.. I got to connect with new people because I forced myself to spend the time learning with teachers I didn’t know before today!
  • Hearing ideas from other excited teachers – inspired creativity.
  • I enjoyed the variety of sessions and the small groups really made for in-depth discussions. I also appreciate having access to the notes from the sessions that I couldn’t attend.

“What great ideas or take aways did you walk away with today?”

  • I learned more about various resources that I can check into. It helped to fill in some of the blanks on what I didn’t know that I didn’t know about.
  • Starting to think about incorporating robotics into my classroom in the subjects I teach.
  • I like being able to play with tech in the Maker Space.
  • From the Digital Citizenship I learned about other teacher and school policies for phone use in the classroom. It was a great discussion and reminder that we need to help kids learn to use their phone as a tool and not misuse it. Also teach them the skills about when and when not to be on your screen.
  • Picked up new ideas for motivating students using different apps and sites and lastly talked to a teacher outside of a regular session who showed me how to use HP View to create a virtual museum.

Check out our notes documents to dig into topics that were shared:

Children's services, Public

Great River Regional Library Goes Fine-Free for Kids and Expands Read Down Your Fines!

Exciting news from one of our public library members! There are no more overdue fines for children or young adult materials AND the Read Down Your Fines program is now available for all ages!

Read the full announcement here, or check out an excerpt below:

“Yes, you read that correctly! Effective immediately, Great River Regional Library will not collect overdue fines on materials for children and young adults.

  • Overdue children’s and young adult materials (including books, DVDs, CDs and more) will no longer accrue daily late fees.
  • We still want you to bring items back, so overdue notices will still be sent after 10 days as a reminder. Items can be renewed twice … as long as nobody else is waiting.
  • Read Down Your Fines for both children and adults is available any time at your local library!”

Find more information on their website!

Books, Children's services

Parents can help prevent summer reading slide!

This is a quick excerpt from an article in the Washington Post, written by Karen MacPherson, the children’s and teen services coordinator for the Takoma Park, Md., library.

Yes, parents, there is a magic formula to keep your kids reading through the summer

“Yes, parents, there really is a magic formula to keep your kids reading through the summer and beyond. The secret ingredient? You.

Research shows that reading during the summer helps kids minimize the “summer slide,” the drop-off in reading skills that non-summer readers experience at the start of a new school year. Troublingly, the recent “Kids and Family Reading Report,” a biennial survey done by Scholastic, a publishing and media company, showed that among kids ages 9-11, 14 percent read no books during the summer of 2018, compared with 7 percent in 2016. Among kids ages 15-17, 32 percent read no books last summer, compared with 22 percent in 2016.

But summer reading need not be a hard sell to kids. That same survey found that nearly 60 percent of kids ages 6-17 agreed with the statement: “I really enjoy reading books over the summer.”

You can help them find that joy. In the midst of the craziness of daily life — and the distractions of screens and so much else — it’s a challenge for parents to make reading a pleasurable priority in their family’s life. But summertime actually is a perfect — and crucial — time to experiment with some of the following strategies, recommended by children’s librarians and reading experts.”

  • Let kids choose their own books
  • Expand the definition of reading
  • Make reading a family priority — for everyone
  • Make reading social
  • Make it a game

Click on the link to get all the info!

Children's services, Podcast

Episode 506: Children’s Services

In this episode, we will talk about the service most people think of first when they think about cool things libraries do: Children’s Services. While it’s not the only thing we do, it’s important!

This week we have returning Guest Host Kelly Groth, from the Great River Regional Library System to help us get some ideas!

Check out our shownotes page here!

We are big fans of the idea that kids are important parts of any library – public, school, even special library organizations. So we support the idea that service to kids is not just handing them a moldy, torn book from the 80s, or doing the same story time, or having no posters on the walls. It’s not actively working to shush them over anything else, or to ensure they are on their best behavior in the library.

Instead our job is to do just what we do with every patron: actively work to connect the patron to the information resources we provide. That might be books, or computers, or programming. We are filled with so many great things – let’s be sure they are shared with kids!

Children's services, Resources, School Media Specialist

Library Thoughts: AASL Standards for Libraries

McMillen High School Library

Working in school libraries is tough.

The community you serve is a group of kids who need access to all sorts of good information and training in good resources. And it’s also teachers, administrators, staff, and parents. It is keeping up with state standards, with books that are good and books that are required in class. Increasingly it’s about working with technology, figuring out how to best implement it and make it work across the community of users.

We can’t make all of it easier, but the American Association of School Librarians provide some guidance for you to use, and to share with your administration.

An important part of working in a school library is being a leader and doing constant advocacy. That work involves reaching out to the people in the community to keep telling them what you have to offer, and how you can help them to accomplish their goals. Using these standards can be a good step toward making that happen!

“The AASL Standards framework reflects a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning by demonstrating the connection between learner, school librarian, and school library standards. Three sets of standards (Learner, School Librarian, and School Library) make up the AASL Standards Integrated Framework featured within the National School Library Standards. Use the resources here to familiarize yourself with the structure and get started using the standards in your practice.”

We know that not every school can master every step here – money and time are still limiting factors for a lot of schools. But CMLE is here to help you to provide with assistance in building your library, including scholarships, minigrants, policy writing, in-person visits, meetings with your colleagues as your advocate, or other things that might help you move forward!

 

You can watch this video to get started, or share it with your colleagues:

Getting Started

Designed to empower leaders to transform teaching and learning, the National School Library Standards enable personalization for every learner and school librarian, allowing you to continuously tailor your school library to local needs, your own strengths, and learners’ benefit. These resources will help you get started on your journey.

For more great resources, explore the Materials Gallery >>

 

Common Beliefs

Standards Framework

Implementation Plan

Professional Development