Category Archives: CMLE

Check it Out:, CMLE

We’re Hiring! Work With CMLE as a Part-Time School Library Contractor

We are looking to hire a part-time (10-15 hours per week) contractor to work with us through mid-June of 2021. We’re looking for someone familiar with K-12 schools in Minnesota who can help us connect our library services with the needs of our member school libraries.

You can get more information in the full posting here, but these are some of the qualities we are looking for in our contractor:

  • Someone who can move fast, identify problems, and help us to come up with solutions for our members. 
  • This job will require someone with experience in schools, and preferably in school libraries/media centers. 
  • We need someone who is a good communicator – online and in person, when necessary. 

We will work to keep in-person contacts to a minimum, in accordance with best practices and guidelines for working during the pandemic. 

The contractor will meet regularly with CMLE staff, to report on progress, clarify expectations, ask questions, and discuss plans.

Hourly pay: $20

Applicants for this position should submit a resume and a cover letter. Send your application to Mary Jordan: mary@cmle.org.

Please see our full posting for more information.

Check it Out:, CMLE, Programs

CMLE Extended Mini Grant Zoom Meeting: You’re Invited!

logo for CMLE extended minigrants

Join us at 10am on Tuesday, January 12th to learn about our extended mini grant program! There will be time for you to ask questions and share ideas about grant projects. RSVP below!

In case you missed it:

“For this school year only, through May, 2021, we will be soliciting minigrant applications from member libraries for funds up to $1,000. This is our Extended Minigrant program, as brought to you by the CMLE Board of Trustees.” Read more and apply on our page.

This year has been hard on everyone. So we really encourage our members to apply for this grant! You can read more information about our special extended mini grant program on our page.

We understand that if you’re new to writing grant applications, this process can seem a bit intimidating. So we want to provide this opportunity for you to ask questions about the application or just share thoughts on how your library could benefit from this program.

Please RSVP below for the Zoom session at 10am on January 12th. We’re looking forward to talking with you!

Attending?(required)

CMLE, School Media Specialist

Join Our Extended Mini Grant Review Team!

We are very pleased to be able to offer an Extended Mini Grant Program to our members this year. If you missed our previous post, here are the basics:

For this school year only, through May, 2021, we will be soliciting minigrant applications from member libraries for funds up to $1,000. This is our Extended Minigrant program, as brought to you by the CMLE Board of Trustees.

Members are libraries in these counties: Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, and Wright. You do not need to apply to be a member. If your library is in one of these counties, it is one of our members. Preference in applications will be given to school libraries.

You can be pretty flexible in what you apply to use these grants to fund in the library. Programs, materials, services – the three hallmarks of a good library – are all accessible with this money.

Potential minigrant applications that would be relevant in this program include requests like:

  • filling in a hole in your collection budget
  • buying software that will let you do distance library service
  • bringing a virtual program, or program series, to your students

You can apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1eng1oti0BIBWjczPPDLBZW0wnluJ57aqlHAqqEY3BLA/edit.

And we are looking for individuals to help evaluate the applications we receive! We will provide evaluation rubrics and will communicate on a monthly basis to review applications. This will not require an extensive time commitment, and will be a great way to see what other schools in the area are working on. Email us at admin@cmle.org to indicate your interest and we will be in touch soon!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Check it Out:, CMLE

In Case You Missed It…plenty of activity ideas for your summer fun

What Are We Doing Today? logo

We’re nearly to summer, and for some of us, the school year has already ended! Hopefully, you can take a well-deserved break from screens and other stressors, at least for awhile.

We want to remind you that in case you or your colleagues (or students, or friends) are looking for educational, engaging activity ideas, we have TONS of them, compiled here on our site for easy access.

STEM projects, cooking, exercise, virtual field trips, and so much more! Visit our page or just click on the links below to visit the Daily Pages full of fun activities to try.

CMLE

Read Your Book Session Feb. 27th

❄❄❄It’s that point in the winter when the ice and cold work hard to get us down. But thankfully, we have a few tools to keep our spirits up! Reading + friends + opportunities to get together = 😊

Recently, we enjoyed another evening of book discussion at Mexican Village downtown St. Cloud. We also met members in Princeton to share book suggestions and get to know each other! You can join our Meetup Group and see all the fun upcoming events scheduled!

Next week, we have our last Meetup event for February: Read Your Book Session! At 6pm we will be at the food court at Crossroads Mall with our books and a sign so you can find us easily. We’ll be there from 6pm – 8pm, arrive and depart as your schedule permits.

Finding the time to read can be HARD, life is so busy! So that’s why we are setting aside this designated time to get together and just read our books.

We aren’t going to analyze our book with others, we aren’t going to share plot points, we’re just going to read and enjoy ourselves!

RSVP on our Meetup site and we hope to see you there! (Feel free to bring several books, if like me you are waaaay behind on your TBR list!) 📚📚💕😂