Do you know good things about tech services and collection management?? Here is an opportunity to share that experience! See the call below for more information.
Remember members: you can always check with us at CMLE Headquarters to help you work on an application, or to put together your materials. We are here to help support you!
The ALCTS Exchange is now accepting proposals for its 2017 virtual forum
As a fully online interactive forum, the ALCTS Exchange will give participants the opportunity to share the latest research, trends, and developments in technical services and collection management in an innovative, creatively engaging, virtual environment. The ALCTS Exchange Working Group welcomes proposals for the May 2017 forum that highlight the innovation happening in the profession as well as reflect on the progress made in past decades.
This is such an important skill for everyone in your library to master. We all need to advocate for ourselves in the workplace, for our libraries, and for the profession. During November we will collect and share information on each of these aspects of advocacy, to help build your skills and your comfort level with it.
At the heart: Advocacy is fun!! We get to tell people how great our libraries are, all the wonderful things we provide to our communities, and how valuable we are!! It can be tempting to just assume people know about this – but we want to really be sure they understand, so we need to tell them. This is our chance to brag!
CMLE will offer an in-person training session at our Headquarters (570 First Street SE, St Cloud, MN 56304). This will happen Nov 15. Spaces are filling fast – so don’t delay!
First session: noon to 1:30:
Second session: 4:30 to 6:00
Webinar will be provided online for future viewing
You are invited to attend either in-person session (they are identical). Feel free to bring your food! We will provide beverages.
A Guest Blog contribution from author Alisa Libby.
Alisa M. Libby has been writing stories since she first learned how to properly grip a crayon. Growing up in Natick, Massachusetts, she dabbled in other potential careers in her formative years (trumpet player, actress, astronomer, unicorn) but instead attended Emerson College for a degree in creative writing. While at Emerson she wrote numerous short stories about the “blood countess” of Hungarian legend, which years later evolved into The Blood Confession, her first novel. Fascinated by history, Alisa’s second novel, The King’s Rose, follows Catherine Howard and her brief marriage to King Henry VIII. Currently working on a new book, Alisa has recently moved to Attleboro with her husband and daughter.
Eek! A great Halloween read!
In honor of Halloween, I’m happy to share with you the origin of my first published novel, The Blood Confession. It’s appropriate for the time of year as it is, indeed, very bloody.
Growing up I had a tense relationship with horror novels and movies—my wild imagination and tendency toward insomnia could not match my intrigue. Often my bedroom light stayed on all night, while I was plagued by images from movies that seemed a great idea during daylight hours. Carrie, by Stephen King—Brian DePalma’s movie even more so than the book—traumatized me for a while at age 13. But I couldn’t help myself. Why was that prom queen covered in blood? I needed to see it, even if I would later regret it. Continue reading A spooky book recommendation!→
Have you ever started a job and had no idea what you were supposed to do? Have you tried to hire someone, and realized you have no good direction on where to start finding a qualified replacement?
Where are the pens kept? How do you file a report? Who does the scheduling? When everything is new and different, even the most basic things are a challenge. And when an employee is trying to get through the basics, s/he is not focusing in on getting to the important parts of the job.
Every job should have some level of succession planning in place. Employees may move, get promoted, or abruptly depart from their jobs for all kinds of reasons, either permanently or temporarily. Having some basic procedures to help the next person will make the transition easier on everyone. For most jobs in the library this can be fairly minimal. It is a good idea to have everyone make some notes about their work and the things they do each day, each week, or annually. (Sometimes this request stirs up fears in employees that they are going to be replaced. Managers: be quick to reassure them this is not the case!) These will be useful if an employee has to be out of work for a couple of weeks, or if they win the lottery and depart without notice. (Who could blame them??) Continue reading Planning for your successor (Hiring series #4)→
Each month CMLE will highlight three books that have some factor in common. We hope they will give you ideas for your collection, or influence an activity, lesson plan, or display.
This month, we share three different books that focus on increasing simplicity and de-cluttering different areas of your life. These books can be used in your library to spread awareness about mental well-being or help people that may be struggling to put their life or possessions in order.
This book is described on Goodreads as “a fun, lighthearted guide to minimalist living.” It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” in our lives, whether physical or mental, and this book hopes to guide you through the journey of simplifying. Although, be warned that one reviewer did mention excessive use of exclamation marks in the book, so prepare yourself for some upbeat positivity!
Worrying and overthinking are common problems, but they can have a lasting negative affect on your mental well-being. This book provides tips and specific actions to help clear your mind. By taking the steps outlined in the book, “you’ll have the clarity to prioritize what’s most important in your life, what no longer serves your goals, and how you want to live on a daily basis.”
If visual reminders are helpful to you, check out this image to work your way to a clear mind.
Get moving and relieve anxiety with this article on walking meditation.
This book about organization and simplifying your home has been popular for awhile now, possibly because of it’s promise to get your house in order once, and never need to do it again! The author encourages people to work through their belongings on a category by category basis, and to become aware of each object’s energy, discarding what does not “spark joy.” The book has many fans as well as critics, and if you’ve read the book, tell us your thoughts in our CMLE Librarian Professionals Goodreads book group, where we are currently discussing the book!
Having trouble visualizing some of the suggestions from the book? This article that illustrates how to follow the folding directions will help you!
Here is a post from the True North Comfort blog that features just the highlights of the KonMari Method.
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
