Category Archives: Communication

Communication

Register your DMCA agent by December 31, 2017

Copyright
This is important information, provided by the American Library Association to help protect you against copyright infringers! Many CMLE members will need to do this, by Dec 31! Check in with us at CMLE if you have questions.

“TheDigital Millennial Copyright Act instituted the “notice and takedown” rule to protect online service providers — in our case, libraries, universities and schools — who provide public access computers from infringement by third parties if online service providers supply the name and contact information of a designated agent to receive claims of copyright infringement. For more details on this law and regulation see: copyright.gov/dmca-directory

The U.S. Copyright Office asks that online service providers register or re-register an agent to create an up-to-date online directory of agents that rights holders can contact. Libraries and educational institutions who provide open access computers and/or wifi should designate a person who will receive these notices. This person may be the head of the school district, director of the library, personnel from the IT department, legal counsel or other designated staff.

The registration process is straightforward and must be done to benefit from the safe harbor established in Section 512 of the copyright law.

Complete a registration form at dmca.copyright.gov/osp/login.html and provide contact information. Maintain the currency and accuracy of the information, updating it as necessary. Pay a $6 dollar fee.

Registrations must be submitted by December 31, 2017. A new registration process will open every three years.

More Resources

CMLE, Communication, General

Last Office Hours of 2017! Visit us Wednesday!

Tomorrow, Wednesday December 20th, is CMLE’s last Office Hours of 2018!! Angie will be available between 11:30am – 1pm with the help of Office Dog Lady Grey to chat with you about libraries or end of the year challenges!

 

 

Stop by and visit us at our HQ location:
570 1st St. SE
St. Cloud, MN 56304.

Need to talk with us but can’t make it to Office Hours? Email us at admin@cmle.org and we’ll set something up!

We will be back with more dates for Office Hours in 2018! Thanks to all our members that have stopped by to chat, it’s always wonderful to see you!

Communication

Learning About Library Associations: Music Library Association

Library science is an enormous field, home to every interest you could imagine! This means that there are many organizations out there for you to join, in order to connect with other people who share your professional interests.

So even if you work alone in your library, there are other people out there doing work similar to yours! Each week we will highlight a different library association for you to learn more about, and depending on your work, potentially join! You can also check out our page dedicated to Library Associations.

This week we are learning about the Music Library Association (MLA)! MLA was founded in 1931 and is the “professional association for music libraries and librarianship in the United States.” MLA’s members consist of musicians, educators, librarians, and members of the book and music trades. The association has ten regional chapters that do local programming, like the Midwest chapter which you can learn more about here!

The Music Library Association has a ton of resources available to members. They publish the quarterly journal Notes which is the world’s leading journal in the field.  They also publish ” a series of Technical Reports, an Index & Bibliography Series, a Basic Manual Series, the monthly Music Cataloging Bulletin, and a quarterly newsletter.”

MLA has an annual conference that focuses on librarianship and music, and they offer several different awards, scholarships, and grants. Their website has information on MLA’s advocacy efforts, and several resources to help with job placement and career advisory services.

Learn more about how to join the Music Library Association and check out all the membership benefits and ways to get involved on their membership page.

 

Communication

Linking to Library News

3D-Link

There is a whole world of news happening across the profession. Below are a few links to get you started with some of the exciting things happening in the world of Library Science!

  • The 12 days of Invercargill The librarians of Invercargill, New Zealand, are known for their viral videos and Kardashian photoshoots. Here they remix The 12 Days of Christmas (3:26) for their literary fans. Enjoy some nondenominational holiday cheer from Invercargill City Libraries and Archives….
  • Lindsey Whittington, school librarian, talks about her experience with banned books in Dixie District schools at the closing ceremony of #FAME17 (Florida Association for Media in Education) https://youtu.be/weuVLDcX-XM
  • Seeking poetry, short fiction, or art created by Minnesota library employees to publish a Pressbooks anthology of creative works by the Minnesota library community. All public, academic, special, and K-12 library employees are welcome to submit their work
  • I am a graduate student at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, completing my studies to become a school librarian. This semester, I am doing an independent study about how rural school libraries work to overcome student barriers to access. I am looking for rural school librarians to complete a short (11 question) survey about technology, transportation, and library hours. Thank you so much for your cooperation! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MYRVW7Y — Molly Hazelton
  • Bloomsbury Digital Resources Now Offering the Royal Shakespeare Company Live Collection
  • Did you know that aside from two-hundred seventy titles from Knowledge Unlatched, there are hundreds of OER scholarly resources and open textbooks in Ebooks Minnesota?
  • EBSCO announces RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals with Full Text
  • Ebooks Minnesota Highlight: Holidays reads for kids (and adults)
  • Ebooks MN for Schools is now available
  • Protect your library’s liability! Don’t forget to register an agent to receive DMCA take down notices. Deadline is Dec 31, 2017.
  • Developing Inclusive Library Services to Adults with Disabilities Registration is open for this webinar.  Presented by Renee Grassi, an award-winning librarian with Dakota County Library, who specializes in youth services, as well as inclusion for people with disabilities in libraries.
  • Wednesday, February 21, 2018 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Central Time) Register 
  • 2017 holiday gift guide for librarians Alison Marcotte writes: “If you’re a librarian or avid reader, you’re probably used to getting the same things every year during the holidays—new books, bookmarks, requests from relatives for help on research papers. But you can mix it up this year by adding these cool gifts to your list. They’re great for those hard-to-buy-for folks you shop for, too—creative types, cooks, techies, board game enthusiasts, kiddos, fashionistas, stressed-out parents, Game of Thrones fans, or hostesses with the mostesses
  • Tips for talking to your legislators Ann Joslin writes: “Few legislators will go on record saying they don’t like libraries, so enlisting legislative support should be simple, right? But engaging with elected officials doesn’t always equate to consistent support for libraries and library issues. With members of Congress heading back to their districts soon for the holiday break, what are the most effective ways to talk with them about libraries? Through repetition and years of practice, I’ve learned some things that have increased my effectiveness.
  • Lawsuit: Too many children in California can’t read Parents and educators at struggling schools in California say students there are not reading well, and lawyers sued the state on December 5, arguing that it had failed to provide the children with the resources they needed to learn. The lawsuit is the first in the US to seek recognition of the constitutional right to literacy. It alleges that the state failed to intervene when students achieved low proficiency rates in reading and fell behind at three schools, especially with students who are learning English, have disabilities, are economically disadvantaged, or are African American or Hispanic….
  • LC’s first official historian Wendi Maloney writes: “John Y. Cole (right) has enjoyed a remarkable 51-year career at the Library of Congress, culminating with his most recent appointment as the first official LC historian. Cole has worked to increase public understanding of the key role that LC has played in American history and now plays in American society. Cole has come full circle, first as a history major who found his love in libraries, now returning as full-time historian to the world’s greatest library. ‘Don’t let anybody tell you that a library degree won’t get you anywhere,’ Cole says.”…
  • Getting personal with books Elizabeth Pelayo writes: “How do we encourage teens to come back to reading for fun? For my high school library, getting personal with books has made all the difference. Part of the answer lies in knowing your specific patrons and collection, and matching students to books that might draw them in. Another part of the answer lies in choosing programs and promotions that might engage your teen readers. I accomplished this by launching a personal book shopping program at my high school.”…
  • Hoopla adds Marvel Comics The free library lending service Hoopla Digital has teamed up with Marvel Entertainment to add more than 250 Marvel comic books to its catalog. Patrons of public libraries that offer access to Hoopla can now download titles from series like Thor: God of Thunder, Black Panther, and Civil War: X-Men to their iPads, iPhones, or Android devices, or read them via Hoopla’s website. Hoopla has developed a feature called “action view,” which allows users to either read titles page-by-page or panel-by-panel….
  • German universities about to lose Elsevier access Around 200 German universities will lose their subscriptions to Elsevier journals within weeks because negotiations have failed to end a long-term contract dispute. The conflict between Elsevier and Germany’s university system has dragged on since 2015. Academics in the country lost access to Elsevier content briefly early in 2017, but it was later restored while contract talks resumed. Advocates of open access say that victory for the German universities would be a major blow to conventional models of scientific publishing based on subscription fees….
  • The assault on science and academic freedom A new report, National Security, the Assault on Science, and Academic Freedom, released by the American Association of University Professors, details troubling threats to academic freedom in the physical and natural sciences that have been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s hostility to science. International scientific exchange and climate science are two focuses of the report, which explores how the politicization of science is constraining the free pursuit of knowledge and scientific inquiry….
  • Antifragile library management Mary Jo Finch and Autumn Solomon write: “The administrative team at the Westbank Community Library District in Austin, Texas, began pondering how a library could become more antifragile. How could we become the sort of library that could survive a tax cut, a public challenge, a local disaster, or some other unforeseen crisis? How could we become the sort of library that stays relevant to the ever-changing needs of the community? Many staff conversations later, we had the beginnings of a still-growing list of antifragile work culture elements.”…

 

 

 

Advocacy, Communication

If you like your internet access, now is the time to say so!

We are very interested in library advocacy here at CMLE HQ, and we know that not everyone feels comfortable speaking up to their stakeholders, legislators, or community members about the great work you do in libraries.

But: this is important.

The FCC is getting ready to vote on whether to end net neutrality.

Let’s say that in the tone it deserves: OMG!! ON DEC. 14, SOME PEOPLE YOU NEVER ELECTED ARE GOING TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR ACCESS TO THE INTERNET!!!!! IT’S DEFINITELY TIME TO FREAK OUT ABOUT THIS!!!!!!

Yeah, that’s right. Some guy who used to work for Verizon is now going to get to decide whether you have to pay Verizon to access the internet. Let that sink in for a moment – then absolutely return to freaking the heck out!

Network neutrality symbol

You’ve heard these words before – they are all over the news and social media. It sounds like one of those complicated issues that would be okay to just nod and say “Oh, yeah, sure – that stuff” and go on with your day.

THIS IS NOT THAT ISSUE.

In a very brief nutshell, net neutrality means that we can access the Internet any way we want. We can zip around and look at stuff we like. We can choose what sites we look at, and what we do there. While speed is not always perfect, at least it does chug along pretty quickly. Remember accessing the Internet back in the 90s? When an image would load a pixel or a line at a time on your screen?? I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO THE DARK AGES!!!

Ending net neutrality means that Verizon or AT&T or Spectrum (or a similar company) now owns your access to the Internet.

I have a Verizon phone. It’s fine. I use it to look at Google several dozen times a day. But!! Verizon owns Yahoo. If Verizon owns my access to the Internet, they can easily (oh, so easily) announce that everyone on Verizon’s cell coverage is now using Yahoo.

  • You want Google? Neat. That costs extra.
  • And of course, Google also owns YouTube; so you want to watch a YouTube video? That costs extra.
  • Does your school use Google Classroom or Google Docs? You aren’t getting to that on a Verizon connection!
  • Maybe your school works out a deal with Google (who doesn’t currently provide Internet service) to provide Internet service to you at work. Great. But are you at home and need to do some work? Not on a Spectrum connection – without an extra fee.

This is just one teeny example of what will happen if companies suddenly own your ability to access the Internet.

Take a moment to think how much further this will go – and then absolutely freak out. Because it’s worse than whatever you are thinking.

Remember life 20 years ago? We didn’t have constant Internet access. But life has changed! How many of us bank online – and may have to pay AT&T to get access to our money or to pay our bills? How many of us download books to listen to in the car? How many people stream really fun podcasts? Who depends on Amazon to deliver great stuff to you? Or Spotify to bring great music to you? How many of you email your family? Update your Facebook page with photos of kids and pets so your friends can keep up? Anyone play games on your phone? Have Google reading you turn by turn directions when you drive someplace new? Get access to the latest research for academic papers? Read your news online? Anyone using Duolingo to learn a new language? Anyone slightly addicted to the 24/7 live stream of the Kitten Academy?? (it’s not just me, right??) Maybe you want to watch Netflix or Hulu – but Spectrum owns your access to the Internet, and they have no economic interest in you leaving their cable channels. You might be able to get to Netflix, but it may t a k e a r e a l l y l o o o o o n g t i m e t o g e t s o m e t h i n g.

Think about the work you do every day. What do patrons do in your library? How much of it involves being able to access the internet?

This is not fantasy. This is already happening in other countries. Today. Now.

You need net neutrality for yourself.

You need net neutrality for your library.

You need net neutrality for your community.

But, you ask:
WHAT CAN I, A HUMBLE LIBRARY EMPLOYEE, DO TO STOP THIS DEBACLE????

It’s shockingly simple.

You go tell the FCC how much this will damage you, your library, your patrons, and your community. Or, just pick one of those things. The important thing is to GO SAY SOMETHING!!

Where do you do this shocking simple thing??

WEBSITE: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express

Open that link on a computer, not a mobile device.

I’m there! Now what???

  • They ask for a proceedings number. This is: 17-108.
  • Type your name. (All government forms ask for this; hopefully it keeps down the spam bots.)
  • Type your address (I used my work address. I had to look it up, and that was the toughest part of the whole process)

I’m in the groove! What do I say??

Speak from your heart. Identify yourself as a library employee, if you want to. Tell them about a patron who used the internet today to find a wonderful book, to access their veteran’s benefits, to talk with their grand-kids who live across the country. Tell them about the training you do to help people use the Internet. Tell them how much you love accessing any site that makes you happy.

Remember to ask for the specific thing you want: Free and fast access to the Internet!!

ACK!!! I got scared!! It sounded hard!!! I didn’t do anything!! NOW WHAT??

Deep breath in; deep breath out.

Just go back and follow the directions. Share your voice. Be heard! Speak for your community.

What is at stake here???

Verizon, AT&T, Spectrum – these companies depend on us getting scared, or assuming someone else will handle it so that everything turns out okay.

They have lots of high priced lobbyists who cheerfully offer to write regulations that make them rich. It’s their jobs. Neat in some situations; but here that just means one thing: “Give us money or you get nothing. Enjoy your blocked and throttled Internet libraries!! You guys don’t have big budgets to pay us, so good luck with whatever scraps we throw to you!”

(I’m paraphrasing. But that is the message, if not the exact wording.)

You don’t have high priced lobbyists. You just have us. We just have you.

No pressure here, but…the fate of library service as you know it depends on a free access to the Internet.

So, yeah. It’s kind of a big deal.

If you contact legislators and stakeholders all the time: excellent. Tell them about your feelings on net neutrality.

If you have never contacted a legislator, or never wanted to raise your voice, or to get involved – this is not the time to be shy or neutral. We need you. You need the Internet. (How else are you going to read these fun blog posts? Or download our Books and Beverages book group podcast???)

Why are you still here????

GO TELL THE FCC HOW MUCH YOU NEED ACCESS TO THE INTERNET!!

(Then, forward this post to every single person you know!!!)

THANK YOU FOR SAVING THE INTERNET!!!!!

Award yourself one Official Superhero point for helping to save the Internet for us all!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/info_grrl/8926992700