Join Our Team
Do you have experience working with grants and with school libraries? Are you interested in helping libraries develop programs and services that support K-12 learners? If so, we may have just the job for you. State Library Services is hiring a Library Development and Services Specialist (LSTA Coordinator) who will manage our federal Library Services and Technology Act grant activities and lead activities that address the needs of school-age children and youth. Read more about the job at the State of Minnesota careers site (search Job ID 12160), and submit your application online by March 28. Please contact Jen Nelson (651-582-8791) with questions.

Library Service and Technology Act Funds
State Library Services typically announces a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) competitive grant round soon after we receive our annual Grants to States allotment from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). As you may be aware, the federal government, including IMLS, is operating under a Continuing Resolution for federal fiscal year 2017. We have received an LSTA Grants to States award for federal fiscal year 2017 that is based on the funds IMLS has available under the Continuing Resolution. The amount is less than usually received and IMLS has indicated that we will be notified after April 28, 2017 if any supplemental funds are available. Because the amount we received is reduced, we are postponing opening a competitive grant round until notification of a supplemental award is received. Please note that no current (state fiscal year 2017) grants or grant-funded projects are impacted. Please contact Jen Nelson (651-582-8791) with questions.

Meet Up with Other Librarians
The Libraries Serving Youth Meetup is an annual opportunity for school librarians and public librarians to meet, network and share ideas. This year, attendees will have a chance to connect, and develop creative ideas with colleagues around the topic of makerspaces.

School and public librarians are invited to join us at SPNN in Saint Paul (550 Vandalia Street, Suite 170) for the Meetup on Saturday, April 22, 2017, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., followed by an optional stop-motion animation workshop, 2-4 p.m. Register today for the Libraries Serving Youth Meetup. Attendees should plan to bring a bag lunch. You can also register for just the stop-motion animation workshop. Please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356) with questions.

Add Ebooks Minnesota Records to Your Catalog
Libraries now have an additional way to give their patrons access to Ebooks Minnesota: Minitex has MARC records available for the collection! Please let Minitex know how you’d like the content by completing this brief survey. They’ll provide you with information about accessing the records in a way that best suits your needs. For more information about the MARC records, please contact Minitex. For more information about Ebooks Minnesota, please contact Emily Kissane (651-582-8508).

Updates from MDE

Take Part in Regional Lexile Workshops for Librarians and Other Educators
In partnership with MetaMetrics (developers of the Lexile Framework), MDE is offering free professional Lexile workshops for librarians and other educators across the state. View the Lexile workshop flier with dates, locations, and other information, and then register for the Lexile workshop nearest you today.

A deeper understanding of Lexile measures can help you work more effectively with teachers and parents who are seeking materials based on Lexile levels. The workshops cover a number of topics including an overview of free Lexile resources and tools. CEUs will be available at the workshops.

Please contact Margarita Alvarez, Test Development supervisor, Statewide Testing, Minnesota Department of Education if you have questions about the workshops.

Updates from Our Partners

Check Out the New Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub
The Minnesota Historical Society recently released a new Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub as a Beta site. The new Hub brings together the Minnesota digital newspapers from the original Hub, the Historical Minneapolis Tribune newspapers, and new sets of digitized Minnesota newspaper titles—all in a new platform.

During the new Hub’s initial Beta period, the original Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub and the Historical Minneapolis Tribune websites will continue to be available. The Digital Newspapers at MNHS landing page explains the transition and provides the link for the new Hub.

Please contact the Minnesota Historical Society webmaster with your feedback about using the new Hub and/or connecting to the new Hub, original Hub, or the Historical Minneapolis Tribune. The webmaster will forward any communications on to the MNHS digital newspaper team.

Addressing Families Affected by Incarceration
With support from MDE through an LSTA grant, Hennepin County Library is offering a series of programs about families and incarceration.

Hennepin County Library invites educators and community members to a unique forum addressing the issue of families and incarceration. At the Brookdale Library (6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy, Brooklyn Center) on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at 4:30 p.m., author Nora Raleigh Baskin will briefly talk about her book, Ruby on the Outside, a compassionate story about a young girl and her incarcerated mother. After Baskin’s presentation, a panel of local experts on the issue will share their experience and help participants develop strategies that can be applied in the classroom to help families affected by incarceration. Register today for the Educator Forum on Families Affected by Incarceration.

Additionally, Hennepin County Library is offering a series of programs from March through July on families and incarceration. Visiting authors include Howard Zehr, Maya Schenwar, and Shaka Senghor.

Please download and share the Families and Incarceration flier with more details about the forum and related events. If you have questions, please contact Daniel Marcou (612-543-8852).

Save the Date: Legal Information Training
The metro county law libraries and the State Law Library are hosting an educational program on Friday, April 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Shoreview branch of the Ramsey County Library.

Sessions will include:

• Review of mncourts.gov with special emphasis on help topics, forms and a description of statewide self-help services
• Overview of where to find probate and estate planning materials online
• Program on criminal expungement
• Session dealing with common landlord tenant issues
• Exercise on where to find legal forms

All librarians are welcome, and registration information will be available closer to the event. Please contact Liz Reppe (651-297-2089) with questions.

Other News of Note

Leave No Child Hungry This Summer
The USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) helps fill meal gaps during the summer months for kids who rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year. Second Harvest Heartland supports SFSP by building community awareness to increase participation. Your library can help hungry families find free meals in your community this summer. Second Harvest Heartland has free outreach materials without year-specific information so they can be distributed across multiple summers. You can request outreach materials for your library through the Second Harvest Heartland website.

Take Your Library Outside the Lines
Outside the Lines (OTL) provides a framework for libraries—no matter their size or type—to share their stories, connect with their communities in new and exciting ways, and shift perceptions of libraries everywhere. Celebrate OTL with your community Sept. 10-16, 2017.

Register your library to participate in OTL 2017. (If your organization participated in 2016, you can simply log in, update your existing profile and check the 2017 box to be included in this year’s festivities.) Registration will get you such things as new graphics and shareable content, webinars that focus on specific ways to make OTL work for your library, and updated examples and tips from participating libraries. For more information, visit the OTL website.