Category Archives: Communication

Academic, Check this out:, Communication, Public, Research, School Media Specialist, Special

Make a poster; go to ALA Annual in Chicago!

poster-session
poster presentations are a fun way to meet people who do what you do!

CMLE libraries have a lot of great things to offer their communities and the library profession. And we would like to see you showing it off!

Do you have an interesting program? An exciting event? A neat way to organize, arrange, display, or circulate your materials?? Make a poster, and share it!

Posters are very simple to make, and at Headquarters we can give you all the help you need. It is a great way to share information with colleagues, and you have the chance to learn all kinds of interesting ideas from your fellow presenters – who will all be sharing information on a topic similar to yours.

You do not need to have a completed poster when you submit the application, so you have plenty of time to think about graphic ways to show your neat stuff! (The design element is pretty low key; everyone there just wants to hear about your work!)

And if you want to go to the Annual Conference (you do not need to be an ALA member to attend!), exhibiting a poster is a good way to help convince your supervisor you should attend!

Click to get the information on what to do next: Continue reading Make a poster; go to ALA Annual in Chicago! →

Check this out:, Communication, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist

Signing during storytime – webinar review

macmillan-livenup_300indEarlier this week, I was able to attend an ALA webinar called “Liven up Baby and Toddler Storytimes with Sign Language” presented by Kathy Macmillan. I was excited to learn about this topic because I am hoping to learn to communicate through signing with my own little one at home, but also because I know many of our member libraries work with small kids and thought this could be a fun addition to their storytime routine!

Kathy began the presentation by laying out the multiple benefits of including ASL (American Sign Language) in your library programs. There were a ton! Some of which were: kids are able to sign before they can speak, signing stimulates language development, it reduces frustration, and learning one form of communication encourages more communication in general. Plus, signing is an instant way to get kids to participate!

Continue reading Signing during storytime – webinar review →

Check this out:, CMLE, Communication, General, Tech

CMLE's web redesign week is Dec. 14th – 20th, stop in and say hello!

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holiday-1
Snowmen and Sound of Music candles at CMLE HQ!

Here at CMLE Headquarters, we have eagerly been awaiting the chance to dive in and make some changes and improvements to our website. Mid-December would be the perfect time to do that! During the week of Dec. 14th – 20th, we will be here at HQ devoting our focus to website redesign. We are sharing this information with you in case you have some suggestions for the updated website! Is there anything you’d like to see more of, certain features that would make the site more accessible, or templates that you find especially useful? Let us know! Email us or feel free to stop in during our week of web redesign.

holiday-3Since we love the holiday season, if you do stop in, we will show you around our decorated space and share some yummy treats – maybe even some hot chocolate! You can feel free to chat with us about libraries, websites, or your holiday plans.

holiday-2Hope to see you then!

Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, Communication, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Updates from State Library Services

state-library-services

CMLE Headquarters will continue to bring you all the library news from around the state. You can sign up for these updates from the State Library Services yourself, or just get them forwarded to you here from CMLE. When you are part of a big and wonderful profession like libraries – you want to know all the things happening here!

Early Childhood Screening Informational Video and Webinar
Early Childhood Screening, offered by all school districts, is a way to determine if young children are on track for meeting developmental milestones. Some families do not take advantage of Early Childhood Screening because they don’t know about it or they have concerns about it. If parents knew more about what screening is and is not, they may be more likely to have their child screened and identify areas for additional focus before kindergarten.

Public librarians can help increase participation in screening by encouraging families to get their children screened between the ages of 3 and the start of kindergarten. The Minnesota Department of Education and community partners teamed up to create a five-minute informational video with basic information about screening for parents and caregivers, thanks to funding from The McKnight Foundation.

To learn how you can help increase families’ awareness of screening and comfort with the process, please join us for a lunch break webinar presented by MDE’s Early Childhood Screening Coordinator, Margo Chresand on Thursday, December 8, noon-12:30 p.m. (Add to your calendar.) Please contact Jen Verbrugge (651-582-8356) with questions or to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event. Note: MDE requires a two-weekadvance notice in order to provide the requested accommodation and requires a 48-hour notice in order to cancel a requested accommodation.

Continue reading Updates from State Library Services →

Check this out:, CMLE, Communication, General, Public, Resources, Special

One of our travel bugs has made it to a library!

cheesehead-library-cacheOne of our travel bugs has been retrieved and moved on to its next location – and it looks like one that we can all enjoy!

The travel bug Libraries Rock made a quick stop off at the St Cloud Public Library, then moved on to its next cache – Enjoy the Journey. “The coordinates above will take you just outside of a place that holds a multitude of wonderful adventures. You can easily lose track of time when adventuring. Before you enter you will need to find a time capsule that will lead you to your adventure inside.” (Thanks, East Central Regional Library! Everyone from CMLE who stops in to see their cache, be sure to say hello to the library staff! This is yet another great way for system members to get acquainted and chat with each other!)

Have you been to this cache?

Have you searched out a geocache? Tell us about your adventures in the comments!

In December, as we are all working on stress management, heading out to look for geocaches and travel bugs – whether they started at CMLE or not – can be a great way to relax and enjoy some fun exploration!