Category Archives: Conference

Conference

Minnesota Library Association Annual Conference is in St. Cloud this week!

We’re really excited at CMLE because this week is the MLA Annual Conference and it’s happening just across the river from us at the St. Cloud Convention Center!

Thursday Oct. 11th – Friday Oct. 12th you can join CMLE staff and other fantastic library folks from all over the state to learn more about this year’s theme, Programmed to Lead.
“We will discuss how libraries are leading their communities and campuses in solving problems through, and addressing issues with, digital technology. The idea too is to encourage libraries to embrace these leadership roles since they are so well-equipped to do so with the tools, resources, and skills they possess.”

CMLE staff will be presenting on both Thursday and Friday of the conference! We’ll be talking about community engagement Thursday at 8am and podcast leadership training Friday at 10:30am. You can check out the full conference schedule here.

Thinking about attending but hesitating because of the cost? Please, apply for a scholarship! We’d love to help you be able to come to this conference! And find some tips for getting the most out of your conference experience from our article here.

Find out more about MLA 2018 on their conference page here. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Conference

CMLE Scholarship: ISTE Conference

From CMLE member Angie Kaltoff!

With the help of the CMLE professional development scholarship, I was able to attend ISTE 2018.

My two main goals of attending ISTE 18 were to connect with others (companies and educators) and find innovative ways to teach with the support of technology.

 

Connecting.

I was able to connect with a variety of people while attending ISTE 2018. As an ISTE attendee, I was able to present multiple sessions this year. On Sunday, I was a presenter in a hands on workshop that had a focus on bringing computer science into classrooms through plugged, unplugged, and lessons with robots. I was one of many presenters who led participants though a hands on station.

On Tuesday, I was one of five women who shared our experiences with encouraging girls to pursue their passions in STEM careers through a panel discussion. Our panel consisted of professional development leaders of the Innovative Educator Consulting Network. Naomi Harm, the CEO and founder, posed a few questions to the group of which we had time to prepare for and Mariah Richards, posed questions from learners in our room through a back channel.

On Wednesday, I co- presented a poster session with my friend and colleague on how we are working together to help students in the St.Cloud Area School District 742 and preservice teachers attending the CSBSJU transform their learning through the integration of technology into our classrooms.

Through these experiences, I was able to connect with educators and share my story while learning about their story too. All of my sessions have resources available by visiting bit.ly/iste18ak

 

Teaching with Technology.

I spent the majority of one day walking through the exhibitor hall. I was impressed with the amount of computer science tools that were on display at affordable prices through the integration of the Microbit.

I also took a walk through the startup pavilion. Unruly is a startup that I will follow as they have combined coding and movement.

 

Conference, Guest Blogger

CMLE Scholarship: ISTE Conference

This photo is from a poster session featuring CMLE member Jessica Moore.

This is a guest post written by Mary Waite, Media Specialist at ROCORI Middle/High School. Do you need a scholarship to attend a conference? Check out our Scholarships page!

Attending an ISTE international conference can be overwhelming.  There is so much to see, learn, and explore.  With more than 18,000 people in attendance and navigating a large convention center, it can be a challenge. However, getting the most out of the experience with the least amount of anxiety and stress is doable if you follow a few recommendations.

The first tip is to realize you will not be able to attend every session or see every vendor. There are just too many to realistically schedule into your days. Getting over FOMO will make the conference more enjoyable. Go ahead and mark your dream sessions using the app. But know that you will need to make changes, and if a session is not for you, don’t stay in it. Presenters are not going to shine a spotlight on people who need to leave. Walk down the hall, and you will find the right fit for you.

Another tip is to take advantage of the simulcast sessions and the poster sessions. You can get a lot of great information walking through the many poster sessions. If giant crowds for keynote addresses are not your thing, go to a simulcast area where you can still get the advantage of the outstanding speakers.

My third tip is to bring a conference buddy. If you don’t know someone attending, look at the discussion boards to find out who from your area is attending. Conquering the sizeable conference is easier if you can share and trade information with someone else.

Don’t forget to leave some time to relax and recuperate. Explore the city with fellow attendees, wander through the exposition hall, or just find a quiet corner to meditate.

Finally, I would say “just do it.” The 2019 conference is in Philadelphia. Start planning now, and you will not regret the journey.

Conference

Calling all ARLD or ACRL members in Minnesota

You know that we love conferences, and the poster sessions are a really fun part of any conference! Whether you are admiring them, or presenting one to share information from your library, they are valuable. They are also easy to create, easy to share, and really help you connect with other people who like the same stuff you like!

We are passing on the call for posters for the MLA conference that will be RIGHT HERE in St Cloud this October!! If you want to chat about your poster proposal, send us an email at admin @ cmle.org – we really like to talk about posters and proposals! (No need to be a CMLE member – we like to talk to anyone!)

If you want to hear some basic ideas on conference – including posters – you can listen to our Linking Our Libraries episode right here!

“We are now accepting proposals for the poster session hosted by the Academic and Research Libraries Division of the Minnesota Library Association at the MLA 2018 Annual Conference.

Please submit your poster proposals online. Proposals are due on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at 5:00pm.


Poster Session Requirements
Poster sessions may present any of the following:

•    A description of an innovative library program
•    An analysis of a practical problem-solving effort
•    A report of a research study

Poster sessions are not for product advertisements, vendor displays, or similar promotional purposes.

Participants must be available to informally discuss their posters with meeting attendees during the ARLD Poster Session, immediately following the ARLD Business Meeting, at the MLA Annual Conference October 11 at the St. Cloud River’s Edge Convention Center  from 1:00pm-1:50pm. Poster boards will be displayed on easels.

When submitting a proposal, you will need to provide:

  • Title – consider choosing a title that is short enough to be cast in an extra large font which can be read from a distance
  • Abstract (200 words or fewer) – a plaintext description of your proposal, its impact, and how you will present it
  • Information about each presenter:
    • Name and mjob title
    • Email address
    • Current employer
    • Phone number

 

Please direct any questions to Megan Kocher (mkocher@umn.edu)or Jodi Grebinoski (jlcarlso@d.umn.edu)”

Advocacy, Conference

New Paraprofessional Track at the 2018 MLA Conference

It’s nearly Conference Time!!!

As you know, CMLE is a big supporter of everyone going to conferences. It can be such a valuable way for you to meet people who do what you do in a library, it lets you put names to faces of people you talk with online, and it gives you an opportunity to meet vendors and presenters of all sorts of information.

Library people can not just assume their skills are fine. Our profession requires constant updating and movement. There are a lot of ways to build skills – and conferences is on of the fun ways!

SO!!!

This October 11-12, the Minnesota Library Association Library Association Annual Conference will be in St Cloud.

WE WANT YOU TO GO!

MLA also wants you to go! Register here, and check out the entire schedule here!

To overcome any perception that conferences are only for someone else, or only for people with degrees (NOPE!!), MLA has established a specific track of presentations for Frontline Staff in any sort of library. If you do anything, in any  type of library, that involves humans of any sort: THIS IS FOR YOU!!

(Does that sound expansive enough?? It’s supposed to!)

Sign up for the whole conference, Thursday and Friday, or just Friday. This track will be presented on Friday, and includes:

8:00am

Whole Person Librarianship: Structured Empathy on the Front Lines Mary C. Nienow • Sara Zettervall

9:15am

Geek Squad by Default: Dealing with patron technology questions as front-line staff Jake Fejedelem Visual Merchandising in Marketing your Library: What is it? How can you use it at your library? Leah Egersdorf • Tony Molaro

10:30am

Going Far Together: Working in Teams Valerie Horton

2:15pm

Physical labor is not the only labor that can be hard: Emotional labor in librarianship Kimberly L Clakre • Wanda R Marsolek

Sounds good, doesn’t it??!!

Remember back when I said WE WANT YOU TO GO TO THIS CONFERENCE???

CMLE will reimburse our members $50 toward your conference registration cost not otherwise paid for by other funding sources. (This is separate from, and in addition to any other scholarship or mini-grant you may receive from CMLE this year.)

Fill out the Scholarship form before the conference to get approved. Then, send us your receipts  and a short write-up of the  conference (photos are always appreciated!), and we will send you a reimbursement check for $50.

Pretty easy, isn’t it?

This conference is for everyone. It is for all types of libraries, all levels of experience, all job titles. And, as it’s here in CMLE’s own backyard, we particularity want to see people able to take advantage of it!

As a bonus for CMLE members, if you need a letter of support to attend this conference to give to your supervisor – we will be happy to provide one detailing the benefits of your attendance on your professional development, as well as the benefits to the library when you return.

We’ll see you at the conference!!!

PS: as a small plug, CMLE staff are giving two presentations at this MLA conference, and we’d love to see you there! Stop by, chat, and let’s have conference fun together!

  • Thursday, October 11 • 8:00am – 8:50am The Basics of Community Engagement: Nailing the Fundamentals so Magic Can Happen! Library people are skilled at finding, compiling, and sharing information – and these are skills we can share in our wider community! In this session, we will discuss the fundamentals of working with community groups and handling meetings effectively. we will discuss strategies for finding community groups, for connecting with them as a library professional and a community member yourself, and then for encouraging progress. Community groups can accomplish great things; but without fundamentals, that potential is squandered!

  •  Friday, October 12 • 10:30am – 11:20am   Leadership is On The Air! Training Through Podcasting! Leadership is for everyone. It’s for you! And we are here to help you with building your skills!! In this session, we will discuss the basics of using a podcast as a tool for training leadership skills and competencies. We will talk about the strategy we used to identify the competencies we are sharing in the podcast. We will talk, briefly, about setting up a podcast of your own if you want to do some training for your patrons, or staff, or other population. You will leave this session with ideas on leadership development and on learning by podcasting. Together we will enjoy discussing leadership!