Category Archives: General

General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist

Read 1,000 books before kindergarten!

Early literacy and love of reading is so important, and has lifelong benefits for young readers. In order to encourage this, libraries and parents can participate in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program! Reading 1,000 books sounds impressive, and it definitely is! But as their website explains, it’s completely achievable:

“Read a book (any book) to your newborn, infant, and/or toddler. The goal is to have read 1,000 books (yes you can repeat books) before your precious one starts kindergarten. Does it sound hard? Not really if you think about it. If you read just 1 book a night, you will have read about 365 books in a year. That is 730 books in two years and 1,095 books in three years. If you consider that most children start kindergarten at around 5 years of age, you have more time than you think (so get started).”

Continue reading Read 1,000 books before kindergarten! →

Communication, General

Let’s Advocate! Library Legislative Day!!

Do you like libraries?

Do you want to have well-funded libraries?

At CMLE Headquarters, we do too!!

We encourage you all to consider attending the Minnesota Library Legislative day. It will happen on Wednesday, February 22, with an optional ceremony and briefing session the night before that. Register in advance, so everyone can be excited to look forward to seeing you there! Continue reading Let’s Advocate! Library Legislative Day!! →

Communication, General, Resources

Ransomware hits St. Louis Public Library!

MalwareWe have probably all heard about ransomware attacks on organizations, but it’s hard to believe libraries could be a target of these coordinated attacks.

But those ideas are wrong; and this week the St Louis Public Library is serving as our latest warning.

“Hackers have infected every public computer in the St. Louis Public Library system, stopping all book borrowing and cutting off internet access to those who rely on it for computers.

The computer system was hit by ransomware, a particularly nasty type of computer virus that encrypts computer files.

 This form of attack renders computers unusable — unless victims are willing to pay an extortion fee and obtain a key to unlock the machines.

According to the library, hackers demanded $35,000 in the electronic currency Bitcoin — but the library refuses to pay. Instead, it’ll wipe the entire computer system and reset it, which could take days or weeks. Continue reading Ransomware hits St. Louis Public Library! →

General, School Media Specialist

AASL Recommended App: Books: The Voyages of Aladdin and Sinbad

voyages of Aladdin and SinbadIn June 2016, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their 25 Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. The apps encourage qualities such as innovation and active participation, and are user-friendly.

This interactive app allows readers to choose their own adventure by using non-linear storytelling. Readers search for a magic lamp while moving around a map of the stories of Aladdin and Sinbad. The app features detailed collage illustrations, sound effects, and music. This app is recommended for ELL students or as part of a unit on traditional literature.

This post from Capstone includes a few short reviews, while this article from Teachers with Apps goes into more detail about the app and lists several of its features.

Cost: $3.99
Level: Upper Elementary and Middle School
Platforms: iOS

Get a feel for the story by watching this video:

Communication, General

Updates from State Library Services

TO: Minnesota Libraries
FROM: State Library Services
DATE: January 23, 2017
SUBJECT: Updates from State Library Services

Updates from State Library Services

Support Kindergarten Readiness Using Minnesota’s Newly Revised ECIPs
The complete revision of Minnesota’s Early Learning Standards: The Early Childhood Indicators of Progress (ECIPs)—including parent guides in English, Hmong, Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese and Russian—are now available on the MDE website. The ECIPs provide benchmarks for parents and care providers so they can know when a child is on track and identify if a child might need additional early learning supports. The language, literacy and communications ECIPs highlight how well the Every Child Ready to Read 2 curriculum supports early literacy learning. The ECIPs can also help you enhance your early learning programing and children’s play environments to support kindergarten readiness across all of the early learning domains, including approaches to learning, math, scientific thinking, the arts, social and emotional awareness, social systems and physical movements. Contact Jackie Blagsvedt (651-582-8805) for more information.

New E-Reader Users Need Your Help
If your patrons need help downloading ebooks to their brand-new e-readers, check out this handy resource featuring step-by-step access advice for major platforms and devices. The website is an ILEAD USA project designed by librarians in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. For more information, please contact Emily Kissane (651-582-8508).

Continue reading Updates from State Library Services →