No matter what kind of librarian you are, you probably accept the fact that you are a teacher. And as teachers we interact with individuals or groups who also interact with teachers in other settings. Therefore, it is important for us to keep track of what is changing in the broader educational world, as it has direct impact on many of our users. The recent SXSWedu Conference in Austin Texas highlighted the idea of educators becoming facilitators in personalized learning environments.
Read a short article for details about the bullets below, but in a nutshell, the key foci of the conference were:
• Teach students to find the answers.
• Ignite a spark.
• Put context before content.
• Let learning be iffy.
• Bring students in as curriculum designers.
St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is hosting the 34th Annual Children’s Literature Workshop (CLW) on June 17th & 18th. This year’s keynote speaker will be award winning writer Avi. Author of more than 60 books, Avi’s work includes picture books, adventure, fantasy and historical fiction. He will be joined at the event by Laura Purdie Salas, author of more than 100 kids and teen books, and Julie Riemer who will be discussing the best in new books. Participants will attend interactive small group sessions with MN author Debra Frasier, MN author Sheila O’Connor, Children’s Literature Network co-founder Vicki Palmquist, and Library Media Specialist Laurie Conzemius. Wrap up session will showcase MN author, singer, and songwriter Dennis Warner.
In addition, this workshop offers book discounts, CEUs and an optional credit (1) from SCSU. There are special rates for students and groups of 5 or more from the same organization-click here for additional information and to register.
Robbinsdale School of Engineering and Arts (SEA): A K-5 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics magnet school, has adopted a “bookstore” model for arranging their collection.
SEA is hosting a free library media center touron Wednesday, May 15th. Open house begins at 4:30, with a short presentation about how and why SEA made the transition beginning at 5:00 pm. Representatives from Mackin will also be available to answer questions about processing.
Do you need to do some end-of-the-year ordering of books (including e-books) and are you looking for discounts?
CMLE provides book discounts to libraries in Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Minnesota. This year we have eleven book companies participating in the discount program, and eight of them are discounting e-books! These discounts provide cost savings to 319 academic, school, public, and special libraries. The eleven participating book companies this year are listed below, the companies with e-book discounts are shown in blue! You can go to our website to review all of the savings at http://www.cmle.org/discounts.asp. Each discount has a promo code that you need to mention to receive the savings. In November, our member libraries should have received an email attachment of the discounts and their associated promo codes. Didn’t get the attachment? Send an email to cmle@stcloudstate.edu and use subject line, Discount Promo Codes Needed to receive the attachment.
Please let me know if you have any problems using these discounts, or if the list does not include a company you would like to suggest for inclusion next year. These discounts are a perk to you as part of your free membership as a CMLE member library. Send email to papost@stcloudstate.edu with your input. Thanks!