Wow, take a short break and view what some very brave librarians have had inked on their bodies as part of the Brand Yourself a Librarian project. Certainly not part of the job description, but a true show of passion!
Category Archives: General
Welcome & Service Changes: From the Director
First off, welcome back to a new academic year! Our K-12 and college libraries are gearing up just as the public libraries breathe a sigh of relief after their summer reading programs come to an end. We have lots of exciting news at CMLE, so hang in there for a few minutes, and let me know if you have concerns or questions! Hopefully, during our eight month strategic planning process, we did our homework, and our plans for the future will meet your needs. If not, please know that I welcome any and all of your suggestions!
Our mission: CMLE is a Central Minnesota library hub, a clearinghouse of talent, materials, and expertise for all types of libraries.
Our new strategic focus areas for the next three years include:
- Refined focus on K-12 media center needs
- Convening and bridging libraries around issues
- Stretching dollars: Cost avoidance and cost savings
For more detail on our Strategic Framework and our Strategic Workplan, go here
New Communication Streams: Our staff strives to get you important library/school media information, yet keep your life uncluttered. With our new communication strategy we hope to reach you wherever you are:
- Each Thursday, you will receive a CMLE Weekly Review message recapping our blog posts of the week. Just click on the links of what interests you; it is as easy as that! So, going forward, you will receive fewer emails from CMLE, but will lose no content from us.
- Twitter: Find us, follow us, and we’ll follow you back! Our Twitter handle is CMLEMN
- Facebook: Find us by searching for “Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange”. Please “Like Us” right away so you never have to do this search again!
Service Changes….
Interlibrary Loan (ILL): After conducting a 10-year trend analysis which showed consistent drop in ILL requests, and a cost-benefit analysis of what it costs us to provide this service, our governing Board is in agreement that we sunset our physical ILL service. However, we do not want to end our tradition of resource sharing in Central MN and will evolve resource sharing into more digital resources. We will spend this academic year helping users of the ILL service to find alternative methods for getting the resources they need before our end date of June 30, 2013. We will also be unveiling new resource sharing strategies soon, so stay tuned!
Annual Meeting: After careful debate and thought, the Board agreed that we can serve more of you better if we convene some smaller, targeted gatherings around the region rather than one big event. Please watch for more detail about possibilities, and if there is a conversation you would like us to convene, please let us know. Example: Would you enjoy a conversation about information literacy with academic, K-12, public, and special librarians to hear what works best in their settings? Information literacy and e-books are already on our wish list of possibilities, what is on yours?
As we work through this exciting but difficult transitional year, know that we are seeking ways to further assess and serve your needs, and engage you. We hope that some of our new ideas including our new communication streams provide new opportunity and energy in your world.
Patricia Post, Director of CMLE
Free Website & App – Tracking the Change in Seasons
Have you heard complaints from your students about the change in the weather and the decrease in daylight hours? Use this conversation to your advantage on show off a few great resources that help users to track and understand the change in seasons… Check it out!
Journey North is a free Internet-based program that engages students in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. K–12 students in North American can track the coming of fall and spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes, gray whales, bald eagles, and other birds and mammals. They also observe the budding of plants, changing sunlight and other natural events. Find migration maps, pictures, standards-based lesson plans, activities and information to help students make local observations and fit them into a global context.
Click Here to Visit Website
Plus: Students can take Journey North outside with the new citizen science app for their mobile device. They can report their sightings from the field, and they can view maps, take pictures and leave comments. The free app is available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. An Android version of the app will soon be available.
Click Here to Access Free App
Minnesota Library Futures Initiative Update and Announcement
The message below is from the Minnesota Library Futures Initiative…
What will your library look like in 2025?
Looking to the future, the challenges facing libraries may seem daunting, but libraries have always evolved to meet the needs of their communities.
The Minnesota Library Futures Initiative was developed to spark conversation about the future of libraries in Minnesota. The MNLFI Steering Committee selected 24 participants from all types of libraries through an open application process. MNLFI Futurists gathered to research and discuss factors likely to impact the future of libraries and possible ways libraries might respond to those opportunities and challenges. What we discovered is that being engaged in the conversation about the future is more empowering and energizing than reading about it and everyone has something to contribute.
The Minnesota Library Futurists would like to help your library or organization facilitate a conversation about the future of library services. We invite you to consider planning an MNLFI Workshop for your library or organization.
What is an MNLFI Workshop?
Gather your staff, organization or community for a workshop led by representatives from the Minnesota Library Futures Initiative. MNLFI members trained in Technology of Participation (ToP) methods will facilitate a conversation at your location based around your intended outcomes. We will help you to develop a workshop which will ensure your entire staff will be engaged in discussing the future and empowered to meet its possibilities and challenges.
Want to lead your own discussion?
The MNLFI Toolkit is a set of resources intended to support local conversations and personal exploration about the future of libraries without facilitation from the MNLFI group. The Toolkit includes demographic information, suggested readings on the future of libraries and MNLFI 2025 Scenarios which describe potential aspects of the library environment of 2025.
Visit our Website
On the new MNLFI website you’ll find more information on MNLFI, our workshops and the MNLFI Toolkit. You can keep up to date with our latest events or fill out a request form if you’d like to schedule an MNLFI workshop for your library or organization.
Join the Conversation
As we facilitate workshops throughout the state, we’ll post outcomes on the Shared Visions page where you can discover and discuss ideas developed by our workshop participants. We invite you to add your own vision of the library in 2025 to the conversation.
We Look Toward the Future
The MNLFI Futurists were given the charge to “envision the library of 2025”. We have been inspired and empowered through our own conversations about the future of libraries and we look forward to sharing that enthusiasm with your library as we envision the future of Minnesota libraries together.
We’ve Learned…
We’ve Learned… is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in CMLE libraries/media centers. Please keep us informed of any “happenings” regarding staff members in your area so that we can include them in the next write-up! Happenings can include: changes in staffing, awards, honors… you get the idea!
- Mic Golden, Collection Development Coordinator at Great River Regional Library is currently on phased retirement.
- Jake Grussing has been hired as the new Collection Development Coordinator at Great River Regional Library.
- Morgan Hewitt, former Media Specialist at North Elementary in Princeton is now working at two media centers in Anoka.
- Terri Kerwin will be serving both the Princeton Middle School and the North Elementary media centers in the Princeton School District this year.
- Jeanne Skaj, Medical Librarian from the St. Cloud VA Health Care System – Medical Library retired from her position this summer after 36 years of government service.
- Dana Woods, former Media Specialist at Maple Lake High School is now working at the Middle School and High School media centers in Cass Lake-Bena.
- Ruth Zietlow, former Interim Dean of Learning Resources Services and Associate Dean for Library Services at St. Cloud State University, is now working at Metropolitan State University as an Associate Professor and Librarian.
- Keith Ewing is now the Interim Dean of Learning Resources Services at St. Cloud State University.