Category Archives: General

General, Public

A love story: food, cooking, and the public library

cookingDo you ever want to make a list of all of the ways that public libraries change lives? Have you ever considered putting “empowering people to eat healthier” on that list? After all, cooking a meal for yourself is beneficial on multiple levels: it brings emotional wellness, is gratifying, and gives you confidence!

This story caught my eye, and granted, it took place in a San Francisco library, but why not Minnesota?

It all started with the Edible Schoolyard, a 1-acre organic garden with an adjacent kitchen classroom at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley. There, students learned the basics of cooking, like peeling a carrot. Even college students often do not realize how food is grown, and even more people experience a disconnect between healthy food and how to cook it. And, the good news is, the public library has scads of books about cooking and gardening!

Is it possible that your public library has a staff member who was a past chef, or is pretty handy in the kitchen? Does your town or city have a Farmers Market, where the library could wheel in a sweet mobile kitchen called a Charlie Cart, built just for this purpose? Could the Charlie Cart be used in another area of the library…it has burners, an oven and utensils so you could show library patrons how to cook, offer them samples of what you prepared, and provide a list of cookbooks they could check out from the library too! I simply love this whole idea….

Read the full story here….

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/ (Monstruo Estudio), licensed under CC0 1.0
General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

National Week of Making

computer and notesGet ready to create! On June 17-23rd, the White House will celebrate the National Week of Making. Across the country, libraries, museums, schools, and other community spaces are encouraged to host events that promote new ideas and creations. The White House supports opportunities for students to learn through making, especially about STEM related topics. During the National Week of Making, the National Maker Faire also takes place at the University of District of Columbia on June 18th and 19th. The event will include federal agencies, departments, as well as makers from across the country.

Know someone who is empowering others to be makers and innovators? Nominate them to be selected as a Champion of Change!

You can also submit your new activities and suggestions to promote making in your community. Check out the Maker Map to find makerspaces in your area. You can contribute to the map and explore their maker resources.

Join the fun by using the hashtags #NationOfMakers and #WeekofMaking and connect with others!

Interested in makerspaces? Remember, CMLE has put together a wealth of information on the topic! Check it out here.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/(William Iven), licensed under CC0 1.0

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

How will you deal with end of the year burnout?

I have a plan. (187/365)Many of our academic librarians are already done for the academic year, public librarians are gearing up for summer reading programs, and our K-12 audience is usually coming to the finish line on fumes. Just in case you want to throw your hands up in the air and simply storm out of the worksite at year end, dig deep, and consider taking the time to reflect on the year. Seriously…even if it felt like this year almost killed you! I find it enormously helpful to take a breath, get honest, and take stock about this time of year. Consider the following questions, and write down (and save) your answers if at all possible.

  1. What was hardest this year? Why?
  2. What brought you joy? How often did you feel joy?
  3. What do you know you could do better next year?
  4. What skills must you learn to feel fully up to speed doing your job?

You may be too tired to set goals, but wouldn’t it feel great to have a plan for next year? Wouldn’t it be nice to end next year without feeling completely exhausted, depleted, or sad? The folks at Edutopia recently wrote a Teacher Wellness post about dealing with burnout throughout the year. You will notice one of the strategies is writing it down! A quick read, and you could even save it to put with your notes from this taking stock exercise I described here! You will enter a new academic year confident that you have a plan!

Have a phenomenal summer, you all deserve it.

Patricia-

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/qc788l4, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

10 impressive book-themed cakes

slice of cakeLooking for something to keep you busy this summer? Here are 10 truly amazing book-related cakes for you to try at home! (wink…wink…but if you do, send us a picture!)

They are all pretty amazing, but my favorite (of course) is the incredibly detailed Harry Potter cake. The Very Hungry Caterpillar cupcake mosaic is pretty cool too.

 

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/(Alisa Anton), licensed under CC0 1.0

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE Board President's Message

Editor’s note: This is a message from CMLE Board President, Maria Burnham, (Media Specialist @ Sauk Rapids Rice High School) that was given during the Board meeting that took place on Tuesday, May 17th. The purpose of this letter is to provide encouragement and support during this time of transition.

Screen shot 2012-12-19 at 12.03.08 PMHello everyone! And happy spring!

First of all, I want to take a moment to congratulate and thank Patricia Post for all of her work as she transitions into retired life. She has worked tirelessly to keep our CMLE ship afloat these last 14 years, and she has served our librarian community well. She provides quality programming and blogs, as well as assisting the Executive Director Search Committee team with any questions we may have in trying to find the best candidate possible as her replacement. Patricia’s shoes are big ones to fill, but I have faith and confidence that whomever we find will continue to move our organization forward. Also, I’d like to thank Angie for joining the CMLE team. She has proven to be a good fit for CMLE, and I’ve been very impressed with her blog posts and her positive energy. And finally, I’d like to thank the members of the Executive Director Search Committee team for the extra time and talent they are donating in order to find the best candidate possible to take over the helm of CMLE. Karen, Seal, Char, Joanne and Patricia (as ex-officio), THANK YOU, for all you have done!

CMLE is an organization that makes a real difference in the lives of librarians. I have received nothing but support from CMLE in scholarships to attend conferences (including TeenLitCon, which was a wonderful opportunity for my students to meet YA authors). Also, recently I was able to attend the Supervor Nuts and Bolts workshop, a wonderful professional development opportunity in learning about the supervisory part of my job, an integral part of my daily duties but one in which I’ve received little-to-no training. These examples show how I felt support from CMLE. And my story is just one of many. CMLE’s work is important work and it can affect many.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/l6sc8te, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0