Category Archives: Podcast

Podcast

Episode 109: Graphic Novels

Welcome, everyone, to Books and Beverages! This week we are discussing Graphic Novels!

Check our full information page for more information!

We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, and we support all types of libraries. This is our book group podcast, where we discuss different genres of books each week, while we all sit in our comfy chairs and drink our beverages. And you are, of course, an important part of this book group. So if you do not already have a nice beverage please go get one, so you can join the experience.

This week our Guest Hosts are Kate Buechler and Dezra Rittmann, both from Great River Library System!

Graphic novels are one of the fastest growing categories in publishing and bookselling. Today’s graphic novels are far more sophisticated and varied in content than the comics that preceded them and enjoy a level of respect previously denied to this form of popular entertainment: they are the subject of reviews, book-length surveys, museum exhibits and academic study, as well as recipients of prestigious literary awards.

Graphic Novels can be an important part of both educational and leisure reading for students of all ages. Graphic novels are astoundingly popular with kids and young adults, and can be as simple or complex as any other literature.

 

Podcast, Services, Tech

Episode 212: Open Access

Open Access PLoSThis is Open Access week, and we are celebrating with a podcast! (Check out our full information page here!)

This is a topic with a lot of passion involved, and lots of big feelings on all sides of the discussion. Today we are just going to walk through some of the basics of how OA works and what it means; and talk with Susan Schleper, from Centra Care Health hospital library in St. Cloud, about one aspect of using it in a library setting in her institutional repository.

As so often happens on this podcast, we are just introducing you to a big topic – and we want you to get comfortable with the basics and then be able to move on to a larger look that may work for your organization and professional interests.

So, as always, we have a lot of material on the podcast page to help you keep building up your knowledge. And of course, we are always available to come to your library to help you, to talk with you, and to help you set up policies and procedures and training for yourself, your colleagues, and your organization!

Want to listen to an episode?

  1. You can download an app, subscribe to “Linking Our Libraries” and all episodes will appear on your phone – it’s so easy!
    • Apps we like include Pocket Casts, iTunes, and Stitcher.
    • Download any of these, search for “Linking Our Libraries” and hit Subscribe.
    • If it is not readily available, just enter this RSS feed: http://libraries.blubrry.com/feed/podcast/.
  2. Or, you can stream an episode right now on your computer by going to our streaming page, by clicking here.

Whatever tool you use, we hope you enjoy it! Thanks for listening, and sharing ideas on libraries!

Books, Podcast

Books and Beverages Podcast Episode 101: Romance

Angie, Ariel, and Annie on location at St Cloud Public Library

Welcome everyone, to
Books and Beverages Podcast from CMLE!

This is our book group podcast, where we discuss different genres of books each week, while we sit in our comfy chairs and sip our beverages. And you are, of course, an important part of this book group. You might want to find a comfy place to sit, to sip your beverage along with us, and just enjoy being part of our discussion.

Attention: you could win a FREE  romance audiobook!!  Leave a comment on our website! As a special thank you to our listeners, we have two free digital audiobook downloads for randomly selected commenters! We have copies of Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn from HarperAudio (we discuss this series!), and The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles #1) by Laurie Forest from Harlequin Audio.  Tell us about a favorite romance book, give us some ideas on new romance book suggestions, or other romance-reading ideas and you will be eligible to win!

This is a very inclusive book group. There are no “right” or “wrong” books to read and chat about for our book group. We want to talk about books – and we want you to share your books. At the end of our time together, everyone should have at least a couple of new things for your To Be Read (TBR) pile!

We love books, so it seems entirely appropriate to start off our book group with Romance books! Romance is an extremely popular genre – and probably much broader than you would generally imagine. There can be romance elements to books in almost any type of book. In this episode we have fun chatting about a a broad range of books we have enjoyed. Thanks to Ariel and Annie for joining Mary and Angie this week! Books are always more fun when you can chat about them with friends.

For more information about Romance books, and lots of suggestions for books you might enjoy or books you might recommend to others, see our full webpage for this episode. All drinks referenced will also be provided on this page, with links to them, photos, and recipes for you to try them for yourselves.

Young Romance Issue 1
romance stories occur across all genres and formats!
CMLE, Communication, Podcast, Training

Linking Our Libraries Episode 205: Staff Development

Personal Training at a Gym - Cable Crossover

This week we are talking about Staff Development, and we have a Guest Host: Elizabeth Proell, from St. Cloud Public Library.

You know that to do any job in a library means you have to keep building and honing your skills. Everything we do changes, develops, and evolves – and this will never stop.  If there ever was a time in libraries where we could just coast along on skills we learned twenty years ago, those days are long gone! Technology, automation, and streamlining of all organizations and workers means that we are constantly looking for better, faster, cheaper ways to do all the work we do every day. And what that really means for all of us is that we have to not only keep up with things happening around us – but we need to be out there ahead of our patrons so we are ready to help them build their skills! It’s not just embarrassing to not be able to answer a question on email or web design or VR technology – it is bad practice.

We know it is a challenge!! Your budget is stretched to the max already, your time is also filled as full as you can get it. So we are here to help you! CMLE’s website is filled with information and links to all kinds of great places to go to help you build your skills.

  • We maintain a Continuing Education calendar.
  • We share all kinds of places to take classes, either for free or at a reduced cost – and we offer up to $300 in scholarship money to offset the cost of any training you can identify!
  • We are building webinars and in-person training sessions for you, to work though any time.
  • We are also available to come to your library (or archive, or history center, or other organization) and talk with you about some training ideas, or to do some training based on your individual library’s needs.
  • We have material on our site for this episode; and we also have material all kinds of useful library-related skills, available in our Skills Toolbox section of our site.

 

Want to listen to an episode?

  • You can download an app, subscribe to “Linking Our Libraries” and all episodes will appear on your phone – it’s so easy!
    • Apps we like include Pocket Casts, iTunes, and Stitcher.
    • Download any of these, search for “Linking Our Libraries” and hit Subscribe.
    • If it is not readily available, just enter this RSS feed: http://libraries.blubrry.com/feed/podcast/.
  • Or, you can stream an episode right now on your computer by going to our streaming page, by clicking here.

Whatever tool you use, we hope you enjoy it! Thanks for listening, and sharing ideas on libraries!

Want to talk with us about this topic? Do you, your staff, or your organization need training in this topic? Want to write a policy, or develop a program?  We are here for you!
Click here to get started!
Podcast

Linking Our Libraries Episode 204: Library Friends and Volunteers

This week we are talking about people who like libraries allllmooost as much as we do! Does your library have a Friends group? A PTA? A volunteer group? Something else? Any of these can be just great for you, and can really help to make your library life easier.

There are subtle shades of differences in these groups. Generally, a PTA group is focused on helping the school as a whole, but can be working on the library as an occasional or regular part of the work they already do. Volunteers are nice people who come do tasks for us, so library staff can be utilized in helping patrons more directly, or in carrying out tasks that only staff can do. Friends are usually an organized group working in conjunction with the library – ideally not being told what to do, or setting too many Byzantine rules on the library either. In all these relationships, patience and proceeding from a starting place of good intentions given and assumed will help make them work out!

It is so nice to have people around who want to help, so as library people we should make sure we use them effectively so they have a good experience. You can find all kinds of information about developing a Friends group in your library, no matter how big or small you are; and you can find some good training information to be sure your Friends feel confident in their roles.

Contents on our full information page:

  • Intro
  • Background
  • Friends
  • Volunteers
  • Guest Host
  • Books We are Reading
  • Conclusion
  • Additional Resources
Want to listen to an episode?
  • You can download an app, subscribe to “Linking Our Libraries” and all episodes will appear on your phone – it’s so easy!
    • Apps we like include Pocket Casts, iTunes, and Stitcher.
    • Download any of these, search for “Linking Our Libraries” and hit Subscribe.
    • If it is not readily available, just enter this RSS feed: http://libraries.blubrry.com/feed/podcast/.
  • Or, you can stream an episode right now on your computer by going to our streaming page, by clicking here.

Whatever tool you use, we hope you enjoy it! Thanks for listening, and sharing ideas on libraries!

Want to talk with us about this topic? Do you, your staff, or your organization need training in this topic? Want to write a policy, or develop a program? We are here for you!
Click here to get started!