Category Archives: Public

General, Public, School Media Specialist

Minnesotan winner of Newbery Award!

This week it was announced that Minnesota author Kelly Barnhill won the Newbery Medal for her book The Girl Who Drank The Moon.

This article from the St. Cloud Times describes the plot of the book, in which a village fears a witch that lives in the nearby woods and to keep her happy (so they think) they bring a newborn baby to her forest each year. But the witch is actually good, and brings the babies to be with families on the other side of the woods.

In the article, Barnhill shares how the book can easily translate to real life situations for her young readers: “This notion of rumor spreading and of getting the wrong idea about a person,” she said, “that’s like real stuff for these kids, that’s what their life is like right now.” Barnhill is a teacher in Minneapolis for a nonprofit arts organization, and really enjoys interacting with the kids that read her books, and hearing how they interpret the story.

Fox Animation has acquired the rights to The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Barnhill looks forward to the interpretation into film.

You can read about another of Barnhill’s books, The Witch’s Boy, in this article from MPR, and keep an eye out for her next novel, The Sugar House, which should be released next year.

 

 

 

 

Academic, Communication, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Services, Special

Register now! SAMMIE’s Webinar for Librarians

Looking for a great Continuing Education opportunity? Another of Minnesota’s multitypes is hosting a webinar specifically for librarians!

The Southwest Area Multicounty Multitype Interlibrary Exchange (SAMMIE) is hosting an online conference on Friday, February 3rd beginning at 9am. The topics that will be covered include Event Planning at 9am, Grant Writing at 11am, Emotional Intelligence at 1pm, and Space Planning at 3pm. SAMMIE has gathered several different experts to present on the subjects.

Get more information and register here! Take advantage of this great Continuing Ed opportunity from a different multitype system! And if you are looking for more Continuing Education opportunities, make sure to check out our calendar.

General, Public, Resources

Library Outreach Example: Itty Bitty Art

This program was just too cute not to share with CMLE members! As you know, I am a huge fan of library outreach work; and that includes reaching into all areas of the communities we serve.  Partnerships make that outreach even stronger. And this program is not only adorable, but a great example of partnerships outside the library!

Dr. James Thomas was invited by the Amon Cartner Museum (Ft. Worth, Texas) to do his program on language play for infants in their gallery. It was such a hit last year, they scheduled four events this year!

“Infancy is the time to begin with an awareness of language and books. During this program you will learn songs, how to share books, sign language, and ways to exercise with your little one to encourage language development. Each caregiver will receive a free CD of all songs and activities shared.” (more information on the program is after the break)

Do you have an idea for reaching out to a segment of your population? Would making some connections, and building up partnerships, help your library provide better service – or something really fun? Great!!

Let’s discuss your plans, and see what we can do to help out! CMLE Headquarters is here to support you and the work you do for your patrons; so let’s do some great things! Continue reading Library Outreach Example: Itty Bitty Art →

Academic, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Time for spring cleaning yet? Let’s weed!

Weeding the lettuce (798138529)

I follow a bunch of library-related listserves, and it’s a great way to keep up with the discussions happening all across the profession. Recently, there was an extended discussion from a newbie library person about weeding a collection in a small library.

This seemed like an issue that would apply to many of our libraries here in CMLE; so as we start to think about spring and cleaning (or “still stuck inside to escape the cold for a few more weeks” and cleaning), it seemed like a good time for us to also talk about weeding!

Continue reading Time for spring cleaning yet? Let’s weed! →

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! →