Category Archives: Public

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Connect, Converse, Engage!

We want to hear from you! And, we want to make it easier for you to engage with one another as well! We all have something to offer, and although many of our CMLE members come from different library types, we all really do have a lot in common! Let’s learn from each other. Let’s talk. Let’s get this 12-county region of library staff communicating, sharing, and learning from one another!

“How?” you ask?

Well, as you may have noticed, here at CMLE, we have been hard at work rethinking and retooling to better facilitate conversation and sharing across the region. We have a new Facebook page which we’ve connected with our Twitter account and blog, and we’re sending out the “CMLE Weekly Review” via email to all our members.

Our new Facebook page is located at http://www.facebook.com/CentralMinnesotaLibrariesExchange We hope you’ll “like” CMLE on the Facebook page itself — or, on the upper right side of this page, you’ll notice that you can click the “Like” button for the CMLE Facebook account. We will use the Facebook page to connect with those that have “liked” us in an informal yet useful way. We also hope that you will use the comment area on the CMLE Facebook page to talk with other library personnel!

The CMLE Twitter account handle is @CMLEMN! Here, you’ll see updates, reminders, useful links, etc… from CMLE on a regular basis. “Follow” us on Twitter and we’ll be sure to “follow” you right back! That’s the name of the game, and we know you’re sharing useful stuff on Twitter, too! Like Facebook, this is an informal space that we’re hoping to keep fresh, light, energizing, and most of all — helpful!

Additionally, don’t forget you can comment on our blog posts as well in the “Leave a Reply” box!

We know your time is valuable, and hope that these new social media options will make it easier for you to connect with CMLE and other libraries around the region. Please remember that Patricia and Kate are always interested in hearing directly from you, too! Send an email, give us a ring, talk with us face-to-face at an event or conference… whatever is comfortable for you! Hope to hear from you soon!

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist

Youth Should Read More Non-Fiction

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Read this blog post as a reminder of the value and charm of getting kids hooked on nonfiction as well as fiction. As more schools move into 1:1 computing and away from print textbooks, it is inevitable that the role of non-fiction becomes more important. Read the post from the SmartBlog on Education, then weigh in here in Leave a Reply  field below. Question: What percentage of your collection is nonfiction?

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

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:

  1. Refined focus on K-12 media center needs
  2. Convening and bridging libraries around issues
  3. 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

General, Public, School Media Specialist

Free Website & App – Tracking the Change in Seasons

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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