CMLE Updates: State & Regional News
– eBooks Minnesota has gone public! More
– Cambridge community-wide read More
– Spring ITEM Conference: Call for proposals and registration More
Upcoming Events and Registration Information
– Check out statewide library professional development events More
– A national calendar of online learning for library staff More
Resources You Can Use
– AASL Recommended App: Adobe Voice More
– The FART test and website evaluation More
– Do you need a bed bug guide for your library? More
Tech Bits and Ideas
– Google search tips to use with students (and use yourself) More
Food For Thought
– Amazon launches OER platform for K-12 More
– Open Education Resource (OER) Primer More
Just for Fun
– Irish jokes for St. Paddy’s Day! More
Google has become synonymous with searching the web, but what if you could do it smarter and faster? Jayne Miller of Chalkup to the rescue with her list of Google search tips! From classics like “site:” to librarian classics like “OR”, there are tons of tips. The long list is worth a look as there are even some more obscure tips and Miller does an excellent job of including images when appropriate. For book lovers, check out how to get a list of books from your favorite author:
Website evaluation can be a new concept for elementary and early middle school students. As they move into eighth grade, the CRAAP Test (pdf) works well for them. Younger students, however, need something simpler. According to Amy Gillespie, “Almost all of my students arrive at my school with one simple rule for choosing online sources: Don’t use Wikipedia. But beyond that, they tend to assume that if it’s online, it must be true. So in the middle school information skills class, we now teach the FART Test.”
The FART Test Evaluation tool for websites:
Friendly Authority Repeated Timely
For specific details on the FART Test evaluation, click here.
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/mhroxam, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Are you worried about bed bugs infesting your library? What would you do? Here is a wonderful resource specifically written for public libraries but can also be useful for all types of libraries.
The book’s expert author, Sarah Kittrell, is the Collection Development Division Manager of the Wichita,Kansas Public Library. She has served as her library’s pest management coordinator since 2012. Her expertly written guide is meant to “help you and your library develop the plans and tools that are necessary to ensure introductions are caught and dealt with as quickly as possible”
This book will help you:
Recognize the signs of bed bugs
Create an action plan
Develop policies to work with customers who have bed bug issues
much more
Some chapters include:
Working with Customers Suspected of Returning Items with Bed Bugs
Talking with the Media and Public About Bed Bugs
The Fall and Rise of the Modern Bed Bug Problem
Click here for more information on the Bed Bug Guide and to digitally download it.
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/h68gcm4, licensed under Public Domain
Need some new jokes for St. Paddy’s Day? Check out all the fun on St-Patricks-Day.com. Here is one to get you started:
A Spanish singer chatting on television used the word ‘manana’. When asked what that meant, he said it means “maybe the job will be done to-morrow, maybe the next day, maybe the day after that, next week, next month or next year. Who cares?” An Irishman in the conversation, Shay Brennan, was then asked if there’s an Irish equivalent. “No. In Ireland we don’t have a word to describe that level of urgency”
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/glrjb4j, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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