Category Archives: Resources

General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist

Notable Date to Celebrate: Tell a Fairy Tale Day is Feb. 26th!

You probably already know that at CMLE, we offer a service called “Notable Dates for your Noggin” which feature special holidays and birthdays of authors, as well as publications of well-known books. In an effort to help you get more from this service, we’ve decided to select one “Notable Date” each month to feature. We will include a few fun programming and activity ideas too, all for you to use!

Celebrate Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

Feb. 26th is Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

You can celebrate by reading from the classic fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm, but why not get a little more creative? Continue reading Notable Date to Celebrate: Tell a Fairy Tale Day is Feb. 26th! →

Communication, Resources

Free coloring books for you and your patrons!

Manatee page from coloring book

Free coloring books! What could be more fun??

You already know that many libraries are offering coloring programs, and sales of coloring books are skyrocketing. This can be a great way to relieve stress and to just enjoy some creative time working with colors and coloring. For those of us who lack artistic skill in drawing, it can be fun to color in some of the really interesting forms available! (Yes: I’m a coloring fan!!)

If you have priced out the coloring books, you know they can be pretty expensive. And if you want to have an educational or artistic experience for patrons, that would be even more expensive! Fortunately we have a huge list of all kinds of free coloring books, from all types of educational and artistic organizations!

You will find things to start a variety of different programs in your library. And if you find a few to color yourself on your lunch break – we support you in that!!

Resources

Get free images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art!

Librarians are big fans of Open Access materials! Our whole jobs are about sharing information with our communities – so we love to be able to do it freely!

Taking a massive step in making Open Access materials more useful to us, the Met has made most of their images available to be used by you, by your patrons, by anyone. You definitely want to browse through this material to see what kinds of images will help you in your work!

“Open Access Policy”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art creates, organizes, and disseminates a broad range of digital images and data that document the rich history of the Museum, its collection, exhibitions, events, people, and activities. Continue reading Get free images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art! →

Advocacy, General, Resources

Intellectual Freedom News from ALA

As part of our commitment to providing our members with news from around the profession, we are copying information for you from the latest ALA newsletter from the Office of Intellectual Freedom! Supporting the intellectual freedom of your patrons is an important aspect of being an library professional; so here is some news on how this topic is shaping up around the country!

At the end is information on how to subscribe for yourself, or to follow them on social media.

Continue reading Intellectual Freedom News from ALA →

Books, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist

Looking for historical fiction picture books?

Reading about fictional characters in a historical setting can be interesting and education for young readers. If you are looking for suggestions of fiction books in a historical setting, here are a few to try:

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
This book was inspired by actual plantation documents that detailed the monetary value of a slave. This book examines that topic while sharing values that cannot be sold, which are each slaves’ dreams and lived experiences.

Locomotive by Brian Floca
This book takes a look at the early days of America’s transcontinental railroad. The train’s journey comes alive with the sounds, sights, passengers, and workers that all witness the changing landscape of the country.

 

Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
This story is about a farm girl that has discovered a runaway slave hiding in her family’s barn. To help the slave, she must act with courage and compassion.

Do you have a favorite historical fiction picture book? Share with us in the comments, we’d love to check it out!