Category Archives: Resources

Academic, Check this out:, Guest Blogger, Resources, Special

Guest Blogger: Beyond the Numbers conference

guestblog
Enjoy a different perspective!


A Guest Blog from Simone Schloss. Simone is completing her final semester at Simmons SLIS and job hunting in NYC. She is currently interning at Tisch’s Lilly Music Library, Tufts University. @SimoneSchloss

What could be better than free data and a free conference all wrapped up into one exciting 2 ½-day package? From October 6-8, 2016, I made my way to the “Gateway City” for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ bi-annual “Beyond the Numbers” Economics and Data Conference for Information Professionals. I was richly rewarded by interesting presentations, engaging colleagues, and delicious meals and outings.

Intended to address the challenges of economic information, the conference brings together experts to share their experiences at the frontier of economic data and information, to discuss problems, challenges, and potential solutions, and to identify ways to improve access to and understanding of economic information. The objective is to provide librarians and other information professionals with the knowledge, competence, and enthusiasm to disseminate economic information expertise to their respective audiences.

The traditional role of librarians in selecting materials and subscription databases is evolving rapidly with the growth of open data. More time is now spent advising users on where to find it, how to organize it, and what to do with it. The conference was a crash course in Federal Reserve acronyms such as FRED (Economic Data), FRASER (Archival System for Economic Research), and CLINT (Categorically Linked Timeline). A university professor summarized the opportunities and pitfalls of data. An agency director described the collaboration between public and private entities in the development and application of Big Data.  Federal Reserve Board staff discussed best practices for replicable and accessible data, surprisingly uncharted territory.

Outside of panel hours, we helped ourselves to generous breakfast, lunch, and snack buffets. Complimentary evening get-togethers were sponsored by BRASS/RUSA and IASSIST. We were even invited on a private tour of the incredible Inside the Economy museum. I made dozens of valuable professional contacts from among the 120 attendees.

Librarians and library students with an interest in the social sciences: mark your calendars for fall 2018 and share in this free treat! Subscribe to the GOVDOC and BUSLIB ListServs so as not to miss a thing. It’s all about the data!

Interested in being a Guest Blogger for CMLE? Contact us at admin@cmle.org

Check this out:, General, Resources, Tech

Themed ambient sounds – can they help you work?

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hogwarts-express
Escape reality for awhile!

Have you ever tried working with ambient noise in the background? Did it help make you more effective, or did you find it distracting or stressful? Personally, I’ve never tried specifically ambient noise, although music definitely helps my productivity and mood. But an article from Book Riot “Immerse Yourself Into the Harry Potter World with Harry Potter Ambient Sounds” got my attention (for obvious reasons) and I decided to give it a try!

The article directs you to AmbientMixer.com which features a huge selection of free ambient sounds and even lets you create your own, or make adjustments to existing sounds. After sampling different options like “Storm on the Hogwarts Express” and “Autumn Forest” I ended up listening to “Hufflepuff Common Room” the longest. I liked the combination of birds chirping, the sound of a pen scratching, and the faint purr of a cat in the background.

For all you fellow nerds out there, it’s not just Harry Potter ambient sounds that are available – they have Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and Lord of the Rings!

This article from Brainscape talks more about the “ideal noise level” for being more productive (they relate it to studying, but it could be applied to other tasks too) and gives some suggestions on the type of noise that could be helpful based on the task you are performing. If you really want to get in-depth, check out this article from Scientific American, which suggests that background noise may actually have a negative impact on brain functioning, and impair learning and memory.

At CMLE, classical music tends to keep us focused and uplifted. Check out YourClassical.org which features special playlists for relaxation, inspiration, and more! Or, if you prefer white noise, check out the site Noisli for different sounds options.

What do you think? Do you like to work or learn in complete silence, with music, or with ambient sounds?

Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Services, Special, Training

What are we doing in November? Advocacy training!

advocacy

In November, our Monthly Topic will be Advocacy!!

This is such an important skill for everyone in your library to master. We all need to advocate for ourselves in the workplace, for our libraries, and for the profession. During November we will collect and share information on each of these aspects of advocacy, to help build your skills and your comfort level with it.

At the heart: Advocacy is fun!! We get to tell people how great our libraries are, all the wonderful things we provide to our communities, and how valuable we are!! It can be tempting to just assume people know about this – but we want to really be sure they understand, so we need to tell them. This is our chance to brag!

CMLE will offer an in-person training session at our Headquarters (570 First Street SE, St Cloud, MN 56304). This will happen Nov 15. Spaces are filling fast – so don’t delay!

  • First session: noon to 1:30:
  • Second session: 4:30 to 6:00
  • Webinar will be provided online for future viewing

You are invited to attend either in-person session (they are identical). Feel free to bring your food! We will provide beverages.

Sign up at our Eventbrite site here!

When you leave this session you will have some basic skills and ideas:

  • identification of your library’s elected representatives
  • a draft email to send to each of them
  • a set of talking points about your library’s value
  • an elevator speech to share your accomplishments
  • details on library service nationally, for easy sharing

Any questions? Send Mary an email.

Would you like a training session brought to your library? Send Mary an email on that too!

Check this out:, CMLE, General, Resources, Training

Planning for your successor (Hiring series #4)

hiring
Who do we hire next??

Have you ever started a job and had no idea what you were supposed to do? Have you tried to hire someone, and realized you have no good direction on where to start finding a qualified replacement?

Where are the pens kept? How do you file a report? Who does the scheduling? When everything is new and different, even the most basic things are a challenge. And when an employee is trying to get through the basics, s/he is not focusing in on getting to the important parts of the job.

Every job should have some level of succession planning in place. Employees may move, get promoted, or abruptly depart from their jobs for all kinds of reasons, either permanently or temporarily. Having some basic procedures to help the next person will make the transition easier on everyone. For most jobs in the library this can be fairly minimal. It is a good idea to have everyone make some notes about their work and the things they do each day, each week, or annually. (Sometimes this request stirs up fears in employees that they are going to be replaced. Managers: be quick to reassure them this is not the case!)  These will be useful if an employee has to be out of work for a couple of weeks, or if they win the lottery and depart without notice. (Who could blame them??) Continue reading Planning for your successor (Hiring series #4) →

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

Books in the Spotlight: October

LightbulbEach month CMLE will highlight three books that have some factor in common. We hope they will give you ideas for your collection, or influence an activity, lesson plan, or display. 

This month, we share three different books that focus on increasing simplicity and de-cluttering different areas of your life. These books can be used in your library to spread awareness about mental well-being or help people that may be struggling to put their life or possessions in order.

 

joy-of-lessThe Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay

This book is described on Goodreads as “a fun, lighthearted guide to minimalist living.” It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” in our lives, whether physical or mental, and this book hopes to guide you through the journey of simplifying. Although, be warned that one reviewer did mention excessive use of exclamation marks in the book, so prepare yourself for some upbeat positivity!

  • The author also has a blog, and where she posted this article about Clearing Our Inner Clutter.
  • Watch this cute, quick video with five tips from The Joy of Less:

declutter-your-mindDeclutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking by SJ Scott and Barrie Davenport

Worrying and overthinking are common problems, but they can have a lasting negative affect on your mental well-being. This book provides tips and specific actions to help clear your mind. By taking the steps outlined in the book, “you’ll have the clarity to prioritize what’s most important in your life, what no longer serves your goals, and how you want to live on a daily basis.”

  • If visual reminders are helpful to you, check out this image to work your way to a clear mind.
  • Get moving and relieve anxiety with this article on walking meditation.

life-changing-magic-of-tidying-upThe Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

This book about organization and simplifying your home has been popular for awhile now, possibly because of it’s promise to get your house in order once, and never need to do it again! The author encourages people to work through their belongings on a category by category basis, and to become aware of each object’s energy, discarding what does not “spark joy.” The book has many fans as well as critics, and if you’ve read the book, tell us your thoughts in our CMLE Librarian Professionals Goodreads book group, where we are currently discussing the book!

  • Having trouble visualizing some of the suggestions from the book? This article that illustrates how to follow the folding directions will help you!
  • Here is a post from the True North Comfort blog that features just the highlights of the KonMari Method.