Category Archives: Resources

Materials, Resources

Day Sixty Eight of the CMLE Summer Fun Library Tour!

Digitization of old materials, fragile things that we could never touch or see in person, gives all of us access to so many wonderful things! And now Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, filled with his amazing thoughts and ideas, are available from the British Library!

Click here to get all the good stuff!

“Contents:Notebook of Leonardo da Vinci (‘The Codex Arundel’). A collection of papers written in Italian by Leonardo da Vinci (b. 1452, d. 1519), in his characteristic left-handed mirror-writing (reading from right to left), including diagrams, drawings and brief texts, covering a broad range of topics in science and art, as well as personal notes. The core of the notebook is a collection of materials that Leonardo describes as ‘a collection without order, drawn from many papers, which I have copied here, hoping to arrange them later each in its place according to the subjects of which they treat’ (f. 1r), a collection he began in the house of Piero di Braccio Martelli in Florence, in 1508. To this notebook has subsequently been added a number of other loose papers containing writing and diagrams produced by Leonardo throughout his career. Decoration: Numerous diagrams. “

Resources

Arlington Heights library patron returns album 40 years late

Vinyl record LP 10inch
We all know that patrons sometimes return materials late. Sometimes they just forget things, sometimes they lose items, and sometimes they are so in love with our stuff that they just can’t bring themselves to return it.

Things happen.

So we can all rejoice when a library gets a long-lost item returned; and in this library they handed the situation very well!

(By Eileen O. Daday, you can read the whole article here)

“Nearly 40 years have passed since a vinyl record album by experimental musician Harry Partch was “borrowed” from the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. On Thursday, it returned and library officials accepted it with no questions asked.

“We understand things happen,” said Executive Director Jason Kuhl. “We try to be welcoming and want people to know there’s not some thousand-dollar fine waiting for them.

“We look at returns on a case-by-case basis,” he added. “If patrons have something like this, we encourage them to bring it back. We’re always willing to work with customers.”

In this case, the patron was Arlington Heights native Bill Paige, who said he wanted to come clean and return the collectible to its rightful place.

“It’s an artifact and in mint condition. I wanted to clear the slate,” said Paige, a lifelong music buff, who worked as a writer in the entertainment industry before serving as communications director of Oakton Community College in Des Plaines. He retired in 2010 to Austin, Texas. Continue reading Arlington Heights library patron returns album 40 years late →

Books, Programs, Resources

ALA Recap: Libraries are Not Neutral Spaces

School Library Journal Logo

from School Library Journal, by

“This past Sunday I had the honor of presenting with a panel of fabulous librarians about how libraries are NOT neutral spaces. Like most librarians, I spent a major part of my career proclaiming that we were. But over time, I have come to realize that we are, in fact, not. For example, if during the month of December you put up a Christmas tree or a Christmas display but don’t acknowledge that any other holidays exist, you are making a non-neutral statement and highlighting certain faiths and traditions over others. Did you choose to avoid putting up a Black Lives Matter display? That was not a neutral decision. This month is Pride, did you put up a Pride display? Whether you answer yes or no to this question, your answer is not a neutral decision. Every decision to do or not do something in our libraries is not a neutral decision, and it often reflects our own personal, cultural or institutional biases.

It has been a process for me to learn how to examine and break down my personal biases in considering everything I do in my library, from putting up a display to deciding when, where, and how to program. The work of being inclusive and advocating for my teen patrons – ALL of my teen patrons – is ongoing and never done. It takes some intentionality on my part and I am working on training my staff to have that same type of intentionality.

In fact, for me, displays and collections are a big part of how I try and be intentional and inclusive. I didn’t have a term for it until this weekend thanks to someone on Twitter, but I regularly perform diversity audits of my YA collection. I will sit down monthly with some type of topic or focus in mind and go through my collection to make sure I have a well represented number of titles and authors that represent that topic. For example, with Pride approaching, I spent the month of April going through every single letter in GLBTQAI+ to make sure that I had a good representation of titles for each letter in my collection. And when doing so I go through and make sure that they include as many POC, LatinX, Native American, Asian and more authors as possible. I don’t want to just be diverse in having GLBTQAI+ titles, I want to make sure that those titles are as diverse and representative as possible. Continue reading ALA Recap: Libraries are Not Neutral Spaces →

Advocacy, Programs, Resources

Library Advocacy Efforts Gain Steam

Advocacy Logo
At CMLE we are all about advocacy of all types for libraries!! Keep talking to people about the work you do, and the value you bring to your community! People will be pleased and impressed by it all. Check out our advocacy resources, and you can always check in with us to talk about advocacy ideas!

(From Publisher’s Weekly, by Shannon Maughan)

A look at some ongoing federal, state, and local campaigns

The past decade has seen a distinct expansion of library advocacy across the country, largely in response to budget cuts. As a result, librarians at all levels have been organizing and raising their voices to demonstrate the value of their positions and their libraries in the community. In light of continued tightening of funding, including steep cuts proposed by a new president, the battle cry of librarians has become even louder. We checked in on a few of the most recent efforts.

Appropriations Push

May was a particularly busy month on the library advocacy front. To kick things off, on May 1–2 a record number of librarians—more than 500—took part in the American Library Association’s National Library Legislative Day (and double that number participated online). During their time in D.C., librarians discussed issues and legislation affecting them with ALA’s Washington Office and met with representatives on Capitol Hill. Copyright, net neutrality, and privacy were among other topics on the table. An early bright spot of the event was the May 1 announcement of the federal budget for fiscal year 2017 (ending September 30), which increased federal library funding by $1 million.

But the bigger budget debate at the event was President Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2018 budget, announced March 16, in which he called for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the grant-making agency that serves as the primary source for federal funding to libraries. Ahead of the 2018 budget, the ALA had already drafted its annual “Dear Appropriator” letters urging Congress for full funding of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) at $186.6 million and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) at $27 million. In light of the newly proposed threat to funding, advocacy efforts shifted into a higher gear. Continue reading Library Advocacy Efforts Gain Steam →

Academic, Instruction, Resources, Services, Special

Librarians providing innovative resources for faculty, students

Public Library- the work of Leyton Public Library Service, Church Lane, Leytonstone, London, England, UK, September 1944 D22116
(From University of Chicago news,  By Andrew Bauld)

On-site research, teaching services benefit doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs

“For faculty, residents and medical students making their rounds at UChicago Medicine’s Center for Care and Discovery, the key is focusing on patient care. Although it may surprise some in the age of Google, one of the medical team’s new initiatives involves bringing a long-established source of knowledge on rounds: the librarian.

UChicago librarians are providing customized and innovative on-site research and teaching services at a variety of locations across campus, including the classroom, legal clinics and business incubators. They offer expertise in locating up-to-date, peer-reviewed and highly specialized information using a wide range of digital resources—all outside the library walls.

Debra Werner, a biomedical reference librarian, joins an internal medicine team at the Center for Care and Discovery once a week to help answer the array of clinical questions that arise where doctors see patients—from the efficacy of a new type of medication to the trajectory of a particular form of therapy. Continue reading Librarians providing innovative resources for faculty, students →