Category Archives: Special

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

Strategies to Simplify: A refresher!

work simply coverBy now, you’ve probably noticed that each week we’ve been sharing a tip from Carson Tate’s book Work Simply on how to streamline your life. Here at CMLE, we found Tate’s book incredibly valuable and thought it would resonate with many of you, too. We hope this has been the case, and that you have found these tips useful in your daily activities!

This post is simply to remind you of the source of that content: Carson Tate’s Work Simply. Before beginning the series, we reached out to her to request her permission to incorporate her content into our posts. We were so pleased when she was willing to do so! It was a great reminder that sometimes taking a chance does pay off.

Have any of the Strategies to Simplify tips we have shared worked particularly well for you? We’d love to hear about it! Leave us a comment or send us an email. We will continue to share tips beginning again next week.

If you missed any of the series so far, catch up now:

 

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

Self-Advocacy (Advocacy Series #4)

advocacy
You are valuable – advocate for yourself!!

In this series we have spent a lot of time focused on libraries and how we can advocate for our libraries and our profession. Of course this is important, and if you have not told someone today about a great thing your library does – get on that!

We also need to talk about advocating for ourselves! As library people, we need to advocate for our specific jobs, and we need to advocate for ourselves to move into other jobs, to be taken seriously, and to do the good things we want to do in the library. (You can also advocate for yourself outside of the library; but here we will focus on self-advocacy in the workplace.)

Where do we start? Think about your job now. Do you like it? This is a serious question. Too many people are stuck in jobs they don’t like, or jobs that don’t speak to their skills and professional interests. Sometimes there is nothing to do about that, and then you either decide to just grit your teeth and do it (develop some good outside hobbies!), or you start looking around for another job.

Let’s assume that we are somewhere different, that we are in a job that may not really connect with the things we know we can do professionally, or that we can not see with a strong potential for growth and promotion. It’s not bad enough to leave it, but things could be better.

This is where self-advocacy can really come in handy! Continue reading Self-Advocacy (Advocacy Series #4) →

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

Looking ahead: December's topic is Stress Management!

Winter Wonderland
Manage your end-of-year stress!

We know December is still several weeks away, but it is such a busy time of year, we wanted to let you know about this event so you can mark your calendars now!

We decided to make the Monthly Topic for December Stress Management. This is because the end of the year can be a stressful time in libraries. There is so much going on, and everyone else is busy and stressed so they are not helping to calm things down!

But this is not just a seasonal issue. Mary’s research into stress in libraries has shown there is a LOT of stress happening in libraries all over the place – probably including yours! Library people have been embarrassed to admit being stressed at work, even though we have plenty of stressors – but it has not been discussed often enough.

So in this seminar we will look at some common stressors in libraries, and identify some strategies for addressing them. And we will work through some skills for personal relaxation, to help us survive the end of the year chaos, then take our new skills of stress management into the new year!

We will offer this seminar twice in-person on Tuesday, December 6: from noon to 1:30, and again from 4:30 to 6:00. You are invited to attend either in-person session (they are identical). Feel free to bring your food! We will provide beverages. Web material will be available for members unable to attend.

Sign up on our Eventbrite! Looking forward to seeing you there! 🙂

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

Be a Librarian Advisor for ALA's Great Stories Club!

gsc-banner-3

Are you a public or school librarian with experience working with at-risk or homeless young people? The ALA Public Programs Office may have an opportunity for you to be an advisor for the Great Stories Club.

Great Stories Club started receiving grants in 2006 and is a “literary reading and discussion program for underserved and at-risk populations, particularly young adults.” As a librarian advisor, your role would be to “plan, develop, and deliver print, web-based, and in-person programming support and learning experiences for GSC grantees, and also participate in a collaborative planning process involving ALA staff, representatives from funding agencies, literature scholars, and creative artists.”

If you are at all interested in this opportunity, be aware that applications are due by 5pm CST on November 18th! Get information regarding desired qualifications and how to apply by clicking here.

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

State Library Services update

state-library-services

CMLE libraries – we are working to bring you information from libraries across the state and the country. Here is the latest newsletter from the State Library Services department, to get you caught up on some important issues happening across the state!

Bringing Early STEM to Libraries
The Science Museum of Minnesota is offering early STEM training to library and early education staff through a series of workshops across the state this October and November. Over 180 library and early childhood professionals have attended or are registered to attend the workshops. There is still room to register for the Nov. 10 workshop in Waseca.

To support library efforts after the training, the museum is developing early STEM activity plans, kits and prompts as well as educational messaging to help library staff and volunteers facilitate early STEM experiences for children and their caring adults. We look forward to sharing more information and new resources after the training sessions have wrapped up. Contact Jackie Blagsvedt (651-582-8805) with questions.

Evaluating Our LSTA Five-Year Plan 
We are working with the Management Analysis and Development (MAD) consulting group to assess our progress toward meeting the goals of the current LSTA Five-Year Plan. On November 1, we launched a survey to aggregate input from the library community that will inform the required evaluation of our 2013-2017 plan. Your input truly is helpful as we determine how well we have achieved the goals of the plan. You should have received an email from Karen Gaides with an invitation to complete the survey. If you did not receive an email invitation, please contact Karen Gaides (651-259-3822) to request the link. Continue reading State Library Services update →