Category Archives: Special

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

Register to Attend the 2013 Library Legislative Day

Mark Ranum, 2013 Legislative Chair, is now taking registrations for Library Legislative Day. Details below and the link for registration is at the bottom.

2013 MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Day

The 2013 MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Day is an opportunity for library advocates (you, your staff and board, your patrons, other library lovers) to gather at the Minnesota State Capitol to show support and raise awareness of issues for libraries.

Attendees should make appointments to meet as many of their Representatives and Senators as possible to remind them of the importance of libraries to the success of the communities in their district. The MLA/MEMO Platform and accompanying Talking Points will be available to help guide attendees in their advocacy.

More than anything, legislators need to see that their constituents value libraries and be reminded that they should, too.

2013 event features:

  • Price: Acknowledging the pinch on personal and organizational budgets these days, there is NO REGISTRATION FEE. The meeting includes a briefing the evening before. We hope that having no fee will encourage a large turnout—especially critical in this time when money is scarce.
  • Lunch: Lunch is on your own. There are several venues within easy reach of the Capitol building, including the Sweetwater Grille & Bar in the Kelly Inn and fast food restaurants. Many buildings in the Capitol complex have their own cafeterias. The Capitol cafeteria is in the basement and is closed when the Legislature is not in session. The Transportation and Centennial Building cafeterias are on the ground floor of each building. The Veterans Service Building cafeteria is on the fifth floor. Menus are available online. The Capitol also has a snack bar on the second floor (where the House and Senate chambers are located) during the session.
  • Location: This year, the meeting will again be at the Best Western Kelly Inn St. Paul Hotel (161 Saint Anthony Ave, St. Paul, MN 55103).
  • Lodging: Save time and stay overnight at the Best Western Kelly Inn St. Paul Hotel. There is a small block of rooms being held for our group. Please contact the Best Western Kelly Inn St. Paul Hotel at 651-227-8711. Reference the 2013 MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Day to get the best rate.
  • Parking: Parking at the Best Western Kelly Inn St. Paul is free and on a first come, first served basis.

There are many advocacy groups that legislators hear from. If libraries are not well represented, funding may go elsewhere. Please register now and join us.

Mark Ranum
2013 Legislative Chair

Event Details

START

5:00pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

END

4:00pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013

SCHEDULE

Tuesday, March 5, 2013 (St. Anthony Room)
5:00–5:30pm Registration
5:30–6:30pm Legislative Briefing (hors d’oeuvres will be served)

 Wednesday, March 6, 2013 (Sibly Room)

8:00am–1:00pm Registration
9:00–10:00am Legislative Briefing (repeat of Tuesday)
10:00am–4:00pm 2013 MLA/MEMO Library Legislative Day

LOCATION

Best Western Kelly Inn

161 Saint Anthony Ave

St. Paul, MN 55103

See map: Google Maps

PRICES

–       FREE for MEMO and MLA members

REGISTER BY

11:59pm on Friday, March 1, 2013

LINK: REGISTER HERE!

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

Educator Finds Twitter Rewarding!

In her blog Canadian teacher, Lisa Noble, lists three very different ways Twitter made a difference in her life.  1) Among her peers she was able to stay connected with the latest labor union news.  2) In her class the students are able to view real-time images and information feeds sent from astronaut Chris Hadfield’s during his amazing space expedition. 3) After hearing about a science project, through her Professional Learning Network (PLN), Lisa tweeted about the need to find a less expensive alternative for materials her family could use to create electrically powered inventions. You may be surprised at how “tweets” rewarded her. Click here to read more.

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Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE is Looking for Fundraising Stories

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dollarsCMLE staff are anxious to interview both school media specialists and librarians alike! We are looking for stories about how you have successfully raised funds to support your library or media center. For instance, we know that Mackin and Follett offer an online fundraising alternative to the usual book fair that many of you have been engaging in for quite some time now. Book fairs can serve tangible needs too like team building with your PTA/PTO, but the media center often gets little or none of the proceeds. With the online fundraising options, the media center often gets 100% of the raised dollars, and this option makes it very easy to solicit donations from any location. For instance, if Grandpa and Grandma are snowbirds when you are fundraising, they can still engage in the health and care of their grandchild’s school media center by making their donation online. In the case of Mackin, I also remember that their donation can even be reflected in the bookplate of the book! If you have a story to share (none too big or too small), either leave a comment below, or send email to cmle@stcloudstate.edu with Subject Line: Fundraising Story. Thank you in advance for sharing your story with your colleagues in Central Minnesota!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Easy Tips to Strengthen Your Online Privacy

lockIf you are like me, you carry around a bit of ongoing  guilt about getting more educated about your online privacy settings and then possibly making some needed changes. January is a great time to think about getting organized and such, so a recent blog post by Ellyssa Kroski (iLibrarian, Jan. 29) caught my eye. Not only was her email hijacked, but her Walmart account was also hacked using her stored credit card information. The great news is that Ellyssa did her research about privacy tips and shares here what she found helpful in making some needed changes. Read her hints and tips at http://tinyurl.com/9wwyukf