Category Archives: Special

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

End of session legislative updates

State CapitolThe following legislative updates were written by Elaine Keefe, library lobbyist for the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and Information Technology Educators of MN (ITEM). CMLE helps pay for lobbyist services in order to serve the best interests of academic, K-12, public, and special libraries in Central MN. (Latest information is at the top of this post)

Received Monday, May 23, 2016 at 3:30 p.m.

The 2016 legislative session has ended with very mixed results.  Last night the Legislature passed the omnibus tax bill and the omnibus supplemental budget bill.  However, as noted in my previous message, the Legislature failed to pass the bonding bill before the midnight deadline for passing bills.

Governor Dayton held a press conference a few minutes ago and indicated he has not yet decided whether to call a special session.  He said that he and legislative leaders need time to get some rest and assess the situation.

Bonding Bill:  The bonding conference committee reached agreement on a $1.135 billion bill on Sunday evening, just a few hours before the midnight deadline for passing bills.  The bill included $2 million for Library Construction Grants and $820,000 for the library at the Minnesota state Career and Technical College in Wadena. It did not include funding for the new East Central Regional Library headquarters/Cambridge Library, the Bagley Library or the Eastside Freedom Library.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 91-39.  It was amended in the Senate to raise the limit on how much the Metropolitan Council could contribute to a rail project (clearly aimed at the Southwest Light Rail Transit line) before passing by a vote of 53-12.  Because the bill had been amended on the Senate floor, it had to go back to the House for a final vote, but before that happened the House adjourned.  It was messy and chaotic and House and Senate leaders are blaming each other for the failure of the bonding bill to make it across the finish line.

Supplemental Budget Bill:  The budget bill spends a total of $182 million.  It includes $35 million for Border to Border Broadband Grants and  $500,000 for grants of up to $50,000 to K-12 schools for broadband Wi-Fi Hotspots.  It does not include an increase in total operating capital and does not provide any funding for after school programs.

Omnibus Tax Bill:  The tax bill increases aid to cities by $20 million per year and increases aid to counties by $10 million per year.

Legacy Bill:  The Legacy bill dealt mainly with appropriations for the Outdoor Heritage Fund, for which appropriations are made annually rather than for the biennium.  However, we were keeping an eye on one piece of language designed to reinforce the idea that Legacy funds are meant to supplement, not supplant, previous funding.  The original language in the House bill was rather awkward, as a couple of you pointed out to me.  The final version included in the bill is much more clear.  It states:

“Any state agency or organization requesting a direct appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund must inform the house of representatives and senate committees having jurisdiction over the arts and cultural heritage fund, at the time the request for funding is made, whether the request is supplanting or is a substitution for any previous funding that was not from a legacy fund and was used for the same purpose.”

Received Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 5:29 p.m.

End of Session Negotiations:  There is still no agreement between legislative leaders and Governor Dayton on targets for the supplemental budget, taxes and transportation.  It remains to be seen whether they will reach an agreement in time to get the bills passed before the end of the session.  Session must end by midnight on Monday, but the Legislature cannot pass bills on the day of adjournment.  This means that bills must be passed by midnight on Sunday night.

Bonding Bill:  Today the House bonding bill failed on the House floor.  A 3/5 supermajority is required to pass a bonding bill, which means 81 votes are required to pass the House.  The bill only received 69 votes.  All but two DFLers voted against the bill, while all but 5 Republicans voted for the bill.  DFLers complained that the bill was too small and that projects in DFL districts had been passed over in favor of projects in Republican districts.

However, a conference committee has been appointed for HF 748, a bill from last year that will be used as a vehicle for a bonding bill.  This is a highly unusual twist in the legislative process.

The Senate conferees are Senator LeRoy Stumpf (DFL – Plummer), Senator Katie Sieben (DFL – Cottage Grove), Senator Jeff Hayden (DFL – Minneapolis), Senator David Tomassoni (DFL – Chisholm) and Senator Carla Nelson (R – Rochester).

The House conferees are Rep. Paul Torkelson (R – Hanska), Rep. Tony Albright (R – Prior Lake), Rep. Chris Swedzinski (R – Ghent), Rep. Bob Vogel (R- Elko New Market) and Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL – St. Paul).

According to a press release issued by the Senate DFL Caucus this afternoon, the conference committee will consider portions of the House, Senate and Governor’s bonding proposals.  No meetings have been scheduled for the conference committee as of this writing.

Elaine Keefe
Capitol Hill Associates
525 Park Street, Suite 255
St. Paul, MN 55103
(cell) 612-590-1244
elaine@capitolhillassoc.com

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/oddkzbj, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Recap of Minitex ILL Conference

trendsThis year was the 25th anniversary of this annual conference, and a festive atmosphere was definitely in the air. Just when I thought I may need to fetch more caffeine, Lee Rainie took the stage for the opening keynote, which worked better than caffeine! He was brisk and energetic, yet thoughtful about the future of libraries. He admitted libraries (and much of society) is going through a disheartening, disruptive time, and that no one has the playbook yet . He also said we need leaders, that there are declining levels of trust in much of society. Not so much for librarians, who are regarded as friends in most networks, which makes me proud to be a librarian. Some key points I noted:

According to Rainie, there are six big puzzles for us to solve:

  1. What’s the future of personal enrichment, entertainment and knowledge?
  2. What are the future pathways to knowledge?
  3. What’s the future of public technology and community anchor institutions?
  4. What’s the future of learning spaces?
  5. What is the future of attention?
  6. Where do you fit in ALA’s Confronting the Future report? (30 pgs.) According to this report…”In order for libraries to be successful, they must make strategic choices in four distinct dimensions, each consisting of a continuum of choices that lies between two extremes. Collectively, the choices a library makes along each of the four dimensions create a vision that it believes will enable it to best serve its patrons” (see pg. 21 to see the four dimensions)

The program moved on to Katie Birch from OCLC as she dipped her toe into the past and the future of ILL. Interesting factoid: Year to date, When Breath Becomes Air is the most requested OCLC interlibrary loan title!

Participants were able to choose from three breakout session; I chose the Ignite sessions and was not disappointed! I learned lots.

Valerie Horton wrapped up the day with her thought provoking talk, Skating on the Bleeding Edge. She described innovation as the process of discovery. She also encouraged us to accept failure, that it is indeed the norm of experimentation. According to current business literature, employers are looking for people who can say, “I failed and I learned!” She concluded with a few additional facts: The next trend is “messy”, and we have to accept that we don’t know the right answers. Accept messy structures, partnering can be messy and frustrating. And, if you are burnt out and exhausted, you cannot reflect, think well, or innovate!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/lfpv7xn, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

National Week of Making

computer and notesGet ready to create! On June 17-23rd, the White House will celebrate the National Week of Making. Across the country, libraries, museums, schools, and other community spaces are encouraged to host events that promote new ideas and creations. The White House supports opportunities for students to learn through making, especially about STEM related topics. During the National Week of Making, the National Maker Faire also takes place at the University of District of Columbia on June 18th and 19th. The event will include federal agencies, departments, as well as makers from across the country.

Know someone who is empowering others to be makers and innovators? Nominate them to be selected as a Champion of Change!

You can also submit your new activities and suggestions to promote making in your community. Check out the Maker Map to find makerspaces in your area. You can contribute to the map and explore their maker resources.

Join the fun by using the hashtags #NationOfMakers and #WeekofMaking and connect with others!

Interested in makerspaces? Remember, CMLE has put together a wealth of information on the topic! Check it out here.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/(William Iven), licensed under CC0 1.0

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

How will you deal with end of the year burnout?

I have a plan. (187/365)Many of our academic librarians are already done for the academic year, public librarians are gearing up for summer reading programs, and our K-12 audience is usually coming to the finish line on fumes. Just in case you want to throw your hands up in the air and simply storm out of the worksite at year end, dig deep, and consider taking the time to reflect on the year. Seriously…even if it felt like this year almost killed you! I find it enormously helpful to take a breath, get honest, and take stock about this time of year. Consider the following questions, and write down (and save) your answers if at all possible.

  1. What was hardest this year? Why?
  2. What brought you joy? How often did you feel joy?
  3. What do you know you could do better next year?
  4. What skills must you learn to feel fully up to speed doing your job?

You may be too tired to set goals, but wouldn’t it feel great to have a plan for next year? Wouldn’t it be nice to end next year without feeling completely exhausted, depleted, or sad? The folks at Edutopia recently wrote a Teacher Wellness post about dealing with burnout throughout the year. You will notice one of the strategies is writing it down! A quick read, and you could even save it to put with your notes from this taking stock exercise I described here! You will enter a new academic year confident that you have a plan!

Have a phenomenal summer, you all deserve it.

Patricia-

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/qc788l4, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

10 impressive book-themed cakes

slice of cakeLooking for something to keep you busy this summer? Here are 10 truly amazing book-related cakes for you to try at home! (wink…wink…but if you do, send us a picture!)

They are all pretty amazing, but my favorite (of course) is the incredibly detailed Harry Potter cake. The Very Hungry Caterpillar cupcake mosaic is pretty cool too.

 

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/(Alisa Anton), licensed under CC0 1.0