Category Archives: Special

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE Board President's Message

Editor’s note: This is a message from CMLE Board President, Maria Burnham, (Media Specialist @ Sauk Rapids Rice High School) that was given during the Board meeting that took place on Tuesday, May 17th. The purpose of this letter is to provide encouragement and support during this time of transition.

Screen shot 2012-12-19 at 12.03.08 PMHello everyone! And happy spring!

First of all, I want to take a moment to congratulate and thank Patricia Post for all of her work as she transitions into retired life. She has worked tirelessly to keep our CMLE ship afloat these last 14 years, and she has served our librarian community well. She provides quality programming and blogs, as well as assisting the Executive Director Search Committee team with any questions we may have in trying to find the best candidate possible as her replacement. Patricia’s shoes are big ones to fill, but I have faith and confidence that whomever we find will continue to move our organization forward. Also, I’d like to thank Angie for joining the CMLE team. She has proven to be a good fit for CMLE, and I’ve been very impressed with her blog posts and her positive energy. And finally, I’d like to thank the members of the Executive Director Search Committee team for the extra time and talent they are donating in order to find the best candidate possible to take over the helm of CMLE. Karen, Seal, Char, Joanne and Patricia (as ex-officio), THANK YOU, for all you have done!

CMLE is an organization that makes a real difference in the lives of librarians. I have received nothing but support from CMLE in scholarships to attend conferences (including TeenLitCon, which was a wonderful opportunity for my students to meet YA authors). Also, recently I was able to attend the Supervor Nuts and Bolts workshop, a wonderful professional development opportunity in learning about the supervisory part of my job, an integral part of my daily duties but one in which I’ve received little-to-no training. These examples show how I felt support from CMLE. And my story is just one of many. CMLE’s work is important work and it can affect many.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/l6sc8te, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Free gardening eBooks

FlowersWe are in the middle of that wonderful season in Minnesota that is springtime! Excited to get outside and begin your next garden or yard project? If you need a little extra help, consider checking out the eBooks MN collection for gardening books.(Not sure what I am talking about? Get caught up with our earlier CMLE posts on eBooks MN).

They have a variety of gardening books, for everyone from the beginner planning their first garden to the experienced gardener. They feature topics like miniature, container, and edible gardening.

This article recommends starting with the Beginner’s Illustrated Guide to Gardening: Techniques to Help You Get Started by Katie Elzer-Peters. The book features helpful color images as well as illustrated tools, tips, and tricks to help you in your next gardening venture!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/mcpp3y2, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE Weekly Review: 5/19/2016

This issue of the Weekly Review recaps our blog posts from May 13 – May 18, 2016.

CMLE Updates: State & Regional News
– Featured Book: May Day More
– Last edition: Where have all the media specialists gone? More
– Legislative Update: 5/15/16 More

Upcoming Events and Registration Information
– Looking for professional development? More

Tech Bits and Ideas
– Nine tricks for Google Calendar More
– Amazon and eBooks in NYC schools More

Resources You Can Use
– Books for teen writers and poets More
– Instagram and the ancient art of marbled paper More
– Helping preserve memories – public library creates memory lab More
– Need additional help stretching your budget? More
– AASL toolkit for preservice principals and teachers More

Food For Thought
– 2016 State of America’s Libraries Report More
– Misinformation spreads faster than Creeping Charlie More

Just For Fun
– Visit these 12 literary places! More

General, Public, Special

Instagram & marbled paper

nature patternMost book-lovers agree that print books have a certain beauty, and some even enjoy the smell of a book, library, or bookstore. But have you ever heard of marbled book art?

The American Antiquarian Society has been sharing the beauty of this ancient art form over their Instagram feed, and their feature #MarbledMonday has become very popular. This art form used on historical book bindings is undeniably beautifully artistic – the papers, edges, and cloths of these books are enhanced with colors and swirling patterns and shapes. Another reason for the popularity of this feature is the fact that artists in the 18th and 19th century produced these complicated patterns without the help of modern equipment!

The way these designs are produced is by placing chemicals and pigments in a water bath, then the artist manipulates the floating pigments to create patterns, which are then put onto the book edges or papers.

In the early days of America, even currency was marbled to prevent counterfeiting! Check out the full article here for more examples and pictures.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/(Sebastian Unrau), licensed under CC0 1.0

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Nine mobile Google calendar tricks

sumall_calendar_email_campaignDo you live by your calendar? With birthday reminders, meetings, events, and the ability to always be accessible, the modern, mobile calendar is far different than the wall version of old. And to make your mobile calendar even more of an asset, PCWorld recently highlighted 9 ways to make the most of your Google calendar for android and iOS. The list is full of tips and tricks, but also details some of the lesser known features of the mobile version of Google calendar. Here’s the abbreviated list but make sure to check out all the details now!

  1. Let Calendar’s event editor fill in the blanks
  2. Set a default duration for your events
  3. Add automatic alarms for your events
  4. Set up repeating events
  5. Show more calendar events on the screen
  6. Pick new colors for your calendars and events
  7. Set aside some “me time”
  8. Start the week on a day other than Sunday
  9. Quickly delete an event or check off a to-do
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