In honor of Library Lovers’ Month, here are 16 hilarious library signs that will tickle your funny bone! They may even give you a few ideas for your own library.
Category Archives: Special
CMLE Weekly Review: 3/24/16
This issue of the Weekly Review recaps our blog posts from March 18-23, 2016.
CMLE Updates: State & Regional News
– Promote this 24/7 “chat librarian service” to students: AskMN More
– Recap of CMLE spring author event More
– State Library Updates: 3/16/16 More
– Library legislative updates More
Upcoming Events and Registration Information
– “Multitype powered” library PD calendar More
– Free national online library events to build your skill sets More
Tech Bits and Ideas
– Can Madden football game teach math and science concepts? More
– Best keyboards for 2016 More
Resources You Can Use
– News media literacy Film Festival More
– 20 project management tips for libraries More
– AASL Recommended App: Motion Math Educator Suite More
Food For Thought
– Why your digital resources go unused, and what to do about it More
Just For Fun
– 20 reasons we love librarians More
MN Library Legislative Update: 3/15/16
The following legislative update was written by Elaine Keefe, library lobbyist for the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and Information Technology Educators of MN (ITEM). CMLE helps pay this lobbyist to serve the best interests of academic, K-12, public, and special libraries in Central MN. You’re welcome!
Governor’s Budget: Governor Dayton released his supplemental budget proposal today. He is proposing to spend a total of $698 million (including $117 million for tax cuts). Of that spending, $411 million is one-time spending and $287 million is ongoing spending. The governor proposes to leave $200 million on the bottom line to guard against a future economic downturn. This is consistent with his statement last week in his State of the State address that his highest priority was protecting the fiscal stability of the state. Here are items of interest in the proposed budget:
- $100 million for Border to Border Broadband grants. Earlier in the year Governor Dayton had announced that he would propose $100 million for broadband, but after the February forecast projected a smaller surplus, there was speculation that this amount might go down. Happily, this was not the case. This is a one-time appropriation.
- $21.5 million for a one-time increase in Local Government Aid to cities.
- $25 million for a one-time increase in County Program Aid.
- $25 million for a pre-kindergarten program offered through public schools. The funding would be targeted to high-poverty areas and those with a lack of three and four star Parent Aware rated child care programs. This funding would increase to $40 million in FY 18 and $60 million in FY 19.
A detailed description of each item in Governor Dayton’s proposal can be found here: http://mn.gov/mmb/images/16-17-supplemental-agency-item.pdf
Bills of Interest: Since the Legislature convened one week ago, legislators have introduced 546 bills in the Senate and 747 bills in the House. Here are some bills of interest to MLA and ITEM:
HF 2381 (Baker) Provides $35 million for border to border broadband grants. The bill will be heard in the House Greater Minnesota Economic and Workforce Development Policy Committee this Thursday.
HF 2385 (Lesch)/ SF 2703 (Dibble) Prohibits employers from requiring applicants or employees to divulge their username or password to any personal social media account.
HF 2386 (Lesch)/ SF 2705 (Chamberlain) Prohibits educational institutions from requiring students or prospective students to divulge their username or password to any personal social media account.
HF 2537 (Youakim)/ SF 2510 (Kent) Establishes the right of student journalists to determine the content of school newspapers and student-led publications, unless the content is profane, harassing or intimidating.
HF 2597 (Green) Repeals the requirement that 47% of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund must be allocated to the State Arts Board.
HF 2645 (B. Johnson)/ SF 2296 (Nienow) Provides $2,414,000 to the city of Cambridge to build a new public library and headquarters for the East Central Regional Library.
HF 2898 (Lucero) Protecting student data privacy on 1:1 devices issued by an educational institution.
HF 2900 (Lucero) Protecting student privacy on personal electronic devices.
HF 2939 (C. Johnson)/ SF 2560 (Sheran) Provides funding for the Travers des Sioux Library Cooperative to hire licensed school media specialists to provide services to schools that do not have licensed school media specialists. This was initiated by a former employee of TDS, and is not supported by the TDS Board. I do not expect this bill to advance.
HF 3069 (Peterson) / SF 2462 (Carlson) Exempts information systems software from the requirement that schools use a competitive bidding process for purchases.
SF 2294 (Dahms) Provides $30 million in bond proceeds for border to border broadband grants.
SF 2447 (Schmit) Provides $100 million from the general fund for border to border broadband grants.
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/olvp485, licensed under CC BY 2.0
20 project management tips for libraries
Read the whole post now or check out a preview of the list:
- First develop your business case
- Specify how your project involvement helps achieve internal library (strategic and financial) business goals from the start
- Know the stakeholders who will help make this project fly or crash
- Help ensure the project hits the right notes with your users
- Set the scene for the success ahead
- Use metaphors for one project voice
- Make your project objectives SMART transparent
- Define your user requirements and technical specifications
- Ensure that staff are up-skilled in a project management method.
- Consider how to do more with less resources this time around
- Bring in new skills and excellence into your institution
- Involve and build leaders and great communicators
- Support secure online remote project work
- Specify the exploitation of results from the beginning
- Manage your risks
- Keep an issue log and manage change consistently
- Monitor and evaluate throughout the life of your project
- Open Access, open data and disseminating project results
- Consider a sustainability plan
- Look back to look forward
Spring author event recap: Paddy O'Brien & Erin Hart
We got lucky, March 10th was a lovely sunny day to trek out to the North Folk Winery in Harris, MN (right outside of Cambridge) for some Irish music and book talks. Winter coats and scarves were shed as geese honked overhead, and glasses of wine and interesting nibbles were savored in the afternoon sunlight. As attendees arrived, Paddy O’Brien was skillfully playing his two-button accordian. Paddy also read two of his nostalgic short stories; enjoyed by all. When Erin Hart did her slideshow and author talk, the crowd was mesmerized by her tales of the items found in Ireland’s peat bogs. Indeed, these very bogs are the usual setting and props for Hart’s crime novels. The crowning moment of Hart’s presentation was when she agreed to do an unaccompanied traditional song for the crowd much like her main character Nora Gavin does in Hart’s books. The room was hushed, the dust motes danced in the late-day sunlight, and Hart’s haunting voice struck a chord deep in my heart! Beautiful.
Check out Erin Hart’s website for all of her book titles and more information.