Tag Archives: ALA

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Start planning now: Library Legislative Day is coming soon!

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At CMLE Headquarters, we want you to be informed about all the great things happening across the profession. And advocacy is ALWAYS an important topic!!

If there is sufficient interest in this, CMLE HQ can help to make arrangements for members to travel to Washington DC, so we can directly tell our federal politicians how valuable we are to our communities. Funding is going to be tight, and priorities for resources are shifting – and libraries are not at the top of the list for support.

The profession needs YOU!

  • If you can not make it to Washington, then attend our Minnesota legislative day!
  • If you can not do that, then give your legislator a call and tell them (briefly, politely) about something great your library did today, or this week, or this month.
  • And if you need to practice your phone call before you make it, talk to us first! We can help you organize ideas, and to feel confident that you have a great story to share!!

This is not just for “other” library people, or just people with a degree, or just ALA members, or just ANYTHING!

YOU are in a library, YOU know about the service you provide, the materials your patrons would not have without you, the help you give every single day. YOU are exactly the right person to do some advocacy for your library, for your community, and for your profession. GO TELL SOMEONE!!

(There we go – that’s library advocacy! You nailed it!!) Continue reading Start planning now: Library Legislative Day is coming soon! →

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ALA News: Intellectual Freedom

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As library people, our code of ethics pushes us to strongly respect and defend the intellectual freedom of the communities we serve. You can see this commitment across the American Library Association, including at the Office of Intellectual Freedom.

CMLE Headquarters likewise is passionate about this topic, so we are passing on some news from the ALA. We are copying their material here this month so you can see what is going on right now; but you can always go to their site yourself and get familiar with the issues facing us across the profession. You do not need to be an ALA member – this is for all of us in libraries to know and to share.

We are the guardians of free access to information for our communities; it’s not a responsibility to take lightly. Let’s all get familiar with these topics, so we are ready before problems come to our library!

Scroll down to the bottom (or read all the way through!), and consider signing up for the training offered in January: How to Respond to a Security Incident in Your Library. Continue reading ALA News: Intellectual Freedom →

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Interested in adding sign language to your storytime? Join CMLE for ALA's webinar!

macmillan-livenup_300indHave you been looking for new ideas to spice up your storytime? Sign language with babies and toddlers can be a fun addition! It encourages participation and can make the experience more interactive and entertaining.

ALA is offering a webinar “Liven Up Baby and Toddler Storytimes with Sign Language Workshop” and CMLE wants to extend an invitation to any interested librarians that may want to participate! If we can get just two additional people that would like to come view this webinar from CMLE Headquarters, we will qualify for the group rate for the workshop, which is $40 instead of $60.

The online workshop is 90 minutes long and begins at 1:30pm on Wednesday, Dec. 7th.

At the completion of this workshop, you will be able to:

  • List 3 benefits of using sign language with young children
  • Describe at least 3 ways to use sign language in baby and toddler storytimes
  • Demonstrate 3 ASL signs appropriate for use in baby or toddler storytimes

You can find more information about the workshop here.

Please contact us if you are interested in joining us!

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Advocacy from the ALA!

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At CMLE Headquarters, we want to help members with access to resources and ideas from across the profession and our professional organizations. This press release, copied below, is timely in discussing an issue that is being widely pondered by librarians, teachers, parents, and everyone else: how libraries can respond with information assistance after the election. Any election and post-election season is filled with excitement, changes, and a rapid flow of all kinds of information, and this one has had all of that.

Libraries are here to help people sort through that information, to figure out what is real and meaningful, and to understand how information can apply to patrons and to their communities.

Continue reading Advocacy from the ALA! →

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

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

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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.