Tag Archives: CMLE members

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist

Mark Your Calendar: Zoom Q&A for CMLE’s Extended Mini Grants

logo for CMLE extended minigrants

CMLE has been so pleased by the wonderful applications we’ve received for our Extended Mini Grant Program! In case you missed it:

“For this school year only, through May, 2021, we will be soliciting minigrant applications from member libraries for funds up to $1,000. This is our Extended Minigrant program, as brought to you by the CMLE Board of Trustees.” Read more and apply on our page.

We understand that if you’re new to writing grant applications, this process can seem a bit intimidating. So we’re holding a special Q&A Zoom session on Tuesday, January 12th at 10am! Join us to ask any questions you may have about the grant program or application. (RSVP below)

This year has been hard on everyone. So we really encourage our members to apply for this grant! You can read more information about our special extended mini grant program on our page. Otherwise, please RSVP below for the Zoom session at 10am on January 12th. We’re looking forward to talking with you!

Attending?(required)

Check it Out:

NEXT WEEK: VR Training!

We’ll see you soon!

Update: spots for training in St. Cloud are nearly full!

Just a reminder that next week on Tuesday, Nov. 5th and Friday, Nov. 8th CMLE is holding in-person training for our VR kits!

CMLE received a grant to purchase VR kits and we are loaning them to our school libraries FOR FREE. You can reserve your own kit here.

RSVP at the bottom of this post. You are welcome to drop in to training as your schedule allows. You are still allowed to reserve VR kits for your school if you cannot attend training.

Please remember to bring your own computer to this training!

If you are interested in additional training, our ClassVR vendor will be holding a free Q&A webinar on Nov. 13th. Here is the link in case anyone is interested in participating. CMLE staff attended the one offered in October and found it useful.

Visit our page to find out more information about the VR kit loan program, including instructions and links to additional materials.

RSVP St. Cloud Nov. 5th training:

Tuesday, Nov. 5th 9am – 3pm (lunch provided 12 – 1)
Classroom at cmERDC location: 570 1st St. SE St. Cloud MN 56304

RSVP Cambridge Nov. 8th training:

Friday, Nov. 8th 9:30am – 3pm (lunch provided 12 – 1)
Meeting Room at the Cambridge Public Library: 244 S. Birch St. Cambridge, MN 55008

CMLE, General, Programs

Report from Springtime Tea with CMLE!

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We were so impressed that CMLE member (and frequent podcast Guest Host!) Ariel matched beautifully with the Mad Hatter’s spring color scheme!

Our members are awesome! CMLE is made up of school, public, academic, and special libraries, and we really appreciate all our members who are doing such impressive work in their libraries.

It can be hard to make connections outside of your library and we always want our members to know you are part of a larger profession! That’s why we hold member events. Plus, we like to have tea!

Take a look at the fun we had, and stay tuned to our website for several more opportunities to connect with other library people! Some upcoming events include roller derby and camping (with a day trip option). Is there an activity you think would make a fun member event? Email us at admin@cmle.org or leave a comment, let us know!

  • Polka dot teapot!
  • Pretty yellow roses and cherry rose tea!
  • Maple tea and our tea menu
  • Fancy and delicious
  • Yes, the flowers were edible!
  • Gorgeous spring day for tea
The ginger carrot soup was a hit!

Thank you again for all the members that were able to join us! If you missed this event, we hope to see you next time!

Books, CMLE

Unexpected Member Event: John Scalzi at St. John’s!

It’s no secret that all of us at CMLE HQ love to read books – we have a whole podcast book group about it after all! And we have a lot of book fans around the system, who cheerfully tell us how much they like the book recommendations in our Linking Our Libraries podcast, the book suggestion series on our blog, and the series CMLE Reads Across Minnesota (complete with Google mapping!)

So, yeah. We are fans of reading. You are fans of reading. It’s pretty much a professional requirement to be a fan of reading – and we are all doing it well.

And when one of my favorite authors is announced as a speaker at a wonderful member library – am I pleased? Reader: Yes.  There may possibly have been joyous dancing around the office as I celebrated that news!

Kathy Parker, the head of the libraries at St. John’s and St. Ben’s, was a Guest Host on our Books and Beverages book group podcast the week we discussed SciFi.  She broke the exciting news – and thankfully she told us in advance, or I would have hijacked the entire discussion to talk about nothing else! (We had fun in this episode – definitely go listen to it!)

So I was excited to go! I dug out my Red Shirts paper book (I own all his other books in audio format – great to listen to, but awkward to have signed) and trudged out to St. John’s.

Not only was it a very fun presentation on technology, and the not-always-apparent impacts it has on us, but this turned into an impromptu CMLE member event! We had a bunch of people there from Great River’s St. Cloud library, and from St. John’s and St. Ben’s.  We even had unofficial “members” we adopted right into the group. Thanks so much to Gerri Moeller from the Viking Library System (and her husband), and to Chris (with the excellent Glacier hat!), who joined in the fun!

There were books available for sale at the end, and John was signing books. Did I make a fool of myself in my overflowing excitement at getting to talk to one of my favorite authors? Yes. Yes I did. But, who cares? We all had fun, it turned out to be a good CMLE member event, and I was very happy! (Ariel got her book addressed to “My favorite Shakespearean mermaid” – so obviously he’s cool!)

Thank you so much to all the CMLE members (and adopted members!) who came to the event. It is always wonderful to see you!!

Thank you to Kathy Parker for alerting us, and organizing the event. And for being such a great podcast guest!! Check her out on the Strategic Planning episode, as well as the SciFi episode.

Thank you to St. John’s for making this event open to the public, so we could all enjoy it!This was my first time in this auditorium, and it was very nice.

And, of course, thank you to John Scalzi (@scalzi on Twitter) for providing us with interesting entertainment, and for all the books!! (And for not getting distressed at an overly-excited librarian who gushed maybe a little much; but is a much calmer fan most of the time! And who really does take your books camping; they are wonderful to listen to when alone in the dark woods!)

Communication, General

CMLE Resource: Libraries After Dark

After your day at working at a library (whether it is a school library, academic, public, history center, museum, or other) it’s nice to leave the world of libraries behind to spend some time pursuing your hobbies. Whether that means meeting up with your band for practice, heading to a state park to go hiking, or settling in at home with your quilting project, we would like to hear about it! We are starting a new page called Libraries After Dark, to highlight our library people and their interesting talents and hobbies.

It’s clear to us at CMLE that libraries are places where people with diverse interests, hobbies, and talents tend to work. And after the library is closed (or after your shift ends, either one) the people that work there leave their libraries to go engage in interesting activities!

So we thought it would be fun to collect stories of our library people’s “hidden talents” in order to share them with each other! It’s so fun to get a glimpse into what our members are passionate about (besides libraries, of course!) and the goal of our page is to share those hobbies and skills. Some of our members are musicians, artists, master gardeners, bakers, or love hiking. Does this sound like I’m describing you? Please let us know! We’d love to feature you on our Libraries After Dark page and in this series on our blog! And no, you don’t need to be an “expert” in your area of interest – just the fact that you are trying something new is exciting! Let us know if you have a hobby, talent, or area of expertise that you’d like to write about for our blog. We’re happy to share videos, post pictures, or link to content that you’ve created (as long as it is appropriate). We can’t wait to hear about it!