Tag Archives: CMLE Scholarship

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE Scholarships: Apply Now!

MoonriseCMLE’s scholarship program has been popular but we want even more of you to take advantage! We’ve written about the service before, but based on our recent needs assessment,  we now know the application process is easy: 100% of scholarship users found the process easy!

CMLE offers scholarships of up to $200 per fiscal year per individual for staff affiliated with  any type of  library in Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Central Minnesota. The scholarships can be used to attend workshops, conferences, library meetings or task forces, and other library-related activities to promote engagement and/or professional development. All expenses mentioned earlier are appropriate and we encourage you to use the scholarships even if it can’t cover all of the costs. And, if you use our scholarship to help with costs, feel free to mention to your administrator that you have used our program!

Need help paying for that  sub? CMLE scholarships come in very handy in settings that require your employer to pay for a “sub” while you are off enhancing your library skill sets. When you fill out the form, just indicate the amount you need to cover that expense.

So check it out and feel free to apply now or sometime in the future.

Need an excuse to apply? Check out this long list of opportunities from MN EdTech.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/qx9hwk6, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
General, School Media Specialist

Explore eBooks MN Summit: A CMLE Scholarship

ebook-mn5The following post was submitted by CMLE scholarship recipient Maria Burnham, Sauk Rapids Rice High School Library Media Specialist.

Explore eBooks MN Summit

In August, I attended the Explore eBooks MN Summit at the College of St. Catherine.  I attended as a hopeful high school media specialist, hoping to learn more about a possible statewide plan for eBook purchasing.

The day started with a talk from Deb Hoadley, the woman who coordinated the statewide eBook project for Massachusetts.  She spoke about the process of the project, the current pitfalls, and the future of the project.  I was impressed with the thoughtfulness of each step along the way as well as the implementation process.

After hearing from Deb, we moved in to small mixed groups and discussed eBooks in Minnesota.  I was in a group that included: academic librarians, public librarians, the director of Minitex, as well as library technical services professionals.  We each had a chance to talk about library needs and the possible hurdles in a statewide eBook project.  At this point in the day, I was still hopeful.

However, after lunch, we shared our small group discussions in a large group setting, and the doubt from the group started to seep in.  Originally I had thought that one person (the MN version of Deb Hoadley) would be named or nominated as our statewide eBook project manager, and the crowd would wildly applaud this person’s upcoming task.

The day did NOT end that way.

There is no movement on a statewide eBook project in Minnesota, and I, for one, am disappointed.  However, not all was lost that day.  Good conversation was had across library types.  But I still have many questions regarding eBooks.

I am in a 1:1 laptop school.  Why would I buy eBooks for my students when they can access materials via the public library?  Why not, in a sense, pool our resources?  If I do decide to purchase, which platform do I choose? How do I manage these materials?  And then how do I show my students how to access these materials?

My list of questions goes on and on.  I still have not jumped on to the eBook wagon.  It just seems so disorganized and confusing—platforms, vendors, management rights, contracts, etc.  Ugh.

At some point I’ll have to make the leap. But I was hoping to leap with guidance from the state.  I’m still hoping but not holding my breath.

 

Did you miss the Explore ebooks MN series of webinars? Not able to make it to the Explore ebooks MN Summit? Not to worry, all content from the webinars and summit are available at the Explore ebooks MN website.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Explore eBooks MN Summit: A CMLE Scholarship

ebook-mn5The following post was submitted by CMLE scholarship recipient Audrey Misiura, CMLE and ECRL Board Member.

Explore eBooks MN Summit

 

I had the opportunity to attend the Explore eBooks MN Summit on the beautiful campus of St. Catherine’s University in St. Paul last month.

The keynote speaker was Deb Hoadley, an advisor and team leader for a statewide e-book project in Massachusetts. She talked about the journey of implementing a statewide e-book partnership for the library patrons of Massachusetts.

I especially appreciated her candidness in sharing the mistakes and setbacks her team experienced throughout the project.

The Technology of Participation group facilitators were awesome. I was amazed that in a short time the group would have boiled down our objectives into a few key concepts.

Although a statewide leader did not emerge from the conference, I am hopeful that momentum will grow as Minnesota library stakeholders see the need and benefit to resource sharing among all types of libraries in Minnesota.

I think that for Minnesota moving forward it remains helpful to understand that other library professionals have gone on before us, celebrated their successes, managed their losses and are able and willing to share their knowledge and experience with us. E-book collaboration and resource sharing continue to challenge library administrators across our state. However, as our society becomes increasingly digital and as the needs of our patrons continue to evolve and change, and as new technology becomes available, sharing and collaboration will become inevitable.

 

Did you miss the Explore ebooks MN series of webinars? Not able to make it to the Explore ebooks MN Summit? Not to worry, all content from the webinars and summit are available at theExplore ebooks MN website.

 

 

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Explore eBooks MN Summit: A CMLE Scholarship

Jami TThe following post was submitted by CMLE scholarship recipient Jami Trenam, Associate Director, Collection Development at Great River Regional Library

Explore eBooks MN Summit

Thanks to a scholarship from CMLE I was able to attend the Explore eBooks MN summit in August 2014. It was a thought-provoking and exciting day as dozens of Minnesota library staff brainstormed ways to make eBooks easier for our patrons and communities to use. I was struck by everyone’s passion to ensure eContent is accessible to all Minnesota libraries and patrons.

I was inspired and impressed by Deb Hoadley’s work to coordinate a statewide eBook project in Massachusetts. I hope we in Minnesota can learn from the successes and challenges of the MA project. I was very struck by the research Hoadley shared regarding the disparity between staff and user experience: 87% of patrons reported they found what they were looking for, where only 56% of library staff reporting their needs were met. Additionally, I was intrigued by the concept of the state supporting the platform, and the libraries providing content. The concept of statewide collection development is cumbersome and exciting all at once!

I was also taken with Mark Sandler’s presentation on libraries of the future. He encouraged academic libraries to be the cosmetic counter on campus: offer a one-on-one consultation experience. Sandler asserted that people use libraries for service, and perhaps reference is not the service they need. I enjoy the challenge that the ideology of traditional library philosophy is at odds with patron needs. I came away from the session wondering how my library can help solve the problems that keep our patrons up at night, how can we help people achieve their goals – this is certainly one way how libraries will remain relevant in the digital age.

On the drive home from the summit I found myself grappling with more questions than I came with: should libraries even be in the best-seller business? How can libraries better serve local authors? How can we help preserve our local content? I’m contemplating digitizing yearbooks and city directories. I also love the idea of a postcard “End the Digital Lockout” advocacy campaign and I’m thinking about how that concept can be applied to my library’s funding challenges. Thank you, CMLE! Not only did I have the opportunity to work with other professionals to propose how a statewide eBook program could work, I left with a renewed sense of hope. Libraries are truly stronger when we work together, and I look forward to cooperative efforts with partner libraries in the future.

 

Did you miss the Explore ebooks MN series of webinars? Not able to make it to the Explore ebooks MN Summit? Not to worry, all content from the webinars and summit are available at the Explore ebooks MN website.

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE Featured Service: Scholarships

More fall leaves...Are professional development funds tight in your work setting? Is the money to pay your registration to a conference in the budget, but there is no money for hotel or mileage, or  to pay a sub so you can be away from your workplace?

CMLE offers scholarships of up to $200 per fiscal year per individual for staff affiliated with  any type of  library in Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Central Minnesota. The scholarships can be used to attend workshops, conferences, library meetings or task forces, and other library-related activities to promote engagement and/or professional development. All expenses mentioned earlier are appropriate and we encourage you to use the scholarships even if it can’t cover all of the costs. And, if you use our scholarship to help with costs, feel free to mention to your administrator that you have used our program!

Need help paying for that  sub? CMLE scholarships come in very handy in settings that require your employer to pay for a “sub” while you are off enhancing your library skill sets. When you fill out the form, just indicate the amount you need to cover that expense. The ITEM (MEMO) Conference is coming up the first week in October and is in St. Cloud, the MLA Conference follows during the second week of October in Mankato. We would love to help you get there through the use of our scholarship program, but now is the time to apply!

We all owe it to ourselves to keep our skill sets sharp. Confidence and new energy often result when we  take time to invest in ourselves and spend time with our peers. CMLE would like to support you to that end. For all of the details and to apply for a scholarship, go to www.cmle.org/scholarships.asp. The application is quite simple and should take no more than 10 minutes if you know what you want to attend and have the event information in hand.

For more info on the ITEM and MLA conferences and links to registration, go to our Upcoming Library Events listing.

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