Tag Archives: ECRL

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Celebrate 60 Years with ECRL!

The East Central Regional Libraries are part of our CMLE system and we are so excited to help share the news about the many wonderful events celebrating their 60th Anniversary!

All of these events are free and for all ages. Make sure to get your 60th Anniversary Passbook stamped for a chance to win a ton of prizes!

You can get more information from their article here, or read on for a taste of the great programs coming your way! And congratulations, ECRL!

From the article:

Music with Becky Schlegel

Monday, Sept. 16th, 6:30pm — Pine City Public Library

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 6:30pm — Chisago Lakes Area Library

  • Her music is original, drawing on the influence of classic country, bluegrass, folk, and her own thoughtful spirit. This program begins with Becky Schlegel’s performance from 6:30-7:15pm, followed by an open house from 7:15-8pm.

Belle Amour, vintage jazz

Thursday, Sept. 12th, 6:30pm — Princeton Area Library

  • Belle Amour is a fun, high energy jazz group that performs vintage jazz standards with a touch of international flair. This event begins with Belle Amour’s performance from 6:30-7:15pm, followed by an open house from 7:15-8pm.

Boyd Huppert, KARE 11’s Land of 10,000 Stories

Thursday, Oct. 10th, 6:30pm — Cambridge Public Library

  • Award-winning journalist Boyd Huppert got his start in broadcasting as a 16-year-old announcer at his hometown radio station in River Falls, Wisconsin. He joined KARE 11 in 1996, where he now produces and hosts the weekly Land of 10,000 Stories segment. Boyd’s presentation begins at 6:30pm and will be followed by an open house until 8pm.

Briand Morrison, jazz guitar

Monday, Sept. 23th, 6:30pm — Mille Lacs Lake Community Library

Tuesday, Sept. 24th, 6:30pm — Sandstone Public Library

  • Briand Morrison is celebrated by many as the North Shore’s finest jazz guitar player. He plays music on a full-time basis and is praised for his clear sound, unique style, and dedication to music. Morrison’s performance from 6:30-7:15pm will be followed by an open house from 7:15-8pm.

Corpse Reviver, American folk

Tuesday, Sept. 10th, 6pm — Aitkin Public Library

  • Come on down to the library for some good ol’ American folk music with Corpse Reviver, a Minneapolis trio that likes to play music from the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music. The program begins with Corpse Reviver’s performance from 6-7pm, with an open house to follow.

Dancing Light, “cosmic acoustic”

Thursday, Sept. 5th, 6:30pm — Mora Public Library

Saturday, Sept. 21st, 10:30am — Hinckley Public Library

Saturday, Sept. 28th, 10:30am — Wyoming Area Library

Tuesday, Oct. 1st, 6:30pm — Rush City Public Library

Thursday, Oct. 3rd, 6:30pm — McGregor Public Library

  • Get ready to go on a musical journey where the world shines a little brighter. Kiki and Greg, from the group Dancing Light, fuse folk, classical, rock and pop genres for a unique musical experience. This program begins with Dancing Light’s performance for the first 45 minutes, followed by an open house.

Holy Rocka Rollaz, ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll

Monday, Sept. 30th, 6:30pm — North Branch Area Library

  • Let’s go back to the ‘50s! If you’re into the music of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and the like, then you will love Holy Rocka Rollaz. This high energy trio will perform from 6:30-7:30 pm, with an open house to follow.

Mike Munson, blues musician

Tuesday, Sept. 17th, 6:30pm — Milaca Community Library

  • From sad and somber slow tunes to swampy, caterwauling stompers, Mike Munson’s music is a master class in creative blues composition and performance. His performance from 6:30-7:15 pm will be followed by an open house from 7:15-8 pm.

These programs are funded with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Check this out:, CMLE, Communication, General, Public, Resources, Special

One of our travel bugs has made it to a library!

cheesehead-library-cacheOne of our travel bugs has been retrieved and moved on to its next location – and it looks like one that we can all enjoy!

The travel bug Libraries Rock made a quick stop off at the St Cloud Public Library, then moved on to its next cache – Enjoy the Journey. “The coordinates above will take you just outside of a place that holds a multitude of wonderful adventures. You can easily lose track of time when adventuring. Before you enter you will need to find a time capsule that will lead you to your adventure inside.” (Thanks, East Central Regional Library! Everyone from CMLE who stops in to see their cache, be sure to say hello to the library staff! This is yet another great way for system members to get acquainted and chat with each other!)

Have you been to this cache?

Have you searched out a geocache? Tell us about your adventures in the comments!

In December, as we are all working on stress management, heading out to look for geocaches and travel bugs – whether they started at CMLE or not – can be a great way to relax and enjoy some fun exploration!

Check this out:, CMLE, General, Visits

Visiting the Milaca Community Library

Visiting the Milaca library is like stopping by a friend’s house, one who has comfy chairs, cool art, and lots of cool books and material! The library had a lot of patrons who clearly agreed with this idea, as patrons were all over the library and apparently enjoying the facility. This kind of community library, clearly connecting with patron needs, is always a valuable asset to any community!

One of the highlights of the library is the center of the library, with a recessed art displays. This art is a visual representation of the early history of the area, and schools can sometimes bring students by at just the right time in their study of local history to actually see this visual display! The murals were created by Deborah Morrison Vriesen in 2007. The funding came from the Milaca Friends of the Library, and a grant from the East Central Arts Council. This kind of community art in a library is a valuable way to convey information in a visual format – all part of our mission to share information with our communities!

book-display
Misty’s book recommendations!

And of course, as in all libraries, there are also paper books available on the shelves! This display is set up to help people looking for a new read or some new directions in theme, to find something that will be interesting to them. Misty is our recommender here, and I’m putting a couple of these onto my own to-read list – thanks!

Continue reading Visiting the Milaca Community Library →

Check this out:, CMLE, Public, Visits

Visiting the Cambridge Public Library

Continuing our series of visits to CMLE area libraries, I was able to visit and chat with the staff at the Cambridge Public Library, as well as the East Central Regional Library Headquarters. Thanks to Barb Misselt, Sarah Hawkins, and Carla Lydon for taking time out to show me around libraries all day, and to give me  a lot of good info on libraries in their area!

say-yes
This is the BEST library saying!!

Although we were all sad to hear about the defeat of the Cambridge ballot measure for a much-needed new building (for more information on this and 70+ initiatives voted on across the country, check here), the library itself is still providing some great resources to its community! This sign, displayed in the community room, is a great example of the work they are doing to reach out to patrons and to serve their community! Libraries are in the business of providing information and entertainment; and we need to always search for that “yes” to give to our community.

Continue reading Visiting the Cambridge Public Library →

Check this out:, CMLE, Public, Visits

Visiting the Princeton Area Library

On my day of being shown around some of the ECRL libraries, it was great to see so many library people doing all kinds of interesting things in the different branches! The Princeton branch was like all others, in that there were a lot of patrons there using materials and some very exciting visual displays of library materials and artwork. They are also in a very beautiful building, with windows everywhere and a beautiful view of the Rum River. The prairie style interior and decor really emphasized the natural setting around the library. The result is just lovely!

When you walk in the front door, it is totally natural to look up in admiration for this art installation. These round paintings by Minnesota artist  Amy Sabrina, to commemorate different aspects of the life of Elmer L. Anderson, the 30th Governor of Minnesota. The visual biography is very striking, and again shows how visual representations of information can be so useful in conveying ideas to people. Libraries are here to share information in a way that is meaningful to the patron; visual tools are one strategy for this!

book-display
Book display!

One of the fun things about visiting any library is seeing the displays they create for books! Creativity in libraries is valuable, and looking at different libraries gives different ideas for displays and things to celebrate in your own library! Celebrating Eloise is always fun, and her creator, Kay Thompson‘s birthday was Nov 9, 1909; so this is a great demonstration of library fun! Continue reading Visiting the Princeton Area Library →