If you have been following our legislative updates, you will notice that the Minnesota Multitypes have requested a funding increase. Just as it is fun to fantasize a bit about winning the lottery, so goes it with multitype funding. The multitypes were created in Minnesota Statute in such a way that our funding stays flat until we ask for an increase. This means that sometimes our funding can stay flat for 10-15 years, which has happened in the past. Needless to say, flat funding presents special problems when the cost of doing business increases each year!
I think you will be excited to hear what CMLE might be able to do if we should get the requested funding increase.
With this funding increase, CMLE would acquire additional infrastructure/staff/expertise to do the following either regionally or more broadly, in collaboration with others. Of course, if we get less than we ask for, things will need to come off this list, so please consider it a draft! CMLE could….
Replicate tried, true, and evaluated programs (some by other multitypes) in the CMLE region. Possible examples are Camp Read a Lot, and the MILI Information Literacy Program (scaled for Greater MN region)
Support better access, understanding, and hands on skill sets with media specialists and teachers around ELM resources, including the new Learning Express
Explore expansion and/or provision of eBook collections to K-12 schools
Increase the number of professional development events and activities for library staff from all library types
Contract with an evaluation expert to assist libraries in evaluating their efforts and crafting their stories. Then, assist libraries in telling their stories through various venues, ranging from social media to the Legislature
Contract with a copyright expert to respond to questions from the field
Create an online professional library collection that supports librarians needs
Increase CMLE’s ability to capture presentations (video) and share content more broadly
Add the ability to bus Central MN library staff to Twin Cities events like MN Book Awards, Teen Lit Con, and Library Legislative Day
Are there CMLE member services on your wish list, but not on ours? Are there things on the list that surprise you? We are always interested in your input and feedback, so send them pronto to admin@cmle.org
This week marks the beginning of our new Weekly Review publication cycle, and by now, our K-12 and academic librarians have at least one week under their belts. Public librarians are taking a slight breather now that the summer reading programs have ended! And, it is hard to say what the special librarians are feeling at the moment; probably sadness that summer is ending! Schedules are slightly different for the 320 libraries in the Central MN region, but new energy is definitely in the Fall air! CMLE provides support services to library/school media center personnel. A few facts and reminders….
We continue to seek stories about programming in Central MN libraries and school media centers. Send stories or pictures to admin@cmle.org
Are you interested in being a member of a new CMLE think tank group? My fingers are crossed that the group might be willing to consider doing Google Hangouts to help us brainstorm new ideas. Interested in helping us assess needs and propose programming in our region? If so, please send email to admin@cmle.org
Upcoming library conferences, webinars and other noteworthy events will be offered through a new table format this year …check it out in our Upcoming Events blog post each and every week!
Each week we will try to provide some easy, breezy, “good-to-know” posts about the library world or your home library too, but we will also insert some bigger picture posts to stretch you a bit too! No grumbling please….it is good for us…
Each week, we cull through hundreds of items and choose 7-15 items we feel might be of most interest or most helpful. Did we miss the mark? Let us know at admin@cmle.org
Last academic year we posted over 400 blog posts. We keep it manageable for you though, one email per week with a listing of all of the weeks blog posts!
For all practical purposes, this fiscal year is coming to an end, and I must admit, our CMLE staff is limping to the finish line on fumes! Having said that, due to popular demand, our 23 Mobile Things Program will plug along until June 15, 2014, although our blogging activities will end for the summer with this edition of the Weekly Review . If you are one of the participants that swore you would finish if we accepted your wish to extend the deadline to June 15th, please don’t disappoint us! All finishers will receive an incentive prize, but CMLE will also put all finishers from our region into a drawing for a new Galaxie Tab 4 OR an iPad Mini! I am counting on you to finish the program in order to be in the drawing! Right now your odds are very good, but we are hoping lots of participants are “laying in the weeds” and will spring into action soon! It is not unusual to see people cross the finish line at midnight, so don’t worry about your pride on that front….you would not be the only one!
Important: I will rely on the fact that your badges are up to date so we can easily see who has finished the program!
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to let us know when you’ve earned a badge (at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 23 Things completed)! Just email minn23@gmail.com with your blog name, multitype region (CMLE), and how many Things you’ve completed. Multitype staff will place your badge in our CMLE blogroll and send you one you can display on your blog to share your progress.
Our summer CMLE to-do list is quite different from our weekly work during the academic year. Summer is an important time for administrative work including the Library Legislative Forum, annual audit, year-end reports, discount agreements, internal system updates, program planning, and our commitments to Fall library conference planning too. So, it might seem a bit sad, but our Weekly Review and associated blog posts will be on a short hiatus during the summer months, but we will be back in the Fall! We will continue to wrap our arms around the glut of library news and opportunity, filter and distill it down to an easy to digest format, and share it with you starting in September. We remain committed to offering ideas, tips, shortcuts, cost savings, and application ideas too. We hope this little blip in service gives everyone a refreshing “breather”. Watch your email in the event that something significant happens this summer that we feel a need to share immediately. Otherwise, enjoy quiet moments of summer serenity curled up with a good book under a big shady tree. Summer is a great time to renew and refresh. See you in the Fall!
Didn’t have time to read all of our blog posts this year? Go to http://cmleinfofeed.wordpress.com/ and meander through this year’s posts! Many of the posts are timeless, so better late than never….
CMLE Director, Patricia Post
Patricia Post, Director
Central MN Libraries Exchange (CMLE)
A Minnesota Multitype Library System
St. Cloud State University, Miller Center 130-D
720 4th Ave. So.
St. Cloud, MN 56301-4498
Phone: 320-308-4779 Fax: 320-308-5131
E-mail: papost@stcloudstate.edu
Image by U of Fraser Valley. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Hopefully, you haven’t already gotten tired of reading messages of thankfulness. Maybe you have had a great year, and you have not been tested emotionally, physically or professionally. Maybe your year was humdrum, and your things to include on your thankful list are much like they always have been. Or perhaps 2013 has been filled with challenges.
For me, by far, this has been the most difficult year both professionally and personally. However, I choose to think about it differently, especially as I approach Thanksgiving. As I look back, I am amazed at what has been accomplished despite the enormous amount of adversity that has occurred this year. I remind myself that I/we have control over how we choose to think about the hard things…. and I have learned a few things this year for which I give thanks:
I have an incredibly caring, supportive group of people on the CMLE Board
It was my good fortune to hire an exceptional temporary employee who convinced me in ten minutes that she was hungry, humble, and helpful (the 3 h’s)! I could not have gotten through the year without her.
I have wonderful family and friends who were there for me through thick and thin. Most memorable was the occasional lunch with the grandkids; a cherished memory.
I am very thankful that my other knee is healthy, and that I only have two hips and two knees!
I am thankful for my strength in handling adversity and bouncing back!
And, I am especially thankful that I will never have to repeat 2013!
Coming back to work has been challenging, exhausting and invigorating, but reminds me of what I am passionate about, and what makes me feel alive. With that in mind, professionally, I am also thankful for:
Engaged library staff (like you) who continue to use our services and engage in our programming. Whether you are commenting on our weekly blog posts or Facebook page, writing book reviews or other blog posts, suggesting ideas for programming, participating in our Quick Question Polls, or attending our events, you are the heart of what we define as resource sharing!
CMLE staff are thankful for the opportunity to serve your needs, and to work with you to increase the capacity of all types of libraries in Central Minnesota! It is our privilege to work with talented and engaged library staff and we thank you.
What about you? Although your year may have also included challenges, what are you most thankful for? Were there life changing moments as a result of a student or community member coming through the door to your library? Have your learned valuable lessons as a result of those interactions or others?
Tip: Use a whiteboard in the library with a “What are you thankful for?” heading, then sit back, and observe a showplace of thanks not just for this week, but consider continuing this through the new year.
Welcome to a new fiscal year with CMLE. Fall signals new beginnings for most people. And whether we work in a K-12 school or college or somewhere else, we are all part of the educational process. The life of library staff varies during the summer. Most K-12 staff are off duty as are some college librarians. In contrast, public libraries are extremely busy with reading programs in the summer. Most special librarians see no change in their work life in summer except often taking a much needed vacation. CMLE staff fit in this last category, and rather than a vacation this year, I had my knee replaced the first week in June. Prior to that, I had my hip replaced in February (yes, the same leg). Not a great summer for me!
We are a small office of two, so if things seemed a bit quiet last year on the CMLE front, you now understand why! The knee produced complications and setbacks that have made this the hardest year of my life. I take comfort in knowing I am almost back to fulltime, and hope to have much of my energy back by the October MEMO and MLA conferences in October.
Last year marked our gradual transition out of the interlibrary loan (ILL) service. Our staff consulted one-on-one with the small remaining group of ILL users who needed new solutions. In all cases, we found ILL alternatives that served their specific needs. Now, we are able to focus on our many other services, some of which are brand new. The question has come up, “If CMLE no longer does ILL, what does it do?” If we had a tagline, it would probably be: Providing support services to library staff in Central Minnesota. The needs for support are defined largely by people like you. Therefore, at any time feel free to communicate with our staff about your needs. Our services change as the needs of our twelve-county region change.
The services of CMLE are planned by the Director, an eleven-member Governing Board, and with member feedback. Four members of the Board are practicing librarians in the Central Minnesota region, and are selected by their representative caucus of academic, public, K-12 or special libraries.
CMLE has three strategic focus areas to guide services in FY13 through FY15
Refined Focus on K-12 Media Center Needs
Convening and Bridging Libraries Around Issues (all library types)
Stretching Dollars: Strategies and Services (all library types)
Some ways in which CMLE currently fulfills these focus areas is by engaging in the following activities;
Functions as a current awareness service to library professionals for national, statewide, and regional library news: To reach people where they are, CMLE utilizes email, a website, a WordPress blog, Facebook, Twitter and other online collaboration tools or Web 2.0 tools.
Provides scholarships to attend professional development events.
Negotiates discounts from various companies for both print and eBooks.
Maintains a collaborative role in the North Star Library Consortium in order to extend discounts on Follett’s Destiny software and additional library manager subscriptions.
Facilitates a succession of trainings, workshops, or “convened conversations” as needs dictate, which are typically offered at low or no cost to attendees.
Conducts various library advocacy activities in the work setting, statewide and national: The CMLE Director serves as a voice for libraries when there is no voice.
Manages a library shadowing program: CMLE staff gather and maintain valuable site-specific data to assist them in pairing librarians from the region to experience different library settings.
Identifies and develops subject guides on professional topics including library best practices.
Supports, engages, and collaborates with professional library organizations such as MEMO, MLA, ISTE, ALA, AASL: Includes conference support activities (Internet Cafes, networking activities, conference presentations, etc.)
We hope to have a fantastic year building relationships and gathering program ideas from our membership. Please know that your ideas and goals do matter and our staff is here to serve your professional needs. My “door” is always open, so please feel free to make direct contact with me via email or phone when that makes the most sense. Otherwise, I will “see” you online, at the MLA or MEMO conferences, or at one of our events. All the best as you move into a year of making a difference with the important work you do!
Patricia-
Patricia Post, Director
Central MN Libraries Exchange (CMLE) A Minnesota Multitype Library System
St. Cloud State University, Miller Center 130-D
720 4th Ave. So., St. Cloud, MN 56301-4498
Phone: 320-308-4779 Fax: 320-308-5131 E-mail: papost@stcloudstate.edu
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
If you have been following our legislative updates, you will notice that the Minnesota Multitypes have requested a funding increase. Just as it is fun to fantasize a bit about winning the lottery, so goes it with multitype funding. The multitypes were created in Minnesota Statute in such a way that our funding stays flat until we ask for an increase. This means that sometimes our funding can stay flat for 10-15 years, which has happened in the past. Needless to say, flat funding presents special problems when the cost of doing business increases each year!
