Tag Archives: fun

CMLE members can Shuffle Off to Buffalo, High School Library!

It has been great to visit our member libraries, with groups of CMLE members (and fans! all are welcome) – and we will keep up this program!! We are working on visiting all types of libraries, as we are a multitype system. We have much more in common in services and programs and materials, than the small differences in the focus of our different libraries.

Our next visit will be to the Buffalo High School. We will tour this library Tuesday, May 9th at 2:00. As always, we understand if people are coming from work and other obligations; so feel free to come a little late or depart early.

We will have two cars leaving from CMLE Headquarters, and you are welcome to ride with us if you would like to do that. There is plenty of parking here, where you can leave your car.

You may remember that CMLE has already had one visit to this library – and it was a lot of fun!

We would love to see all of you there, and will have a report back for anyone who is not able to make it. If there is interest, we may go have a late lunch/snack/chatting time after this visit. It’s always good to have a chance to see each other in person, and we should take advantage of it!

Are joining us for our Buffalo High School visit?(required)

Would you like to go out afterward for snacking and talking?

Twelve Things That Happen When You Read for 24 Hours Straight

Bibliotecaestantes

This article is from Book Riot, by Danika Ellis. We are not having an official CMLE 24 hour readathon this April – but we would love to hear from you about the books you are reading!

In Minnesota, this event starts Saturday at 7:00am; so as you read books this weekend, use to connect with the larger community around the world, and to connect with us! Sign up at the official website, and let’s read!

“(If you’d like to follow my journey through these 12 stages, I’ll be live tweeting @DanikaEllis!)”

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is–well, self-explanatory for the most part. It takes place every April and October, and it is a huge internet book party! I love it! (Unsurprisingly, because I’ve written about it a bunch.) There is a misconception about the readathon I’d like to address, though. For some reason–who knows why!–people seem to think you have to read 24 hours during the 24 hour readathon. You can, of course! But you can also just read as much as you want to. I’ve stayed up the full 24 hours before, though I did take breaks during a few of the hours. I usually regret it, though. Here is my experience of reading for 24 hours: Continue reading Twelve Things That Happen When You Read for 24 Hours Straight

This weekend: Sunday, April 23 is World Book Day

This coming weekend is going to be a big one! After you celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, you can look forward to celebrating books on Sunday, which is World Book Day! As library people, not only do we love books ourselves, but we love to share our love of books with others, and this is a great day to do that!

World Book Day was created in 1995 at UNESCO’s General Conference, “to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those, who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.”

Here are some suggestions for celebrating World Book Day:

  • Amazon is participating with their page promoting the day and featuring links to charitable organizations that provide books.
    • You can also use the hashtag #LoveToRead to share your book happy moments on social media!
  • Check out these awesome and adorable World Book Day costumes (or make your own!)
  • Play this free printable World Book Day Game (aimed at kids but could still be fun!)
  • Or simply curl up with a good book and enjoy! 🙂

 

Peeps in the Library Peep Research: A Study of Small, Fluffy Creatures and Library Usage

Peeps-Yellow-Pink
This is a website article from several years ago, but I laugh every time I read it! Thinking about your individual library users is always important; this site makes it funny!  Enjoy an excerpt of the site here, and then click on the link to see the whole thing.

Can you set up something adorable or funny or eye-catching, to show people how to use your library services? Talk to us at CMLE, and we can help!

Peep Research: A Study of Small, Fluffy Creatures and Library Usage

by Susan Avery and Jennifer Masciadrelli (Office of Fluffy Research, Staley Library, Millikin University)

Peeple’s Choice Winner! Faculty Peep Show, Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Millikin University

April 25, 2003

Although scientific and health research has been conducted on Peeps, most notably that appearing on the Peep Research website, we have noted an absence of research focusing on the ability of Peeps themselves to actually do research. To address this lack, we invited a small group of Peeps to visit Staley Library at Millikin University during the week of March 17-21, 2003 so that we could more closely observe their research practices. This was determined to be an ideal week for the Peeps to visit the library, as Millikin University students were on spring break. The research that follows documents their visit to the library and provides some evaluative commentary on our assessment of Peeps and library usage.

The Peeps Arrive at the Library

Photo of Peeps exiting a small VW BeetlePhoto of Peeps exiting a small VW Beetle

The Peeps arrived at the library in a customary manner, as evidenced by the photographs to the left, in a Volkswagen Beetle. It should also be noted that, not unlike college students, they attempted to fit as many passengers into their vehicle as possible.

Beginning Research

Photo of Peeps using the internet

We quickly observed that Peeps, like college students, immediately began their research by sitting down at the computer terminals and looking for information on the Internet. Our observations of their individual screens indicated that they were most likely looking for information about themselves. This research characteristic was noted in an article that appeared in the March 21, 2003 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education that discussed the tendencies of students to use search engines before library databases.

photo of Peeps looking at Peeps website

The first page we observed the Peeps looking at was the official website of marshmallow peeps. We speculate that this page was located via a search engine, as our attempts to replicate this search in several search engines resulted in this page appearing at the top of the hit list of websites.

photo of Peeps using the internet

Further exploration on the part of the peeps shows them at this website featuring Peep Shows. It is not known what the search terms were in this particular search, nor what they expected to find. (This page contains art work featuring canines.) Note, however, how they are all attempting to move closer to the computer screen.

photo of Peeps using the internet

This particular search resulted in a page that surprised both the Peeps and their observers. The focus of the content of the page, Visual Delights: Magic Lanterns, Peep Shows and Phantasmagoria, is unknown.

(Read the rest of this article!)

 

We’re Having a Postcard Party in the Gardens!

Clemens Gardens

We love libraries! (You know that already)

And we want everyone else to hear about all the great things libraries do!

Advocacy for your library is more than just emailing legislators when budget time comes around (though, it is also that – so please email your legislators to tell them libraries are important!). It means making connections with stakeholders, and letting people know on a regular basis about the great things you are doing. (Check out the Minnesota Loves Libraries site for some great ideas!)

We are here to support our members, so we are holding a postcard party! (Okay, and we are getting spring fever and want to go spend some time in a beautiful, riverside garden!)

We will meet as a group in the Munsinger Clemens Garden (exact location will be decided as we get closer to the big day), chat, have lunch/snacks, and enjoy the scenery. And we will provide postcards for you to use to address to your legislators, your stakeholders, and any other people who need to hear some news from your library!

This fun event will be scheduled for the week of May 15; and we want you to vote on the date that will work out best for you. This will be a drop-in/drop-out event, with people coming and going as fits into your schedule. CMLE staff will be there from 11:00 to 1:00 on the designated day. (If there is a crowd, we will stay to be sure everyone gets a chance to get your postcards!)

Right now we are thinking about this as a lunchtime event; but if an evening event (in addition to this) would work better for your schedule, please let us know.

Come out, join us in having fun, enjoying the sunshine, flowers, and river, and making some good connections with people in your community!

What day will work best for you? (required)