Tag Archives: Guest Blogger

Guest Blogger, Materials, Services

Report from CMLE Mini Grant: LittleBits

This is a guest post from Sarah Gerber, 4th grade teacher at Talahi Community School.  She worked with their Media Specialist Jenny McNew to receive this CMLE Mini Grant. Need a Mini Grant to purchase materials or try an interesting new program at your library? Apply today! 

As part of our Grade 4 standards my students worked on circuits. While working  to STEMify our curriculum the students began using LittleBits to understand how circuits work and how to use them in the design process to create a machine that utilizes electronics.

My students were thoroughly engaged as they learned about inputs, outputs, wires, and power sources. They needed to rely on their collaboration and problem solving skills while following a guide to design an art invention tool. From there students could choose to create a design of their own to solve a real world problem. From using the buzzer for an alarm, to having light sensors help us navigate the dark, the students amazed me with their curiosity and perseverance in completing a design. It was common to hear, “This is so cool!” and “Oh, now I get it!”

LittleBits are an excellent tool to create projects that are STEM and STEAM related. They helped my students understand the MN standards on Energy and Engineering regardless of their technical ability. The color coded electronic “Bits” snap together magnetically and can be used to create many different inventions for multiple skill levels. We purchased the STEAM Student Set and found that it worked best in groups of two to three.

Conference, Guest Blogger

TIES Conference Report: Holly Nelson

This is a guest post from Holly Nelson, Media Specialist at Kennedy Community School. Need a scholarship to attend a conference or participate in Professional Development? Apply today! 

Attending the annual TIES Conference provided me the opportunity to experience an array of multiple educational initiatives and innovations all in one event.  As a school librarian, I’m cognizant of the vastly changing role of libraries within schools and the learning I experienced was beneficial for my personal professional development but more importantly for the staff and students at my school.

I was able to learn about a new technology integration initiative we’ve now begun at my school.  The SeeSaw tool is used now with teachers, students, and parents to share student learning and build student digital learning portfolios.  Learning from other educators who are using this tool also opened a communication network between multiple professionals and collaborative opportunities.  I am now able to provide support to all users of this new tool and/or extend my support beyond the walls of our school.

The various topics available for exploration at TIES was invaluable. Sharing my knowledge of computational thinking using coding in the “Digital Playground” was a great way to network with other educators. Another great resource that I learned at TIES is how to help students using their 1:1 iPads to create book commercials for an engaging way for students to share their learning. I can’t thank CMLE enough for this chance I received to learn and help grow my school library and its vital role in education.

 

Conference, Guest Blogger

Guest Post: Zine Librarians unConference

This is a guest post from CMLE member Violet Fox. Have you gone to a particularly interesting conference or class? We’d love to hear about it!

Did you know zine librarians across the U.S. and beyond will be visiting Minnesota this July 12th through 14th? Minneapolis will be the site of the eleventh Zine Librarians unConference and you are cordially invited!

(Do you need some background information on what zines are, and how they can have a positive impact on your library? Check out this interview we did with Violet in 2016 where she tells us all about them!)

It’s been nine years since the first Zine Librarians unConference (ZLuC) took place in Seattle in 2009—I had just started volunteering with Seattle’s Zine Archive & Publishing Project, and I was delighted to meet so many folks who were excited about talking about zines in libraries. Since then, ZLuC has been held around the country, including Boston, Long Beach, Pittsburgh, Austin, and Portland. This year the site selection committee chose Minneapolis, likely because of the strong zine libraries community that is developing in the Twin Cities and beyond.

The unConference is a multi-day affair that welcomes workers and volunteers from academic, public, and special libraries, as well as community-oriented independent libraries and archives. Like other unconferences, the topics that will be discussed aren’t determined in advance—they’re decided on by the participants during the event. Typical topics covered often include collection development, event programming, teaching with zines, preservation, cataloging, and acquisitions. Previous ZLuCs have resulted in the creation of the Zine Librarians Code of Ethics, collaboration on a variety of projects, idea sharing, and general support for people dealing with the challenges and opportunities of providing access to zines in libraries and archives.

Because there are multiple libraries that collect zines in the Twin Cities area, ZLuC 2018 will be held at three different sites over three days. The afternoon of Thursday July 12 there’ll be a half day of ZLuC at MCTC (Minneapolis Community and Technical College). MCTC’s library has a huge zine collection and a zine lounge area. Friday July 13 there’ll be a full day of ZLuC at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. The UMN Libraries holds the incredible Marshall Weber Culture Wars Zine Collection. And the morning of Saturday July 14 ZLuC will wrap up with another half day at the Hennepin County Library’s beautiful Minneapolis Central Library. HCL is in the process of ramping up their zine collection and will be the host of this year’s Twin Cities Zine Fest in September. Social events for all three evenings will be planned, likely including a free visit to the Walker Art Center and a zinester reading.

Best of all, registration for ZLuC is free. If you’re coming from out of town, there will also be an option for cheap dorm rooms at the University of Minnesota residence halls ($46/person/day for a shared room, $61/person/day for a private room).

Whether you’re thinking of starting a zine collection, planning your first zine workshop, or already considering the nitty-gritty details of maintaining your collection, consider attending one or more days of ZLuC 2018 in Minneapolis! Please get in touch with me (violetfox@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

Books, Guest Blogger

Guest Post for CMLE Reads Across Minnesota: Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, and it also has many interesting books. In this series, we are sharing some of the books we like from Minnesota, or Minnesota authors.

We are mapping our literary journey around Minnesota, so you can see all the interesting places where our books are set. Follow our progress on our Google Map, accessible by clicking that link or searching for the title CMLE Reads Across Minnesota!

This is a guest post from CMLE member Violet Fox. Want to write a book review for us? Let us know! 

As a relative newcomer to Minnesota I’ve been making a concerted effort to learn more about this state, especially the unique cultures that have shaped the state’s history. Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year, is an enjoyable read focusing on the experiences of author Linda LeGarde Grover, member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe and professor of American Indian studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth. In this book of essays Grover shares stories from her life, finding beauty in everyday life and illustrating her strong spirituality and love for the people in her community.

Onigamiising (pronounced, approximately, AH-nih-gum-AY-sing) is the Ojibwe word for Duluth, meaning “the place of the small portage.” In Grover’s reflections there is a sense of loss of the traditional ways of living that the Ojibwe practiced for hundreds of years in the area before colonization. Grover’s background as an educator gives even further weight to the grief that she shares when discussing the disastrous effects of the boarding schools, where American Indian children were sent by the federal government to attend subpar schools and intentionally be separated from their families and their cultural heritage. But this heartbreak is deftly balanced by an expansive gratitude for the natural world and especially the long-held spiritual and cultural values that are shared by the Ojibwe people.

From the publisher’s description: “In fifty short essays, Grover reflects on the spiritual beliefs and everyday practices that carry the Ojibwe through the year and connect them to this northern land of rugged splendor. As the four seasons unfold—from Ziigwan (Spring) through Niibin and Dagwaagin to the silent, snowy promise of Biboon—the award-winning author writes eloquently of the landscape and the weather, work and play, ceremony and tradition and family ways, from the homey moments shared over meals to the celebrations that mark life’s great events. Now a grandmother, a Nokomis, beginning the fourth season of her life, Grover draws on a wealth of stories and knowledge accumulated over the years to evoke the Ojibwe experience of Onigamiising, past and present, for all time.”

Many of these essays have been previously published in various places. I found the book best enjoyed by reading just one or two essays at a time, with time to reflect on the lessons in each story. Check out one of Grover’s essays online, “Passing on the Ojibwe language,” and then pick up Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year to savor the wisdom and lyricism of her stories.

Conference, Guest Blogger

CMLE Scholarship: MLA 2017

This guest post was written by Violet Fox, Metadata Librarian at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University.

The theme for the 2017 Minnesota Library Association’s Annual Conference was “Radical Librarianship,” and I couldn’t have been more excited! I was excited to hear from library workers not only about the great things that libraries do for our users, but also how we as a profession should strive to recognize and address our shortcomings.

I was delighted to be able to present alongside some of my favorite library folks: Hannah Buckland (Leech Lake Tribal College), Tina Gross (St. Cloud State University), and Jessica Schomberg (Minnesota State University, Mankato). In our session, we talked about how centralization in cataloging often prevents libraries from responding flexibly to the needs of their users, and encouraged all librarians to argue for the value of local control in our standards and vocabularies in order to provide respectful and responsive metadata.

A number of MLA 2017 presentations gave me ample material to reflect on. Standouts included Safiya Umoja Noble’s session on how increasing reliance on opaque algorithms results in upholding societal inequity and oppression, as well as an interesting session from librarians at Dakota County Library (Christie Schultz and Lori Veldhuis) on their valuable project to make their world language collection more accessible and attractive to patrons.

Alhough I don’t do usability testing or user surveying in my job, the most exciting session I attended was “UX is Social Change: the Feminist Impact of User Experience Work” by librarians at Metropolitan State University (Christine Larson, Jennifer DeJonghe) and Hennepin County Library (Amy Luedtke, Tony Hirt). The presenters talked about how they use feminist principles within their work, in part by centering patron experiences and recognizing that patrons have knowledge and experience that we don’t. They also discussed their efforts to recruit UX participants intentionally, and acknowledged that it can be uncomfortable to have one’s design ideas critiqued. I very much appreciated the presenters’ unapologetic embrace of “disciplined empathy” in their work, and their presentation encouraged me to find ways to do the same in my own day-to-day work.

I’m grateful for CMLE’s support to attend MLA 2017 and I’d like to encourage Minnesota library colleagues to attend and present at next year’s conference!

Do you want to attend a conference or take part in some other professional development? Apply for a scholarship from CMLE today!