Kit Hadley is the Director of the St. Paul Public Library, and she recently wrote a really wonderful piece about libraries that everyone should take the time to read. It seems the debate often centers on print books, but taking the time to think more deeply, no matter what kind of library you consider, it is indeed about learning. Read the article in the Star Tribune.
Happy holidays to all academic, public, special and K-12 school library staff in the twelve-county Central Minnesota region! We hope that everyone gets at least a little bit of downtime during this season to savor moments of peace and rest.
We have intentionally begun tapering off the “weightiness” of posts this week, as we remind ourselves of the importance of honoring traditions and times with family and friends. With that in mind, we will take a short break from the Weekly Review during the holidays, and will be back in January to shepherd members to the registration link for the 23 Mobile Things Program. It is invigorating to hear the buzz in the air about this free, self-paced, online learning opportunity, and we are looking forward to it!
As the wind begins to howl, and road conditions deteriorate, the face-to-face library events typically slow down if only for a little while! Stay warm, focus on refining your craft, and build big plans and dreams for the new year. We will be doing the same. CMLE staffers remain dedicated to providing quality support services to library staff in 319 libraries in Central Minnesota.
Peace~
Patricia
We’ve Learned… is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in CMLE libraries/media centers. Please keep us informed of any “happenings” regarding staff members in your area so that we can include them in the next write-up! Happenings can include: changes in staffing, awards, honors… you get the idea!
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Books, books and more books.
On December 5th, Library Journal (LJ) released their top picks for Best Books: 2013 Craft and Do-It-Yourself (DIY), just in time for the holidays. Don’t forget to check out another post this week with bookish craft projects-just for fun. However, if crafting books are not in high demand with your users, perhaps they would rather be in the kitchen? Consider LJ’s Best Books: 2013 Cookbooks to keep your collection current.
Yet another state recently launched a pilot project to provide statewide, equitable access to eBook content. Fifty-one multitype libraries in Massachusetts will begin a six month pilot to offer eBooks to their communities. This project is an effort to further explore: different eBook lending models, different platforms, and user experiences too. This project is managed by the Massachusetts Library System (MLS), in cooperation with its vendor partners—Baker & Taylor and BiblioLabs. Funding came from matching funds from MLS and through federal funds provided by the Institute for Museums and Library Services (IMLS). In Minnesota, a task force is meeting to discuss an eBook summit in 2014 to advance of the conversation of equitable, statewide access to eBooks in Minnesota. Read more about the Massachusetts initiative at MA eBook Project.
Later articles on this project are at
Additional article about MA ebook project….
Yet another article about the MA project