Tag Archives: Linking our Libraries

CMLE, Communication, Tech

It’s Here: Season Two of Linking Our Libraries Podcast!!

We are SO excited to share with all of our library people our second season of Linking Our Libraries Podcast!

We are continuing to talk about all things libraries in order to help our members and all library folks stay informed about important library topics. Some that we will cover this season include programming, tech training, strategic planning, and customer service. We have been lucky enough to get the perspective and expertise of some fantastic guest hosts (if you are one of those people, THANK YOU for participating!) and hope you enjoy hearing from fellow CMLE members.

Our very first episode of Season Two is available now: Episode 201 Community Engagement!

Tune in to hear about all the great ways that libraries are able to help their communities!

To subscribe to our podcast, download an app (like Pocket Casts, iTunes, or Stitcher), subscribe to “Linking Our Libraries” and all episodes will appear on your phone – it’s so easy!
Or, you can stream an episode right now on your computer by going to our streaming page, by clicking here.

Thanks for listening, and we are looking forward to Season Two!

CMLE, Communication

Our final Season One podcast: Information Literacy!

It has been so much fun to make these podcasts!

First, we had to figure out how to actually make a podcast. This was surprisingly tricky! There was no one single set of directions that told us everything we needed; so we spent time improvising, trying things, and learning from our failures. Learning new skills is a constant part of the profession, and it was (luckily!) always more exciting than frustrating to figure this stuff out.

We developed our own areas of specialization: Angie became the Chief Sound Engineer, in charge of figuring out all the technology; Mary provided the library content. Our assorted guest hosts provided energy and subject-matter expertise. It grew and built, and things got better as we went along.

And now we come to the end of Season One! Our final episode this season looks at a topic all libraries need to address with their patrons: Information Literacy.

You can find that podcast, and all of the others, on our podcast page. Or you can subscribe to us using iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, or any other podcast app you like.

Is this the end of the Linking Our Libraries podcast? Heck no!

Thursday, June 29 we will drop our bonus episode of Season One: The LOL Award Show. You can vote here for awards in an assortment of categories. Don’t like the categories? There is space for you to add in your own award! (Feel free to choose a winner too!) We will announce these on our podcast, so get out there and get going!

We are already planning out Season Two! Our first episode will drop Thursday August 10, focusing on Community Engagement. We look forward to all kinds of podcast excitement as we work through fifteen more topics of importance to our libraries!

CMLE, Communication

Vote Early, Vote Often: It’s the LOL Podcast Awards!

We have had such fun making Season One of our Linking Our Libraries podcast! It has been great to read about so many neat libraries, so many great projects, and to get such good feedback from our listeners!

We started out to explore libraries, and to find information that would be useful to our members. As we get ready to wrap up Season One (the final episode drops Thursday Jun 15!), we are even MORE excited about libraries and all the great things happening here!

But it’s not just a lovely summertime season, it’s also festive Award Season here at Linking Our Libraries – and you are invited to join the party!!

We have enjoyed all of our topics and all of our Guest Hosts, and are already looking forward to Season Two. To celebrate the libraries and topics we covered, we are asking you to vote for the awards for our Season One LOL Award Show!

Vote for the awards you find most worthy, and you can add in your own award at the end. If we like it too, we will add it into our podcast episode which will be available Thursday June 29!

Thanks for listening and for supporting our podcast!

Remember: Vote Early, Vote Often!! We want to hear from you!

CMLE, Communication, Resources

Don’t miss our latest podcast, featuring some special CMLE guests!

We were lucky enough to have two guests on our podcast this week: Jessie Storlien, Stearns History Center; and Susan Schleper, St. Cloud Hospital Library.

(You can download all our podcasts at iTunes or the podcast app of your choice; or you can listen to this episode here!)

Topic of the Week: Special Libraries

From Wikipedia:
“A special library is a library that provides specialized information resources on a particular subject, serves a specialized and limited clientele, and delivers specialized services to that clientele.[1] Special libraries include corporate libraries, government libraries, law libraries, medical libraries, museum libraries, news libraries, and nonprofit libraries. Special libraries also exist within academic institutions, including law school libraries and medical school libraries. These libraries are included as special libraries because they are often funded separately from the rest of the university and they serve a targeted group of users.[2]”

Learn more about special libraries and listen to our episode here.

Materials

From Fine Art to Fishing Poles, the Most Surprising Things Libraries Are Lending Now

We are interested in this, here at CMLE HQ! Check out our podcast on unusual materials.

From Atlas Obscura:

“When the writer Deborah Fallows toured smaller and midsize communities in the United States in 2016, she made sure to make the same stop in every city and town: the local public library. Libraries were never just plain old book-lenders, she learned, and they certainly aren’t now. Most provide residents with internet access, educational opportunities, and even refuge during times of meteorological or civic crisis. They use their archives to hold onto local history, and their programming and decor to reflect a vision of the future.

A town or city’s Main Street or Chamber of Commerce reveals its body politic, writes Fallows, but “the visit to the public library reveal[s] its heart and soul.” These days, many of these hearts and souls are full of unexpected stuff—including stuff that, if you want, you can take home with you for a few weeks. In the spirit of civic introspection, here are some of America’s most surprising current circulating collections, from art to umbrellas.”

Read the rest of this article!