TO: Minnesota Libraries
FROM: State Library Services
DATE: October 20, 2014
SUBJECT: MBTBL job opening, GCFLearnFree.org, LSTA Mini Grants due, MLA thanks and 90-Second Newbery
Position Opening at the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library
The Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library (MBTBL) is seeking qualified candidates for a full-time library technician. Located in Faribault, the MBTBL provides library services to individuals with a visual, physical or reading disability that prevents them from reading standard print materials. The vacancy announcement and application form may be found online at the My State Job Search website. The closing date for the position is October 23, 2014. For more information please contact Catherine Durivage at 507-384-6860 or catherine.durivage@state.mn.us.
Free 21st Century Skills Training Website: GCFLearnFree.org
Over the past decade, the Goodwill Community Foundation’s GCFLearnFree.org program has helped millions around the world learn the essential skills they need to live and work in the 21st century. From using Microsoft Office and email to reading, math, and more, the website offers more than 90 free, self-paced tutorials, including more than 1,000 lessons.
Please join us for an informational webinar on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 from 11 a.m. to noon. Get a virtual tour of the site and learn how other libraries have successfully used GCFLearnFree.org with their patrons. Preregistration is not required. View the webinar. If requested, enter your name and email address, then click “Join.”
For more information, please contact Jennifer Verbrugge at 651-582-8356 or jennifer.verbrugge@state.mn.us.
LSTA Mini Grant applications due November 5
State Library Services is pleased to offer two competitive mini grant opportunities — Playful Learning in Libraries and Expanded Learning through Libraries. With streamlined applications, mini grants are short term grant awards of up to $10,000 for projects taking place from approximately early January through September 30, 2015. Applications for both mini grant opportunities are due on November 5.
Playful Learning in Libraries mini grants are offered to bolster the capacity of public libraries to provide welcoming and engaging play-friendly spaces and experiences that engage children ages 0-8 and their parents/caregivers in play and learning. These projects will also ensure that early learners experience a variety of playful activities that support their growth across the six domains of Minnesota’s early childhood indicators of progress. For inspiration, see what was done at the Park Grove Library in Cottage Grove with a Playful Learning in Libraries mini grant. For more information about this opportunity, contact Jackie Blagsvedt at jacqueline.blagsvedt@state.mn.us or 651-582-8805.
Expanded Learning through Libraries mini grants are designed to support activity-based partnerships between schools and public libraries. The overarching goal is to increase organizational capacity to connect students with meaningful out-of-school time opportunities that improve literacy, academic achievement, college readiness and more. For more information about this opportunity, contact Jennifer Verbrugge at jennifer.verbrugge@state.mn.us or 651-582-8356.
Grant opportunity documents, including timelines, are available on MDE’s grants management site.
Great to See You at the MLA Conference!
State Library Services staff members Jen Nelson, Jackie Blagsvedt and Jen Verbrugge enjoyed connecting with you at the MLA Conference. Thanks to all who attended the programs we presented and chatted with us about your libraries. Please continue the conversation — feel free to contact any State Library Services staff member by email or phone. We love to hear from you!
Calling All Kid Filmmakers!
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is an annual video contest in which kid filmmakers make movies that creatively tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in ninety seconds or less. Making the film is a fun, creative and multi-faceted educational exercise. Kids write, storyboard, produce, act, frame and edit. James Kennedy, the founder and curator of the 90-Second Newbery, made his own 90-second movie about the 90-Second Newbery inviting you to take part.
Public librarians, school librarians, homeschool parents and teachers are encouraged to work with their kids to make movies. The deadline to submit films is December 20, 2014 (deadline extended to 1-16-2015 as of 12-11-2014). Inspiration and more information can be found on the 90-Second Newbery website. Want to make a 90-Second Newbery video, but are daunted by the project? Download this handy guide of tips, tricks, and strategies.
Mark your calendar for the first-ever Minnesota screening of the best local entries on Saturday, February 28, 2015, from 3:00-4:30 pm at Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central. Co-hosts of the event will be James Kennedy and Kelly Barnhill, Minneapolis author of The Witch’s Boy. For more details, please contact Jennifer Verbrugge at jennifer.verbrugge@state.mn.us or 651-582-8356.
I began to do a little research and found that empathy can and should be taught. As I thought about adding one more thing to the plates of our teachers, it was clear that a great way to teach these topics with an attentive audience was through books. Through a classroom mini-grant from CMLE I have been able to purchase some beautiful books that emulate these topics in an entertaining and engaging way. I purchased, “UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World” by Michele Borba as a professional read for staff to help them help students take on the skills of empathy and kindness. For student discussion I purchased 35 fabulous titles, some which come with great discussion questions to help facilitate conversations with kids. 
