You know that we love your library just as it is. We love to visit member libraries, and to ooooh and aaaaaahhhh over the things you are doing!!!

And it’s good to keep moving things forward, to shake things up a little bit, to try some new things, offer new materials. Your community will keep changing around you, and we all need to work to keep up.

Yeah,  I know. I’m kind of a little old lady – it’s increasingly a challenge to keep up with those whippersnappers today. But totally worth the effort!!!

Libraries pretty much do three things: materials, programs, and services. All libraries, all archives – we all do have these things. It’s the way you implement it that makes you special!

You don’t have to do everything.

You don’t have to follow every single new trend.

You don’t even have to get it all right!

But you do have to try, and you do have to keep evolving and trying new things.

It’s hard, it can be scary. And especially when you are alone in your library, as many of our members are, it may seem a little overwhelming.

(We offer here a virtual pat of Official Office Dog Lady Grey. It’s very reassuring in times of library stress – I promise!)

CMLE is here to help our members with this! We will be happy (So Very Happy!!!) to come to your library, chat about issues, help with planning and policies, attend meetings with you as a backup person – whatever you might need.

And we want to give you money!!!

Okay, not tons of money. BUT!!! Some money!!

(If you follow us on Twitter – and you should! – you have heard me losing my mind and screaming about this!!! Twitter is worth reading, even if just to follow the possibility that I’m actually going to lose it, drive to your library, and throw money at you – as I’ve been threatening to do! #WorthIt #Possibilities)

We offer up to $300 in scholarship money. You can use this to attend conferences, sign up for webinars, get a sub to fill your hours – pretty much whatever you need to make some good progress happen. Find it all right here.

We also offer up to $300 in mini-grant money!! This was a new category last year, and it’s been so cool to read about all the things people are trying! While this is not a huge sum, it’s enough to let you buy a new thing, to go in on a bigger purchase with other money, get some new books, bring in a guest speaker, or pretty much anything else you can dream up!

(Members, come closer. I want to tell you a secret. If you just fill out the application and send it in, if you are at all in the ballpark I’m going to approve it. I’m going to give you money if you ask for it.)

(Note: it’s totally okay to pass this secret around to your friends, colleagues, people you happen to pass on a sidewalk – whoever!)

This past year, we spent way more on these budget categories than ever before – and I was so happy!!!!

Literally, at our annual audit this year the auditor thought I had messed up the budget chart – and then sat very patiently while I excitedly bragged about all the amazing things our members did with this money!!!

(He was nice about it – though maybe slightly puzzled by my effervescent joy. Can’t help it – I’m a dedicated library fan!!!)

I would LOVE it if you all worked together to make my job harder in this area!! Spend all the money!! Make me have to give detailed explanations to account for all the money we gave to members!! (I will absolutely bust out some PowerPoint slides and flow charts to share the library-based joy here – don’t think I won’t!!!!)

We have a long weekend, and hopefully everyone is filled with thanks for all sorts of things.

And I hope some of that extends to your library – and the help CMLE can give to you. I’ll be thankful if you take this money; your patrons will be happy if you get cool stuff or do new stuff for them. You will be thankful at annual review time because you can talk about how awesomely you are succeeding at your job by reaching out to your library system and to your community!

Whew!

That’s a lot of thankfulness!

So, remember: make our jobs here harder. Angie does the paperwork for these applications, and as much as I value all her hard work – I’ll be thankful to overwhelm her with more applications! I’ll also be thankful for the opportunity to tell EVERYONE about the work you are doing. It doesn’t have to be big, flashing, amazing – just try something new. Buy something new. Take a chance.

We’re here for you.

Let’s go do some neat things together!!!