Tag Archives: Minnesota

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Join the State Library Services Team

Please note the following  job opportunity at State Library Services and feel free to pass this information along as it makes sense. Deadline for applications is December 4, 2013. 

State Library Services Recruiting  Library Program and Partnership Coordinator

State Library Services is now accepting applications to fill a new position, Library Development Specialist – Library Program and Partnership Coordinator. Based in Roseville, this is a great professional employment opportunity for librarians interested in working in a leadership role in the state. Primary position responsibilities include developing and maintaining internal and external partnerships and collaborative activities that improve the capacity of Minnesota’s libraries to provide responsive and high quality services to adult patrons. The position will also administer state Arts and Cultural Heritage allocation for regional public libraries and federal LSTA statewide initiative funds.

We are looking for candidates with a background in library services, program management, budgeting, and grants management who have excellent communication skills. Applications will be accepted on the State Jobs website through December 4, 2013.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Nelson at 651-582-8791 or Jennifer.r.nelson@state.mn.us.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Metro Libraries Embrace E-Book Sharing

Image by flickingerbrad. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by flickingerbrad. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Recently, Minnesota made the news around a consortial lending model for  eBooks. Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) is the state organization created to support cooperation and collaboration among the seven-county Twin Cities area libraries. And, 3M is right in MELSA’s backyard! What is exciting is that a  conversation happened between the two, and after a year of working together, 3M has developed CloudLink, a new feature for its eBook lending system for consortia!

Many consortial  arrangements involve member libraries contributing eBooks to a common pool that patrons from all libraries can use. In addition to this functionality, CloudLink also enables any patron from any MELSA library to check out eBooks from the private collections of any other MELSA library, provided there are no holds for the title. Unless a publisher has a policy that prohibits consortial lending, the CloudLink system will allow eBooks to be checked out by patrons from any library.

CMLE staff continue to work with others to monitor possibilities for regional or statewide sharing of eBooks. As you can imagine, the needs of academic, public, K-12 and special libraries can be quite different (yet overlapping in some areas). Existing consortial models are often not a “one size fits all”  and at this moment in time, I remain skeptical that a statewide model exists to serve all needs with one solution. But that is today, the wild west of eBooks is changing every day! Stay tuned……

Read the full Digital Shift article (Nov.5)

Also, read an infoDOCKET article on this subject (Sept.18)

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

23 Mobile Things Preview Webinar

23 Mobile Things Logo
23 Mobile Things Logo

Recently, we announced that CMLE, as the Central Minnesota component of  the statewide multitype library systems, will begin  the 23 Mobile Things program in mid-January. Start shining  up your mobile devices for a fun, online, self-paced program that is sprinkled with incentives, discoveries, and prizes too! Can we break our record of 300 CMLE participants from the 23 Things on a Stick program from five years ago? 

News Flash! Metronet is the Twin Cities multitype, and LeAnn Suchy will be offering a free  Apps in a Flash: 23 Mobile Things Preview  webinar on December 5th, as part of the Minitex Outreach & Instruction Guest Webinar Series. Tune in to learn about apps for photos, videos, notetaking, presentations, education and more!

Register now for the webinar! Peek into the future of the 23 Mobile Things Program!

Didn’t see our earlier post about the 23 Mobile Things Program?

Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Reluctant Reader Event Deadline Approaching!

J-O-L-DDon’t forget to register for CMLE’s Reaching Reluctant Readers event in St. Cloud, next week Friday, December 6th!

 Registration Link

Tip: Invite the reading teachers at your school to attend!

If you are struggling to identify a favorite reluctant reader book- bring it with you the day of the event.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

AASL’s Lesson Plan Database

Image by Jonathan Barragan. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by Jonathan Barragan. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Update 9/22/2014: “AASL has received word that the organization that hosts and provides technical support for the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database has refocused their mission and will no longer be providing these services. As such, the lesson plan database will be archived and future plans are currently under consideration” (AASL Lesson Plan Database).

Whether you are looking for a lesson plan on digital citizenship or wanting to share the snazzy lesson plan you created on screen-casting, there is now a place to do so. After all, why should every school media specialist re-invent the wheel, right?

AASL gets credit for creating this database, and contributors get credit for what is in it! This lesson plan database is meant to support school media specialists and other educators too as they teach essential learning skills within the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner.

You can do free searches by standards and indicators, content topic, grade level, type of lesson or schedule, and of course keyword too. Registered users can bookmark lesson plans, rate and comment on content, print to PDF and socially share content too. Again, it is free.

Submissions to the Lesson Plan Database are vetted by AASL reviewers to ensure lesson plans published are of the highest quality. The lesson plan template was developed using the Action Example Template from Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action. All lesson plans published are aligned with AASL’s Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and are crosswalked with the Common Core Standards.

Search the AASL Lesson Plan Database Now!

Do you still have lots of questions? Go directly to the FAQ’s on the site!