Tag Archives: networking

CMLE, Communication

Library talk! (And food – so it’s all the best things in one place!)

Meetup home
let’s chat!

 

Are you ready for some food and library talk?

We are!

One of the most frequent requests we have received from members is to have more opportunities to gather and talk informally. Many of you are alone in your libraries, and everyone likes to make connections across the system.

So we are setting up regular monthly gatherings for anyone in a CMLE library to meet, eat, and chat!

If you can join us Jan 30, click for more information and an RSVP form. We would love to talk with you! Continue reading Library talk! (And food – so it’s all the best things in one place!) →

Academic, CMLE, Communication, Public, School Media Specialist, Services, Special

Let’s get together and talk libraries!

https://pixabay.com/en/personal-people-talk-discussion-9441/

Do you like to talk about libraries?

Do you like to hang out with library people?

Does the idea of food and library talk together make you excessively happy??

Us too!!

One of the most frequent requests we have received from members is to have more opportunities to gather and talk informally. Many of you are alone in your libraries, and everyone likes to make connections across the system.

So we are setting up regular monthly gatherings for anyone in a CMLE library to meet, eat, and chat! Continue reading Let’s get together and talk libraries! →

Check this out:, Communication, Guest Blogger, Resources

Guest Blogger: Networking For Fun (And a Job!)

networking
networking = chatting with interesting people!

 

Networking is necessary, not just at the start of your career, but throughout it. There are many levels but it can be as easy as being yourself.

 

When it comes to your job search, whether your first professional position after library school, or any search after that, networking is an important aspect. Visions of large hotel function rooms with eager faces and stacks of business cards come to mind, from networking sessions that I attended years ago when starting my personal training business. This environment isn’t ideal for many people, and can be pretty unproductive when the only thing in common between attendees is that everyone is starting their own small business of some type.

 

For someone like me, (I lean toward extroversion) networking comes pretty naturally. This is not to say that I don’t have a shy, reticent side of my personality. I have moved to new locations often, mostly because of my husband’s career, which can be a reason to retreat within. Yet it has also helped me strengthen my ability to extend myself in unfamiliar environments, which is much of what networking entails as you move forward in your career path. I’m not suggesting moving around the country unless you have some wanderlust to satisfy. However, you can learn to extend yourself in ways that don’t require going to huge gatherings where people mingle with the sole mission of exchanging business cards with as many people as possible. Continue reading Guest Blogger: Networking For Fun (And a Job!) →

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

Let's Get Together! A very brief survey

survey
In response to member requests, CMLE is going to set up a regular monthly gathering. This will be an opportunity for members from all types of library and from across the system to get together casually, to chat, to have lunch or dinner, and to just get a chance to talk to each other in person. (And if you want to talk about non-library things, that’s fine too! This is your chance to just hang out with library colleagues; so discuss whatever you want!)
Click to tell us what time (lunch/dinner) and day (Monday – Friday) would work best for you.
We anticipate these will happen monthly, and will create a schedule for the first six months of 2017 to share with you.
While you can not know your schedule in detail for the next six months, we ask that you make some predictions about days and times that you think you would be most likely to be able to join colleagues for an hour or two. We will move the location around, so people from across the system can all have a chance at a shorter drive!
Pick your day and time below. And if you have suggestions on some public places to meet – think coffee, food, possibly adult beverages, and space for us to spread out – leave them below, or email them to us at admin@cmle.org!

 

If you didn’t already click: here it is again!

Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, Communication, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Special

CMLE Google Groups: A place to talk shop with your colleagues!

discussion
Let’s discuss library things!

One of the main things we hear from our members is that they work alone, and that they feel alone in a lot of the things they do in their libraries. As we found in the needs assessment, most of you are solos or working in a library with fewer than five people. And it can be tough to be alone!

At CMLE Headquarters, we want to help you connect to your colleagues. Having someone else to talk about ideas with you, to share in the issues you are all facing, and to ask questions from someone else who knows about the situations you are in can be really helpful!

So we have established a variety of online forums for you to talk, to share ideas, and to celebrate the assorted successes you have in your library! Need to ask for book recommendations? Do it here! Want an example of a useful lesson plan? Ask here! Have a charming story of an adorable patron? Share it here!

Groups available so far: (Feel free to join any group of interest to you)

  • Academic Libraries
  • Elementary School Libraries
  • High School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Special Libraries (this is the group to join for discussions of all types of special libraries, museums, and/or archives)
  • Diversity in Libraries As information professionals in libraries, we are all charged with creating diversity in the staff, materials, programs, and services we provide to our communities. It can be a challenge to do this well, so we will gather here to share ideas, ask questions, and get support from our colleagues!
  • Library Leadership Leading is hard, so let’s get together here and talk about skills we need, and issues we all face. We can trade suggestions, share training opportunities, and ask questions of other people who are also working to lead well in their libraries!
  • Library Planning All libraries make different kinds of plans: strategic, tactical, project. Trying to guess the future can be a challenge, and it works better when we work together! Discuss ideas, solicit templates from others, and ask questions about planning here.
  • Reference work Working in Reference – online or in person – can be a challenge to anyone! Here is the place to discuss issues you encounter, challenges you face, or just to ask questions of your colleagues. We work better when we work together!
  •  General Library Discussion Do you have things you want to talk about from your library? Share them here! Ask oddball questions, share stories of triumphs and tragedies, and generally discuss all the things we see every day in the library!

We will periodically post messages to the groups with information we find that might be relevant only to a segment of our members, but for the most part these are just for you guys to discuss issues facing you and to network with colleagues!

Do you have other topics you would like to us to set up a discussion area?? Just let us know! We are here to help our libraries, and to provide some forums for communication and sharing across the system!