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Check this out:, General, School Media Specialist

The First Ever MEMO Unconference

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Participant’s hands had a death grip on steaming mugs of coffee as we assembled for the Joyce Valenza keynote, which kicked off the Saturday Unconference day for the 2013 MEMO Conference. Valenza was amazing as always, and I have reams of notes from her presentation; mostly new tools. Links will be forthcoming.

About one third of the attendees had attended an unconference before, which surprised me. The content of an unconference is based solely on the immediate interest of those in the room .  The rules were: NO power points, rule of two feet (leave a session if it does not suit your immediate need), everyone has a voice, everyone is an expert, and have fun! Then, pads of sticky notes were placed on the tables and we were asked to consider topics to put on the slips of paper to then transfer to a large grid at the front of the room. We were asked  to consider: What can I teach about, what do I want to learn about, or,  I want to discuss or collaborate with others on this topic. The suggested topics  sorted themselves out quickly and numbers were placed on tables to correspond to the numbered topics.

10-8-2013 2-05-05 PM

It was really hard to choose where to go, but then I remembered the “two feet” rule, so the stress was instantly gone! In round two, I chose the e-folio table, but most of us were there hoping for an expert or someone to lead the conversation. When no one took on either role, without guilt, I got up and ambled on over to student PLN’s which was better.

But the highlight for me was truly during the first round, I picked Being Influential. I was delighted and surprised to see that Stephen Abram, our Friday luncheon keynote speaker was prepared to lead the conversation. Stephen has many claims to fame and I have followed him online for years.  He is the author of Stephen’s Lighthouse blog, is a library trend watcher, fundraiser,  innovator, thought provoker, and has held several executive leadership positions in the library field; big names like Gale, SirsiDynix, Thomson, and ProQuest. Bonus! So, I and seven other professionals could sit around a table and listen to Stephen’s thoughts on the subject,  and shoot him questions about how to apply his suggestions to local situations. It was well worth my while, I took detailed notes,  and will share the details of that little round table discussion next week, so stay tuned!

If you were also at the MEMO Unconference, what did you think? Is this an event model that you would like to try in our Central Minnesota region among colleagues? CMLE listens to its member libraries/media center staff,  so if you have an opinion, make your voice heard!

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

Assorted Updates About eBooks

Image by melentia2012. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by melentia2012. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

If you are looking for e-book updates, these snippets have been supplied through my membership in the American Libraries Association.  

The Big Six and library lending: An update 
Rob Maier writes: “In May 2013, when I started to track the Big Six and their library lending terms, there were many changes taking place in the publishing world. I assumed that I’d be issuing updates at least monthly. Instead, we entered a time of limited change until September 25, when Penguin resumed licensing its ebooks through OverDrive. Since OverDrive is the leading provider of ebooks to public libraries, the lack of access to Penguin titles has been frustrating to say the least.”…
AL: E-Content, Sept. 27; OverDrive Digital Library Blog, Sept. 25
Penguin drops side-loading requirement 
Matt Enis writes: “In a quick reversal of its position on Kindle lending, Penguin on September 26 loosened the terms of its renewed agreement with OverDrive. The publisher has agreed to allow library patrons to download ebook titles wirelessly via OverDrive’s ‘Get for Kindle’ function instead of, as initially announced, first downloading titles to a computer, and then side-loading those titles to their Kindle classic or Paperwhite using a USB cord.”…
Library Journal: The Digital Shift, Sept. 27
Scribd offers ebook subscription service 
Scribd announced October 2 it is offering its own subscription service for ebooks. The service will cost $8.99 a month for an unlimited amount of books and will have many HarperCollins titles. Scribd is a six-year-old document-sharing company. Laura Hazard Owen writes: “Overall, the service is a strong contender in this emerging space, and if you’re trying to choose between Scribd and Oyster, you’ll have to consider selection, design, and platform.” Nate Hoffelder notes a potential problem with content availability….
TeleRead, Oct. 1; GigaOM, Oct. 1; The Digital Reader, Oct. 1
OverDrive releases library circulation APIs 
Adam Sockel writes: “Last year we introduced the initial set of OverDrive APIs that enable approved vendors to deeply integrate OverDrive-hosted catalogs and nearly one million digital titles with their apps and platforms. These included the ability to access catalog metadata, see the availability of a title, and search the library’s collection. The all-new Circulation APIs are now available on the OverDrive Developer Portal.”…
OverDrive Digital Library Blog, Oct. 1
Source: American Libraries Direct, 10/2/2013
Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Struggling With Multitasking?

Image by UrbaneWomenMag. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Common's licensing.
Image by UrbaneWomenMag. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.

Regardless of what type of library you work in, fall can be an extremely busy time of the year both professionally and personally. Also, as work environments become more collaborative, it introduces the possibility of additional interruptions. Ultimately, this has implications faculty/staff’s ability to focus on a singular task from start to finish.

If you are one of those can-do multitaskers, consider reading the following posts by Edudemic.

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

So What Are Students Reading?

Image by John-Morgan. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common's licensing.
Image by John-Morgan. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Renaissance Learning has recently released the fifth edition of What Kids Are Reading: The Book Reading Habits of Students in American Schools.  This information was gathered from students in grades 1-12.  Results from this research have been made available online in both a summary format, as well as the full report.

In addition, the website provides a host of other resources including:

  • Report inforgraphic in PDF
  • Top 40 list of Accelerated Reading (AR) books selected by students
  • Top 25 Spanish Books
  • Required high school reading from 1907 to 2012
  • Caldecott and Newbery award winners, 1922 to Present

And, much more. Click here to enter the Renaissance Learning website to view the report findings and additional resources.

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

Minnesota Authors On The Map

Image from MN Book Awards. Retrieved online. Some rights reserved.
Image from MN Book Awards. Retrieved online. Some rights reserved.

As a native to Minnesota, I love to learn about local authors. It’s heartwarming to hear stories from our member libraries about how they recognize authors. Some examples include; famous quotes, webcasts, book talks, celebrating birthdays, table displays, etc. As a result,  I wanted to share with you a resource from the MN Book Awards.  It is a literary map, From Main Street to Your Street: Minnesota Writers on the Map. Click here to find an author near you.

TIP: Kate DiCamillo, who is currently living in Minneapolis, MN,  is holding an exclusive webcast with Jon Scieszka on October 21st.  If you would like to attend, registration and additional information can be found online at http://tinyurl.com/kesjsml.