Tag Archives: Stearns History Museum

CMLE, Special, Visits

Visiting the Stearns History Museum!

Gallery

We always enjoy visits to our CMLE members, and this visit was extra interesting! One of our members that is not a typical library is the Stearns History Museum. The Museum has an extensive archive and we were lucky enough to be shown around by archivist Jessie Storlien.

As you can see from these photos, she showed us a ton of cool information, and as a Stearns County native myself, I really appreciated seeing all the history available about this area. And it’s all available to the public, although if you have any questions or need to see the archives, the experts like Jessie are available to assist you. Other archivists at the Museum include Steve Penick, John Decker, and Heidi Heller.

As you can see from the photos above, there are all sorts of different resources available to the public. You can find your family history (if you are from this area you will see some familiar names!), scroll through microfilm, or check out an exhibition about the first people to ever live in Stearns County. Do you live on a family farm? Check out your eligibility for the Century Farms program! And one of St. Cloud’s early newspapers, Der Nordstern, is in German so you may want to keep your Google Translate handy!

It was exciting to see the archives where additional resources are kept, including photographs, oral histories, the Myron Hall collection, and even more maps! It was easy to see that there was a lot of work being done to make sure historical documents are preserved in a way that will allow them to be accessed in the future. We got to learn about some of the challenges that face archivists, like rapidly changing technology and processing donated materials.

On our way out, we stopped to visit the room for kids, which had some historical photos of children from Stearns County! We got to admire some beautiful quilts made by artists from the area, and of course enjoyed the grounds outside the museum.

If you have any interest in local or family history, I’d definitely recommend taking advantage of the Stearns History Museum! Keep in mind that the museum is open Monday –  Friday 10 AM – 5 PM,  and Saturdays too, from 10AM – 4 PM!

A huge thank you to Jessie for a fantastic tour and for sharing all of her knowledge!

CMLE, Communication, Resources

Don’t miss our latest podcast, featuring some special CMLE guests!

We were lucky enough to have two guests on our podcast this week: Jessie Storlien, Stearns History Center; and Susan Schleper, St. Cloud Hospital Library.

(You can download all our podcasts at iTunes or the podcast app of your choice; or you can listen to this episode here!)

Topic of the Week: Special Libraries

From Wikipedia:
“A special library is a library that provides specialized information resources on a particular subject, serves a specialized and limited clientele, and delivers specialized services to that clientele.[1] Special libraries include corporate libraries, government libraries, law libraries, medical libraries, museum libraries, news libraries, and nonprofit libraries. Special libraries also exist within academic institutions, including law school libraries and medical school libraries. These libraries are included as special libraries because they are often funded separately from the rest of the university and they serve a targeted group of users.[2]”

Learn more about special libraries and listen to our episode here.

CMLE, Programs

CMLE Travel Bug Lands in a Member Location!

If you have been following the adventures of the CMLE travel bugs, you have noticed they have been quiet over the winter. Less hiking and exploring in the cold weather means less hunting for geocaches. But Spring is here (technically!), and our travel bugs are eager to get moving on their adventures!

This is the travel bug Library Fan #1, dropped into its first cache! As you can see in the photos, this is a very cool cache – big enough to hold some fun things, not too hard to find, and subtle enough that it blended into the scenery very nicely.

The cache is “Milo and Chevy’s Excellent Adventure!” hidden 2/26/2016 by Pink candy, Babeonbon. ” Milo and Chevy are our two fur babies. If they were dogs, they’d probably love taking walks when we’re out caching, but they’re both too lazy. Continue reading CMLE Travel Bug Lands in a Member Location! →

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Archives and History: John Decker

logoIf you didn’t see the recent article by the St. Cloud Times about John Decker, Director of Archives at the Stearns History Museum, you should take a minute to read it. It shares some of the history behind the museum, but in particular, highlights the work of Mr. Decker. Did you know he was one of the first staffers when the museum opened in 1977? Stearns county has these valuable resources thanks in part to the work of Mr. Decker!

 

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

Registration: Reaching Reluctant Readers

Registration is now open!

CMLE is excited to offer our first reluctant reader event next month! In September, CMLE talked about reluctant readers in a popular post titled, Books & Boys. Then after attending this year’s MLA conference session with Patrick Jones in October, we knew our region would benefit from his message.

This Minneapolis based author, and former librarian, specializes in reaching reluctant readers and teens. As an American Library Association/Scholastic Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Jones will identify leading causes as to why young readers disengage. During this event, he will provide a framework to help us understand what reluctant readers look for including, tempting plot lines, enticing characters  and specific book design elements. Jones will leave participants with best practices to recapture a reluctant reader(s.) We hope you can join us!

Patrick Jones. Image Retrieved Online 11/7/13.
Patrick Jones.
Image Retrieved Online 11/7/13.

Event: Reaching Reluctant Readers
Date: December 6th, 2013
Time: 1:00-4:00 P.M.
Location: Stearns History Museum
Registration: Link (light refreshments will be made available)

Note: We are asking attendees to bring at least one, time honored and tested reluctant reader book to this event. When registering, you will be asked for the title (s) and author (s) of at least one book, but, the form will accommodate up to three of your favorite  picks. CMLE would like to compile a  list of these books to share as a takeaway from this event! Time will be allotted for Patrick to sign copies of his book.