Photo by mkh marketing and retrieved from Flickr.                     Used under Creative Commons license.

Publisher Weekly posted an article titled Teenage Tweetland, YA authors and publishers reach out to young readers where they live: online and on their smartphones which discusses the use of social media in relation to the publishing industry. What makes this post so interesting are the multiple perspectives/voices being projected; the young adult, the author, the publisher, etc.

A large sector of young adults use social media such as Twitter (20+ million), Goodreads (8+ million users under 30), Tumblr (22+ million users under 18), blogs, etc. to identify titles to add to their reading lists.  Publishers themselves are posting upcoming book lists and must reads derived from data collected from sites “liked” or reviewed by their target audience.  In addition, authors are engaging their readers by sending tweets not just about the finished publication but during the characters development process to heighten anticipation and ultimately entice continued readership.  Simone Elkeles, author of Perfect Chemistry, states that she spends about 25% of her time writing and 75% of her time directly interacting with her fans. Authors like Sundee Frazier find it daunting to engage in social media platforms stating, “I’m not the sort of person who can just fire off tweets. My first priority is writing my stories.”

This highly personalized and direct marketing creates a digital dialog with readers-especially young readers who are confident and enthusiastic about technology.  It also creates a feeling of being connected, albeit virtually, using a system that has been known to inversely foster physical isolation.  This type of connection between writer and reader is becoming a growing expectation opposed to a preference.  I suspect the key is finding a medium that works.  As Patricia Post indicted in her editorial, From the Director,  CMLE has recently begun to engage in various forms of social marketing (this blog) with our target audiences (libraries and library professionals) to acknowledge that libraries are key stakeholders in the ever present cycle of information development, access and sharing. Click here to read the full article (May 2013).

• Beginning last July, CMLE vowed to Refocus, Retool, and Evolve at the conclusion of its strategic planning process. The Governing Board helped us make some hard decisions. The most significant one was the sunsetting of our physical interlibrary loan service after a 10 year downward spiral in usage. Costs for providing the service have not decreased, so the cost/benefit analysis spoke loudly to all involved. We continue to assist users of that service in finding alternate ways to order interlibrary loans.
• The Board got even more excited about the results of an opportunity analysis for CMLE, some of which you experienced this year.
• Beginning in September, we replaced our quarterly newsletter and began to use our  weekly communication streams including our Weekly Review email messages, our blog posts, Facebook and Twitter. The first month we made this change, we went from 62 hits on our blog to 584! News on the street was that our users loved this change and we loved the new freedom and immediacy that a blogging platform provided to us. By January, we more than doubled our September blog hits at 1,506!
• We offered two popular e-book events in the fall; one for academics, one for K-12 media personnel. We also continued our Bridging Information Literacy Across Libraries initiative work, including a college student survey to 400 students, and beginning development of a video.
• Kate Bessey left CMLE in January to return to her librarian role at Rasmussen College.
• Michelle Kiley began as our invaluable new Information Specialist upon Kate’s departure.
• I took a six week medical leave of absence to replace a very worn out hip in mid-February. Ouch, but much better now!
• Upon my return we initiated seven Quick Question Polls (QQP’s) on various topics to gather data to help us refocus our programming in FY14.
• In early June, I will return to the orthopedic workshop for a new knee. I know, it’s been a tough year!  Michelle proved her ability to hold down the fort during my first leave, and will valiantly do the same this summer.

Our summer CMLE to-do list is quite different from our weekly work during the academic year. Summer is an important time for administrative work including year-end reports, discount agreements, internal system updates, program planning, and  our commitments to library conference planning too. So, it might seem a  bit sad, but our Weekly Review and associated blog posts will be on a short hiatus during the summer months, but we will be back in the Fall! We will continue to wrap our arms around the glut of library news and opportunity, distill it down to an easy to digest format, and write it up again for you starting in September. We remain committed to offering tips, shortcuts and application ideas too. According to one of our QQP’s, many of you will be gearing down a bit in your professional  summer reading too, so we hope this little blip in service gives everyone a refreshing “breather”. Watch your email in the event that something significant happens this summer that we feel a need to share immediately. Otherwise, enjoy quiet moments of summer serenity curled up with a good book under a big shady tree. Summer is a great time to renew and refresh. See you online in the Fall!

Didn’t have time to read any of our blog posts this year? Go to
http://cmleinfofeed.wordpress.com/
and meander through this year’s posts!

CMLE Director, Patricia Post

Tattoo World Day3! Photo by gnikoner and retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.

Tattoos have been in existence for centuries, connecting to most cultures across the globe. Today, in the United States, tattoos and the art of tattooing has become extremely fashionable. The images and thoughts they portray are akin to finger prints-unique, customized and relatively permanent.

Just for fun this week, CMLE links it’s members to images of 50 Incredible Tattoos Inspired by Books (link).

Tired, Dusty and Tattered! Photo by Roger Salz and retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.

My mother worked in a library for more 36 years before retiring and then re-entering the workforce to work in yet another library. And, throughout the last ten years, each member of my immediate family, including myself, has worked in a library. So to me the sight and smell of books brings back a host of familial memories. But I never really understood what created the unique scents of a book/book collection. I always suspected it was a concoction consisting of one part ink to two parts paper-lovingly combined with a pinch of dust.  Did you know AbeBooks, a subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc., created a short video answering this very question. Click here to listen to their explanation.

In addition, if you are a hardback collector or book enthusiast, here is list of other quick videos you might finding interesting:

• How to identify a first edition book (link)
• Book collecting Guide (link) -10 videos

Tip: If you participate in student/class orientations for a library, consider using the video about The Parts of a Book to supplement your presentation.

Aiden with his Captain Underpants. Photo by Matt Ryall and retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.

During the summer a child’s day tends to be less structured than during a typical academic year. This may be an ideal time to reinforce the benefits of reading, especially while they have additional time to linger at the library.  Dav Pilkey, best known as the author and illustrator of the Captain Underpants book series, created two fun and quick videos that draw unexpected outcomes that occur when children read.

1. Reading Gives You Super Powers-link!
2. Reading Makes Cats Jealous-link!

Writing! Photo by Eruchhh and retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.

Writing can be filtered by many genres; biography, business, memoir, fantasy, science, etc. Regardless of the form it takes, writing is a powerful tool to convey thoughts, ideas, and concepts. However, writing can also be a solitary and isolating endeavor. In April, Open Educational Database (OEDb) released a list of 150 Useful, Educational, and Inspirational Blogs for Aspiring Writers. This post is intended for authors looking for insight, encouragement or inspiration. It is also for seasoned authors interested in networking or brainstorming with a peer/peer group.  These resources may make the difference between a completed project or a draft, a published book or unpublished manuscript.

Click here to learn more!

Games! Photo by Declan (TM) retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license.

With technology seeping into most every aspect of life, it is important to take a step back and evaluate what are the best, most appropriate applications in your professional and personal life. How much technology is too much? Does a game/program enhance how a particular topic is conveyed?  Can games induce excitement about certain content?

In September 2012, Edudemic, in partnership with Knewton, posted an article titled, The 100-Second Guide To Gamification In Education.  Gamification is becoming a growing trend in which games are introduced as a teaching tool to supplement the delivery of core curriculum.  Therefore, the question remains, if over 5 million people play games more 45 hours a week, what elements of gaming can be cultivated for education? As a follow-up to this article, this month Edudemic posted 25 Things Teachers Should Know About Gamification.

Here are three points made in the full article;

#11. Gamification is designed with the assumption that players aren’t initially interested. This means games are exciting and engaging enough to capture the attention of an uninterested student and carry them through to the end.

#16. One goal of Gamification in the school setting is to allow kids to be creators of their own knowledge, allowing the teacher to be an assistant to the child’s learning journey.

#18. Gamification models are being used in other educational settings as well, such as job trainings and seminars.

Clockman! Photo by Sean MacEntee Retrieved from Flickr used under Creative Commons license

*Information in this post was submitted by Nancy Walton, State Librarian, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).

The Minnesota Department of Education and St. Olaf College invite educators, out-of-school time professionals, and all other interested community members to the 2013 It’s About Time! Innovative Learning Time Conference.  This conference will be held 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, June 21, 2013, at St. Olaf College Buntrock Commons.  The conference aims to help communities collaborate to create richer, more effective learning environments both inside the school day and through out-of-school and summer learning opportunities.  Keynote presentations will include:

• Dr. Rose Chu, Interim Dean, School of Urban Education, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, on more, deeper learning during the school day;
• Bob Seidel, Senior Policy Director of the National Summer Learning Association, on stronger, connected learning during out-of-school time;
• Dr. Eric Jolly, President of the Science Museum of Minnesota, on whatever it takes  to close learning gaps; and
• Father Tim Manatt, S.J., President of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Minneapolis, on innovation in college and career partnerships from high school through college graduation.

Breakout sessions and small group discussions will provide participants the opportunity to focus on their particular interests in greater depth.

Registration and payment deadline is Friday, June 14. Cost is $45.  Register online at:
http://wp.stolaf.edu/conferences/

Please contact Cindy S. Jackson cindy.s.jackson@state.mn.us with your questions.

Image retrieved from Google Images       some rights reserved

A CMLE member librarian, representing our special library types, suggested an educational technology tool called Ngram Viewer, a subsidiary of Google Research.  It illustrates (often in table or graph format) how a word or phase has been used over time including its root, compositions, use in parts of speech and so on.

In May, David Brooks, a political and cultural commentator, wrote an article in the New York Times Opinion Section on how this tool can be used to identify social and cultural paradigm shifts. Click here to read the full article, What Our Words Tell Us.

Becker High School TechSquad Representatives

We have all seen the commercials for the Minnesota based company Best Buy and their trendy and beloved “Geek Squad” on television. These seemingly knowledgeable computer support teams are available on-site and on-line to help answer questions and trouble shoot technology woes.

Nancy Lorenz is overseeing a no cost/low cost technology solution to stretch her library dollars. Her squadron of savvy tech support is being culled from the classroom.  In 2011, Becker added 900 iPads to their inventory in preparation of the launch of a 1:1 iPad Initiative. Nancy began searching for assistance from among the high school student body through National Honor Society’s Facebook page and the current Student Teaching Assistants (TAs).   The students focused on trouble shooting ways to synch large numbers of iPads, research and learn about educational apps and finally, inventory, label and distribute equipment.  Since then, Nancy has developed a course for the “TechSquad” assigning tasks such as creating iPad specific tutorials about set-up, apps, and programs.  They have now morphed into providing software updates, troubleshooting air printing issues; and assisting with email, writing work orders, inventorying equipment and performing basic maintenance.  Bringing this service front and center, this coming year Nancy will designate a corner in the Media Center as an iPad help desk, staffed in the afternoon by the student TechSquad.

Nancy responds to our questions:

Q: What are the qualifications to become a member of the TechSquad-STAC?
We are expanding the TechSquad/TA model into STAC (Student Technology Advisory Committee) which will be grades 6 – 12, beginning this spring headed by Ryan Cox, our district technology coordinator. I chose sophomores and juniors from former and current TechSquad kids.

Q: Do you limit the number of students?

The high school has ten members on STAC – one junior, three sophomores and six freshmen. I chose more of the younger students because they are more excited and have more time than the older students. We used the school’s History Day projects to identify freshmen that showed the greatest interest in technology.

Q: How is their time compensated?

We plan to allow the STAC students to keep their iPads through the summer so that they can come up with new and awesome ways to use it for education. When they come in during the summer to help with iPads we will pay them with pizza and flavored water.

Q: Do students receive on the job training?
I do my best to train my TechSquad and TAs to behave professionally when working in the media center. It is important that they never make another student feel stupid for asking for help. I have a Moodle site for my TechSquad that I plan to turn into an actual course when I have time. I’m not sure that all of the current freshmen STAC members will work in the media center as TechSquad or TAs, as some may not have time in their schedules. I’m hoping that when it all shakes out, those students who we choose for STAC will take the TechSquad independent study class at least once per year. Regardless, we will meet with them once per month after school, and they will come in to help when needed in the summer.

Q: What was/were the motivating factor(s) that contributed to the school’s/district’s decision to solicit help with technology from students?
Our district had actually cut four of my ten extra days the summer we received the iPads and did the same for our tech assistants and media assistants. We had no other choice but to have students help – we are still fighting to get enough tech hours to handle the extra work the 1:1 brings. I only see the TechSquad class growing.

Q: How has the program helped your library specifically?
I think having student workers in the library has made it more welcoming – kids think it’s cool to work in the library, and I am getting plenty of great students who want to belong to the TechSquad or work as TAs.

Q: Final thoughts!
I’m hoping that, moving forward, these students will be trained to provide tech assistance to teachers as well as other students. I have had TechSquad students go into classrooms and demonstrate iMovie for specific projects – I would like that aspect of the program to grow.

Becker High School Tech Squad Representatives

Technology is similar to sports in that it reaches across disciplines. Think of how this can continue to enhance your relationships with teachers across subject areas.

Tip: Identify possible programs for you to engage students in your media center. Seek out distinctive ways to spotlight technologically savvy students in your schools (name tags, locker signs, personalized attire, dedicated section in the school yearbook, etc.) to ignite participation from the student body.

Fun Fact: Did you know that Geek Squad employees are referred to as “agents” and assigned titles similar to those used by intelligence agencies, i.e. Counter Intelligence Agent (CIA). Their uniforms are also indicative of investigative professionals (white sleeve shirt, logo pin, black shoes, etc.)