2010-11

Shannon Melham, Anoka Co. Library

2010 MLA Annual Conference
Thanks to the support of the Anoka County Library and a Metronet continuing education scholarship, I was able to attend the MLA conference October 6-8, 2010. Valuable information about team building, partnering with other entities to provide even better service than we already do in our libraries, how MLA is preparing for the upcoming legislative session, how to take a BIG idea and get there one little step at a time by keeping things as simple as possible, and how MLA members work together to advocate for MN libraries was all explicitly relayed at sessions and meetings. But it was attending Ed Holahan's lecture, "Seven Practices of the Inventive Creative", during lunch on Wednesday October 6th that set a wonderful tone to enter into all the workshops. A kickoff that encouraged thinking beyond the day-to-day helped me look further than what was presented to me, and think how to directly apply ideas shared to my work for Anoka County Library. And participating on the panel during the MLA Institute for Leadership Excellence session reinforced that anyone can be involved and be a leader& no age/years of service caps, no title restrictions& we need leaders in all libraries and in all area of library work. Also, I would encourage anyone interested in MLA to volunteer in some capacity. Not only do you gain a better grasp of the work MLA does by working with other members, but it may be an opportunity for you to put skills to use (that you don't get to apply to your day-to-day work) to benefit MLA.
Shannon Melham, Anoka County Library

Kate Tinguely, Jeffers Pond Elementary

MEMO 2010 Conference
This is my second year as a media specialist. I am loving my new position and was looking forward to a little professional development to learn some tricks of the trade. I was disappointed when the principal announced at opening workshops there was very little professional development money available. I had hoped to attend the MEMO conference in St. Cloud. However, thanks to the Metronet CE scholarship, I was able to attend the conference this year.

Buffy Hamilton, the key note speaker, was refreshing and a true cheerleader for the profession. I loved her enthusiasm and needed the pick me up with the budget cuts our district is experiencing. Throughout her presentation I picked up on tools to use in our media center such at Photopeach, Zotero, Polleverywhere, and blogs created y Diane Cordell and R. David Lankes. She reassured me of my decision to become a media specialist and emphasized the importance of collaboration!

Jean Oswald's Google Earth presentation was my next stop. I am inspired to teach our staff about Google Earth at Jeffers Pond. I had played around with the tool . But, now I have better understanding of how to create more enriched field trips and how to locate ready made ones on the web.

I attended Mackin's 2010 Booktalk alive next. It was well worth my time too. I came away with some fantastic recommendations to add to our library. The free book was a gem too!

The afternoon sessions I attended focused on technology. I was interested to here Jane Prestebak's presentation titled "Beyond Bullet Points: create presentations that Inform, Motivate and Inspire." I learned some very useful tips for creating presentations, using Power Point, that keep the viewer in mind and are not over the top with unnecessary text, graphics and animation. Mary Litwinczuk's, "Google Forms to Simplify your Job in the Media Center," was my last stop of the day. I learned how to create Google Forms and embed them in my SchoolWires webpage. I just hosted a "Tech Tuesday" with the staff at my school to teach them how they can benefit from the use of Google Forms. The staff was just as excited about the technology as I was.

I am grateful for the Metronet Scholarship. The Memo conference was inspiring and very productive. It helped to set me up for a successful school year! Thank you Memo and thank you Metronet!

Lori Melton, Sandford Middle School

2009-10

Holly Thompson, winner of the Steltzner Scholarship for FY10
Every student at Crest View Elementary will benefit from my attendance at the 2009 MEMO conference because the speakers and session presenters taught and inspired me to try fun, new things in my building. The theme of the weekend, School 2.0: Get Connected, has encouraged me to go ahead with a blog for the media center since our 6th graders will likely respond well to communicating with me and their peers about good books to read using web 2.0 tools. After watching Anita Beaman and Amy Oberts on Saturday morning, the 5th graders will be fulfilling the video editing requirement by creating video book talks that will be shown weekly throughout the school, and the 2nd graders will be dancing with Mo Willems characters. My 4th graders will love Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell even more when they will get the chance to interact directly with the Shrinking Rat through “Blogging with Ratty.” I loved that I was able to meet so many fantastic authors and buy a few (too many!) books. I will read one of them, Lost in the Wild by Ryan Jacobson, to the 3rd graders. They will enjoy engaging in this choose your path book as a class when they have to vote on how the story will end. The Kindergarteners and 1st graders will be listening and viewing the most recently published books that were presented to me in the session “So Many Books, So Little Time! 2009” by Joanne Bongaarts and Mark DeYoung, and the staff will benefit from Tracey Luehers and Maureen Sinkler’s session “No Time to Waste!: Matching Minnesota’s Educational Standards with a Wealth of New Titles” when I tie fun new books into their strict and strenuous curriculum. As much as I learned from each presenter, I must admit that I gained just as much from the networking and socializing with colleagues that is inevitable at a conference like this. As a brand new media specialist and teacher in a big district, the time at MEMO provided an opportunity to get to know individuals in my district and also chat with others throughout the state. Thank you to the family of Lars Steltzner and Metronet for this scholarship, which has resulted in serving me along with each student and staff member of Crest View Elementary School.

Holly Thompson
Library Media Specialist
Crest View Elementary School

Shannon Melham, Anoka County Library

Thanks to support from the Anoka County Library (ACL) and Metronet, I was able to attend the 2009 MN Library Association Institute for Leadership Excellence (MILE) April 28th –May 1st at the Bug-Bee Hive Retreat Center near Paynesville, MN.

The 2009 MILE theme was “Discover Your Inner Leader”. Prior to the institute MILE participants read Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath and completed the online leadership strength assessment associated with the book. The week’s agenda was filled with programs, lectures, and activities to enhance effective leadership skills. Tuesday, after checking in, we gathered to be welcomed by former MILE participants and MLA leaders. That night we participated in improv leadership exercises led by a presenter from Comedy Sportz. Wednesday was a jam-packed full day beginning with leadership style and theory lecture, related small group work and presentations about how to apply those theories to library setting. Next, we listened to and interacted with a panel of a vast array of MN library leaders. The day concluded with Brain Gym activities and techniques. On Thursday morning we began the mind-mapping process. The rest of the day was devoted to learning about our individual results of the Strengths Finder 2.0 online assessment, and how we can apply that information to our work for MN libraries. On Friday, after completing the mind-mapping process and establishing goals, MILE participants met their mentors. Mentorship is a significant aspect of being a MILE participant. For the next 18 months we will work with our mentors to focus on short-term and long-term goals, finding service opportunities, and expanding our knowledge of the library community.

I learned a great deal about MLA, other library systems in MN, and myself at MILE. After participating in MILE, I returned to my work at the Anoka County Library with affirmation and appreciation of the unique skill-set that I bring to my work at the library. With renewed energy I have already taken steps toward goals that will serve ACL and MLA well, both in the short-term and long-term.

Once again, thank you to ACL and Metronet for their support of my attending the event. MLA and all of the 2009 MILE planning staff are deserving of many thanks as well for providing a wonderful learning opportunity to library staff in all aspects of library work and at all stages of their careers.

Julie Dorn, University of Minnesota, Law Library - awarded the first Lars Steltzner Scholarship

It is an honor to receive the Lars Steltzner Memorial Scholarship. I truly appreciate the financial assistance toward my Master’s degree. I am currently enrolled in the Master’s program at the University of North Texas, College of Information, Library Science and Technologies, as part of their new Georgia cohort.

This award helped finance my attendance at a four-day intensive institute in Atlanta on January 16-19, 2009. The cohort of more than 50 people met for our second and final onsite session. The professors at the institute instructed us on the requirements and assignments for Introduction to Information Organization, a required class on database structure, user information seeking behavior, metadata and information systems. Our semester-long project is to design an ideal database merging a user group with a collection. Not only do we decide on the specifics of the database (in terms of the data included within it and search capabilities), but we also write cataloging policies and procedures, build a thesaurus and authority file, and design a unique classification scheme. The remainder of this class and my other class this semester, Management of Information Agency, are delivered and completed online for the rest of the spring semester.

This graduate program has been a great experience for me. I’ve learned so much already about the organization of information, reference resources, patron-oriented services and technologies. It’s helped me to become a better cataloger and manager. I look forward to the next phase of my career when I graduate in 2010. Thank you again for this scholarship.

Julie Dorn
University of Minnesota, Law Library
Library Assistant III, Cataloging
Minneapolis, MN

Eva K. - MILI Assistant at Harding HS, St. Paul
PLA 12th National Conference in Minneapolis March 25-29, 2008
 
Overheard in the Minneapolis Convention Center during the PLA conference, "I'm by turns inspired and freaked out by the presentations here!"  The words of the conference participant ring true; the variety of approaches offered by speakers at presentations had me alternately trembling nervously on edge about the state of libraries and what we do, as in "print is dead, if not in our lifetime, then very soon after", and tremendously excited about the present and future in libraries, as in "we as librarians are on the forefront of finding and gathering information as always and now with many more tools at our disposal."  I was left leaning more positively, inspired by the multitude of people and by both practical and visionary ideas.

Focusing on one particularly engaging presentation given by professor Joseph Janes from the University of Washington Information School on Thursday morning, What Does It Take to Be Good at Reference in the Age of Google? I learned that:

1. Although Google is a semi sophisticated search mechanism (not like, Dialog!) and it covers broadly, it is ubiquotous, free, quick, and easy, so it conforms to the time, money, and level of service argument as presented decades ago by Margaret Hutchins, an erstwhile librarian and professor.  Beat that as a quick reference source?

2. We have no excuse to be ignorant about Google, rather use it as good reference librarians and evaluate what comes up, and conduct good reference interviews with "supplicants" - usually done 50% of the time - until they divulge what they want.  We must use the features Google does offer, e.g. Goo Fresh (new pages), "keyword group detection" and "Live Academic Search" offered by Microsoft to aid search. We should position ourselves as timesavers, for an average Google search takes 11 minutes.  We should keep building tools, pathfinders, research guides with currency, such as Cornell vodcasting "research minutes" in YouTube.

3. Librarians need to articulate their strengths and play up their service orientation, depth, education, quality, instruction, and how they fit in the emerging information environment.

In conclusion, Professor Janes exhorted librarians to become even better online than in person, to accept the notion of "librarianship" as existing somewhere and everywhere, reminding us that "human record is still in our care; its presence and centrality for us to nurture."

David C. - MILI Assistant at Central HS, St. Paul

ATTENDING THE PLA CONFERENCE

The Public Library Association’s 12th National Conference, held at the Minneapolis Convention Center in March 2008 did not receive the same kind of attention as the Auto Show or the Sportsman’s Show. In fact, the Republican National Convention, another “closed-to-the-public” conference, has received far more press coverage than the PLA Conference and yet the latter has just as much importance to the average citizen as the former.

As someone new to library employment, I found the helpfulness and calm, stress-free atmosphere very refreshing. In a previous chapter of my life, I taught music and was a member of the national and state music educator’s associations, dutifully attending every state conference and a few national conferences as well. At the music conferences, there was an undercurrent of stress and competition that permeated the center. “My performances must be better than yours, incorporating the latest practices and getting a better sound from my classroom, choir or band.” None of that I felt at the PLA Conference; people were genuinely here for the patrons and wanting to provide the best of service for them. It was an especially gratifying experience.

I attended workshops on technology (“Technozoo” and “The angst of your library’s web site”) because a lot is changing in the library world and I want to remain well-informed. Sessions on how to work with different kinds of patrons also held a great interest to me, especially since I am seeking amore permanent position. It was with great interest that I attended the session on public speaking, relating it to what I learned while a member of a touring theatre company. I took copious notes, intending to add my personal observations to the handouts that were available online.

Being an “analog” person in a “digital” world means that I am excited about possibilities that others may not see or consider. I intend to remain “on the cutting edge” of new ideas and the PLA conference has helped in that endeavor.

Bob P. - Wellstone International High School

I was so fortunate to be able to attend the Public Library Association meeting yesterday. It was a great source of inspiration. So many ideas swirling around and I all I had to do was to reach out and grab a few. From the vendors floor, to the presentations to the the finale at the Audio Book Dinner the time was enlightening.

I was fortunate to stand directly behind a Minitex staff in a line for an author signing. In conversing with her I learned we could have a Minitex staff come out to present the database collection to our staff. And it is all free of charge. What a deal. She also told be she would put the ELM emblem and link directly on our school web page so student don't have to searching for it anymore among the many links in the Student Resources section. Way cool!

I also attended a session on making libraries welcoming environments for the public to come in to. The presenter had a great speaking style which included a healthy sense of humor as well as practical tips on creating an environment that would not only make people want to stay in the library but they would also look forward to returning. Taking down all the "Do not . . ." signs and replacing them with something more attractive, say artwork. Putting displays to the right of an entry or exit is more likely to get attention than at the left. Probably the most powerful piece to this is simply to be kind and considerate of the public. Too often in this speaker's experience she has seen staff being rude or at least inattentive to the needs of people.

There were also presentations on new technology with the clever name of Technozoo. This speaker was a tad younger than the crowd he was speaking to and often put in good natured digs at the boomers. He reminded us to continually push into the Web 2.0 phenomena and never stop learning.

All in all a wonderfully invigorating day! Thank you Metronet for making this possible for me.

A REPORT ON THE 2007 CONVENTION OF THE MINNESOTA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
By Mike Bemis

OVERVIEW:
The 2007 convention of the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) was held in Mankato October 24 through 26. This year’s theme was “All The World’s A Stage: Becoming the Lead Player You Were Meant to Be.” The convention was housed at the Alltel Center at 1 Civic Center Plaza in downtown Mankato. A majority of the attendees were put up at the nearby Holiday Inn, which is connected by skyway to the Center.

WORKSHOPS AND PROGRAMS:
As always, this was the “meat and potatoes” of the conference. Generally hour and a quarter long sessions, presentations ran the gamut of library issues of the day, from technology trends to censorship challenges to the joys of children’s storytime. Indeed, there was seemingly something for everyone, regardless of one’s professional interests. Laid out below are a few choice morsels from the smorgasbord of entertaining and informative talks.
Online Resources: The Best Thing to Happen to Genealogists Since Microfilm! – It paid to come early to find a seat at this session – by the time the speaker got underway, there was a standing room only crowd gathered round. Designed to help librarians help patrons tracing their family trees, the audience was treated to a fast-paced rundown of genealogy related electronic resources: databases, websites, online repositories of primary documents, and the like. As a special treat, attendees walked away with a dandy spiral-bound book filled with tips and tricks in navigating the websites covered during the presentation, among other helpful info.

MINITEX Partnerships – The Express Tour – ELM, MnLINK, MDL. Lately, Minnesota librarianship has become an alphabet soup of abbreviations and acronyms. This guided tour sought to sort it all out for listeners, as each entity was pulled apart to see what made each one tick. For the record: ELM is Electronic Library of Minnesota, a collection of subscription (read: expensive) electronic databases that can normally be accessed only onsite at a library. Through ELM, Minnesota citizens can now log into a selection of these databases from their home computer, provided they have a valid library card (typing in one’s barcode is the key to unlocking a treasure trove of information). MnLINK is Minnesota Library Information Network. Basically, this is a one stop shop to the electronic card catalogs of over 20 library systems throughout the state. MDL stands for Minnesota Digital Library, a project in which photographs, maps, and eventually, three-dimensional objects, will be digitized and available for viewing on a computer screen. While we as librarians may take these initiatives for granted, patrons may not be aware of all that their tax dollars make available; this presentation certainly underlined the fact that information professionals need to promote the many services we have to offer.
Explore WebJunction Minnesota: A Service for the Library Community – This professional development tool allows librarians and support staff to share ideas, take online courses, compare best practices and engage in a host of other activities. Funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this is a terrific way to keep up with the learning curve, which as any librarian can tell you, is pretty steep at times. Overall, this was an interesting and informative presentation.

EXHIBIT HALL/SILENT AUCTION:
Vendors to the library profession were in abundance once again this year, each company’s booth displaying their latest wares. Publishers (Gale, Bowker, H.W. Wilson, et al), equipment dealers (Brodart, 3M) and professional organizations (MINITEX, Friends of the St. Paul Public Library) did their utmost to lure passersby to their tables. In a very real sense, this is like a state fair for literary types. There are always surprises; this year it happened to be the appearance of The Raptor Center, an organization at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Since their mission is to rehabilitate and release to the wild injured eagles, hawks and other birds of prey, it seemed like an odd place for them to set up shop. Nevertheless, chatting with their representative was a welcome respite from the otherwise unending discussion of book related topics. Likewise providing relief from the pressure to absorb all manner of information was the silent auction table. Located at the far side of the exhibit hall, and stretching for nearly its entire length, all manner of goodies beckoned convention goers to wager a guestimate. It should be noted that the daily schedule deliberately had “holes” punched out here and there to allow attendees guilt-free browsing time.

FUN, FRIVOLITY AND GENERAL GOOFING OFF:
While these annual get-togethers undoubtedly have a serious purpose and are a legitimate use of professional development dollars, there is no denying that a good amount of good cheer ensues with these proceedings. Drawings for prizes, renewing old acquaintances and making new ones, having a night on the town, all are part and parcel of the convention scene. Several tours were scheduled for interested parties, one highlighting the history of Mankato, which started out as a major port-of-call during the steamboat days, and another pointing out the real life landmarks and locations associated with Maude Hart Lovelace and her well known Betsy-Tacy series of books. As in previous years, the grand finale was the MLA Awards Banquet, this time held at the Mankato State University Student Union. This was preceded by a wine and cheese reception at the Blue Earth County Library and followed by a desert reception at the Mankato State University Memorial Library. Despite Mae West’s observation that “Too much of a good thing is wonderful,” there is a point when enough is enough. Sated and ready for sleep, the conventioneers of library land trundled off to their hotel rooms. Trite though it may be, it is nevertheless truthful, for a good time was had by all.


2006-07

Gina L. - National Educational Computing Conference

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to attend NECC in San Diego July 4, 2006 - July 7, 2006. I have made use of the knowledge I learned in four ways:

• I used information to add to my dissertation
• I used information to include in my presentation for Technology Integration for the MEMO Fall Conference, October 13-14, 2006
• I used information to make a brief presentation at the MEMO summer leadership conference
• I networked with others working on dissertations, working in schools, etc.

Again thank you, as this experience was invaluable.

Click here to see a pdf of Gina's PowerPoint presentation.

2005-06

Leslie Y. - Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)

CoSN Conference Thoughts

In early March of this year, thanks in part to support from Metronet, I was able to travel to Washington DC to attend and present at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) conference. Formed in 1992, CoSN is dedicated to advancing K-12 technology leadership, and fostering advocacy for educational technology funding.

CoSN structures their sessions differently than other conferences, in that they "bundle" presenters with similar topics, creating panel or team presentations. Thus, I found myself co-presenting with Stevan Kalmon, a technology educator from Denver Public Schools. In conferring with Stephan prior to our presentation, I was advised to remove basic definitions and tech lingo (such as references to digital natives and digital immigrant) from my presentation since many of the attendees at the conference are educational technology policy or administrator types and are ostensibly familiar with such concepts. Our presentation, entitled 21st Century Literacy: On the Ground Strategies addressed how schools and districts can effectively and practically meet the needs of 21st Century Students. It was a packed session, with much good discussion and feedback. The process of preparing, revising and presenting my work was as educational for me as was attending the conference.

Since returning to the "real world" back in St Paul, I have been struck by the disconnect between the educators who made up our audience in Washington and the teachers and administrators I regularly work with at home. My colleagues are not familiar with the terms "digital divide," "information literacy" or "digital natives." Introduction and clarification of these concepts is a crucial element of my work as a technology educator, in the effort to prepare educators to use all available resources in their teaching in order to provide a level playing field for students. Those who make policy and control funding are sometimes operating under the false assumption that schools are farther along that they actually are in the use of instructional technology. I would argue that we still have a way to go and I am pleased to be involved in helping to lead the charge.

Kristen M. - Art Librarians Society of North America (ARLIS) Conference

Prior to leaving for the Art Librarians Society of North America (ARLIS) Conference in Banff, Canada, I did not know that I would be referred to as one of the "future scholars" in the ARLIS field. Judith Hoffberg, the first ARLIS president, embraced me and provided a few words of wisdom after I received an honor in her name as an emerging art librarian. She would not be the last to share advice throughout the five-day trip. Every morning I gathered with fellow students and recent graduates as we mingled and attended sessions. At the conference the participants were abuzz with such things as "what is a wiki?" "how do I use social tagging?" and "what is Flickr?" My fellow students and I smiled because we were not only able to learn from the more experienced librarians in the field on things such as digitizing resources, but we were being asked to comment on emerging technologies that some of the librarians had never heard of before. This conference was beyond an opportunity to present my research, "Artifact: Surveying U.K. Users to Analyze Its Use," but opened my eyes to how art librarianship is moving forward and my established colleagues that I look toward for support and guidance are seeking the same from new graduates as well.