MLA 2022 DECC Duluth MN - It was great! I made a new librarian friend because we seemed to keep bumping into each other. Her name Suela Bace and she's a supervisor at Dakota County Library, Burnhaven. She immigrated from Albania many years ago and has a special interest in EDI initiatives which made her [...]
With this class, not only am I gaining basic communication skills in American Sign Language, but I'm also getting a better understanding of the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Yes, I've learned some basic signs to try and communicate the immediate needs of patrons, but I've also learned communication etiquette so as not to [...]
This Beginning 1 Spanish course through the Spanish Institute of Minneapolis ran 30 hours over 10 weeks time. We worked on basic vocabulary and common present tense verbs. The classes were held via Skype so class participants could practice conversations with one another while the instructor corrected when needed. The class started using only English [...]
I am currently taking American Sign Language for Library Staff through ALA with ASL interpreter, author, librarian, and teacher Kathy MacMillan. Last Spring I was able to take some classes with this teacher with a state-wide grant from MELSA and this class helps me learn more in a more in depth and well-rounded way about [...]
I was able to attend the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) annual conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The opportunity to meet with and talk to other libraries from small and rural areas is invaluable. We struggle with many similar issues, and it was incredibly beneficial to get to talk through things with them and [...]
It was such a pleasure to attend an in-person conference! Librarians and media specialists gathered from around the state, though primarily attendees were from the Twin Cities. I enjoyed time connecting with vendors from book distribution and publishing companies, authors and librarians. I attended two workshops on the topic of organizing school libraries by genre. [...]
The Library Director Crash Course program, provided by the ALA, was filled with great, useful information. My primary goal was to learn more about budgeting, but I also gained information on staffing, benefits, working with board members and capital (building and property) concerns.Three things I learned about budgeting is that approximately 50% of our operating [...]
I enjoyed this presentation and felt it was beneficial for seeing MANY new books and first books of series. In addition, the presenter also shared many valuable websites that I foresee using. Though she was unable to "book talk" every book in her manual, the manual has reviews for each and every book that's included. [...]
Scheduling conflicts made it such that I couldn't attend any live MLA sessions (besides the one our Library Director, Michele Leininger and I presented), so I am grateful that the recordings were made available for viewing at more convenient times. I plan to watch and review some more over the next few weeks. Lots of [...]
Over the month of October, I attended the ALA eCourse “Genealogical Research for Librarians”. Each week, I was given the opportunity to explore a number of public records as well as free and proprietary resources that help people uncover the past and make connections in their family trees.One of the most interesting things that the [...]