Linking Our Libraries
290 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsLibraries are amazing places! The work library people do is so wide-ranging, it can be hard to keep up on the latest news. We are here to help. Each episode, we focus on one area of library work, discuss library news stories, recommend some books, and share a Spotlight Library that is doing some interesting work.
If your image of libraries is dominated by crabby old women who shush you, or places where they scowl when you take books home - you are in for a big surprise. Libraries are the jewels of their communities, and doing all sorts of amazing things every day! Books are the backbone of any library, and there is so much more to do and to use. Service to every member of their community means searching out and connecting with the needs of a lot of different groups. No matter what your interests, there is a library out there for you!
Listen to us talk about some of the great things happening in libraries today!
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Episodes
Browsing Books: Faribault County
June 14, 2022 08:19 - 9 minutes - 4.55 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we admire Faribault County. Two 1903 buildings are representative of the substantial railroad activity in Wells: a train station and a freestanding lunchroom ...
Browsing Books: Wabasha County
June 07, 2022 08:30 - 10 minutes - 4.64 MBThis week we admire Wabasha County. This county is the home of Anderson Gardens; to celebrate it we suggest that you read a book about gardens or tranquility. We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE!
Browsing Books: Saint Louis County
May 31, 2022 08:30 - 10 minutes - 4.62 MBThis week we admire Saint Louis County. This county is the home of the Aerial Lift Bridge, the iconic bridge serving as the western gateway to the Great Lakes. To celebrate it, we suggest you read a book with a bridge - literally or metaphorical. We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Th...
Browsing Books: Dodge County
May 24, 2022 08:30 - 9 minutes - 4.5 MBToday our prompt is inspired by Dodge County! Henry Dodge (1782–1867), was the twice governor of Wisconsin; to celebrate this, we suggest that you read a book about Wisconsin or about cheese. We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE!
Browsing Books: Fillmore County
May 17, 2022 08:30 - 11 minutes - 5.24 MBToday our prompt is inspired by Fillmore County! Millard Fillmore (1800-1874), was our thirteenth president of the United States (1850-1853). To celebrate this, we suggest that you read a book about a president - of the US or another country. We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank ...
Browsing Books: Sibley County
May 10, 2022 08:30 - 11 minutes - 5.28 MBThis week we admire Sibley County. This county is the home of Transit Township. Enjoy this township by reading a book with a method of transportation - the more interesting the method the better the book may be. You can find our show notes page here! We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sal...
Browsing Books: Morrison County
May 03, 2022 08:30 - 10 minutes - 4.63 MBThis week we admire Morrison County. This is one of the counties in CMLE! All of the libraries in this county are members, and it’s great to have them as part of the CMLE family. This county was named after William & Allan Morrison, fur trading brothers. We suggest that you read a book with brothers. You can find our full show notes page here. We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - in...
Browsing Books: Lake of the Woods County
April 26, 2022 08:30 - 12 minutes - 5.51 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! You can find our full show notes page here. This week we admire Lake of the Woods County. Since Alaska has no counties, Lake of the Woods is the northernmost county in ...
Browsing Books: Benton County
April 19, 2022 08:30 - 12 minutes - 5.56 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! You can find our full show notes page here. This week we admire Benton County. This is one of the counties in CMLE! All of the libraries in this county are members, and...
Browsing Books: Nicollet County
April 12, 2022 08:30 - 10 minutes - 4.85 MBThis week we admire Nicollet County. This county is named after Joseph Nicolas Nicollet (1786–1843), early explorer and cartographer of the Upper Mississippi River. We suggest you read a book about explorations or adventures. We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all - including a nice book - Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supportin...
Browsing Books: Douglas County
April 05, 2022 08:30 - 12 minutes - 5.57 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we admire Douglas County. It is named after Stephen Arnold Douglas (1813-1861), former United States Senator from Illinois (1847-1861). We suggest this week you...
Browsing Books: Clearwater County
March 29, 2022 08:30 - 9 minutes - 4.29 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we admire Clearwater County. The Itasca Bison Kill Site is the oldest archaeological site within Itasca State Park. The site dates back to the Early Eastern Arc...
Browsing Books: Polk County
March 22, 2022 08:30 - 10 minutes - 4.9 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we admire Polk County. The Red Lake River flows west through the upper central part of the county, discharging into the Red at Grand Forks. In the best traditio...
Browsing Books: Dakota County
March 15, 2022 08:30 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Today our prompt is inspired by Dakota County! This county is located in the southern area of the Twin Cities. The reading prompt comes from the Dakota language, after a ...
Browsing Books: Beltrami County
March 08, 2022 09:30 - 12 minutes - 5.56 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Today our prompt is inspired by Beltrami County! This county is located in the northern part of the state and includes the Red Lake Reservation. Our prompt comes from...
Browsing Books: Clay County
March 01, 2022 14:00 - 11 minutes - 5.14 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Today our prompt is inspired by Clay County! This county includes Moorhead MN, just across the river from Fargo. The reading prompt comes from Henry Clay (1777-1852), K...
Episode 910:Youth Services
February 24, 2022 09:00 - 15 minutes - 7.16 MBYou can find our full show notes here, with links to everything we discussed today. Earlier this season we talked about the three required courses in this certification program. This week we are talking about one of the competencies that is optional: Youth Services. Today is our last topic! It’s been great talking about all of these ideas with you! “These competencies are for support staff working in a public library in service to youth, from birth through age seventeen. Services to youth...
Episode 909: Supervision and Management
February 17, 2022 09:30 - 16 minutes - 7.46 MBEarlier this season we talked about the three required courses in this certification program. This week we are talking about one of the competencies that is optional: Supervision and Management. We have two entire seasons, from Seasons Three and Four, talking about different management competencies that might be useful to you. So check those out for more information! You can find our full show notes page here, with links to everything we are sharing today. “Library Support Staff often ho...
Episode 908: Collections
February 10, 2022 09:30 - 16 minutes - 7.44 MB“Library Support Staff who work in collection functions support coworkers and library users by assisting with the processes that put library materials on the shelf or online. This work requires knowledge and abilities in many aspects of this fundamental library work, including understanding publishers, vendors, budgets and accounting, how to resolve problems, preparing items for use, and caring for items after they have been well used.” You can find our full show notes page here, with link...
Episode 907: Reference and Information Services
February 03, 2022 09:30 - 15 minutes - 7.15 MBEarlier this season we talked about the three required courses in this certification program. This week we are talking about one of the competencies that is optional: Reference and Information Services. You can find our show notes page here, with links to everything we discuss today. “These services support library users as they seek access to information in all formats, wherever these resources are located. These competencies require an understanding of basic information resources and...
Episode 906 Cataloging and Classification
January 27, 2022 09:30 - 16 minutes - 7.54 MBYou can check our full show notes page for all the links we share today. “Library Support Staff who work in cataloging and classification support library users’ access to resources in a library. They do this by assisting with the processes that enable multiple ways of searching to identify what is in a library; to identify and select particular items; to locate these items in the library or in other libraries and in general to support the intellectual and organizational coherence of the li...
Episode 905: Adult Readers Advisory Services
January 20, 2022 09:30 - 20 minutes - 9.2 MBEarlier this season we talked about the three required courses in this certification program. This week we are talking about one of the competencies that is optional: Readers Advisory. We feel very qualified to discuss this, as we have been recording an RA podcast for years now: Reading With Libraries. Subscribe today! Check out our full show notes page here, with all our links and information from today's episode! In recent years, Readers’ Advisory Services have expanded from...
Episode 904 Access Services
January 13, 2022 09:30 - 17 minutes - 7.86 MBWe have talked about the three required courses in this certification program. This week we are talking about one of the competencies that is optional: Access Services. “Access Services include on-site use and the routine circulation of resources in all formats, special circulation of course-reserved or other restricted-use materials, on-site and remote reciprocal circulation with users of partner libraries, interlibrary loan, and document delivery.” Check out our full show notes page...
Episode 903: Technology
January 06, 2022 09:30 - 25 minutes - 11.9 MBThis week we are talking about the third of the competencies that is required in the LSSC program: Technology. “These competencies address the skills and knowledge about technology necessary for library work. This competency set also addresses the role of providing access to and educating the user in the use of technologies and equipment relevant to information seeking, access, and use.” Check out our full show notes page here, with links to everything we are discussing today! We have t...
Episode 902: Communication and Teamwork
December 30, 2021 09:30 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBThis week we are talking about another one of the competencies that is required in the LSSC program: Communication and Teamwork. “Library Support Staff need to communicate effectively with library users, library staff, and others in a variety of situations to offer high-quality customer service.” You can check out our full show notes page here! Being able to communicate and to work together as part of a team is critical for good library service. Even when you are the only person working...
Episode 901: Foundations!
December 22, 2021 09:30 - 23 minutes - 10.6 MBThis week we will start with one of the required topics in the series of ten offered by ALA: Foundations of Library Services. “These competencies are fundamental to understanding the mission and roles of libraries. These competencies cover the ethics, values, and governance of libraries, and the basic knowledge needed for all positions in a library.” Check out our full show notes here, for all the information, links, and other ideas. It doesn’t matter what you do in a library - it all c...
Browsing Book: Ramsey County
December 14, 2021 09:30 - 10 minutes - 4.82 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Ramsey County is the smallest and most densely populated county in Minnesota, as well as one of the most densely populated counties in the United States. Read a boo...
Browsing Books: Wright County
December 07, 2021 09:30 - 10 minutes - 4.71 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This is another county inside the CMLE system! All the libraries in this county are members, and we are so happy to have them. Another interesting thing about this ...
Browsing Books: Wilkin County
November 30, 2021 09:30 - 10 minutes - 4.63 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! The county of Wilkin contains Breckenridge Lake; read a book set in Colorado or about skiing to celebrate another Breckenridge! We give you links to each of ...
Browsing Books: Waseca County
November 23, 2021 09:30 - 11 minutes - 5.13 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Waseca County is the home of the former Hofmann Apiaries, on the National Register of Historic Places. To celebrate this county and this historic location, you can ...
Browsing Books: Mille Lacs County
November 16, 2021 09:00 - 11 minutes - 5.1 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This is one of the counties that make up the CMLE membership, so we are especially pleased to talk about it today! Mille Lacs is the home of Bridge No. 3355-Kathio ...
Browsing Books: Marshall County
November 09, 2021 09:30 - 12 minutes - 5.89 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Marshall County was the location of a claimed UFO incident in 1979, the Val Johnson incident. We encourage you to celebrate the possibility of this excitement by re...
Browsing Books: Kanabec County
November 02, 2021 08:30 - 9 minutes - 4.52 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Today our prompt is inspired by Kanabec County! The libraries located in this county are part of our CMLE system - hooray! This county is located in east-central MN and...
Browsing Books: Hubbard County
October 26, 2021 08:30 - 11 minutes - 5.39 MBWe are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype system serving all types of libraries. We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library. This season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the chall...
Browsing Books: Murray County
October 19, 2021 08:00 - 13 minutes - 6.11 MBWe are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype system serving all types of libraries. We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library. This season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the chall...
Browsing Books: Yellow Medicine County
October 12, 2021 08:30 - 11 minutes - 5.12 MBWe are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype system serving all types of libraries. We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library. This season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the chall...
Browsing Books: Stearns
October 05, 2021 08:30 - 10 minutes - 4.8 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Stearns County is one of the 12 counties in the CMLE membership! Charles Thomas Stearns (1814-1888) was an early settler of St. Cloud and a member of the Minnesota terr...
Podcast Bonus: Preview of Minnesota Library Association Conference
October 05, 2021 02:12 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBWelcome to Linking Our Libraries! We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype library system where we support libraries of all types. And today we have two special guests with us: Ann Walker Smalley, who is the director of the Metronet multitype system; and Ann Hokanson, the director of the Traverse des Sioux library system. We are sharing this special episode to help promote the latest annual Minnesota Library Association conference! It’s coming up Wednesday, Oct. 6 th...
Browsing Books: Chippewa County
September 28, 2021 08:30 - 10 minutes - 4.98 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Our show notes page is here, and you can find all the books we share today. Today our prompt is inspired by Chippewa County! This county is located in west-central ...
Browsing Books: Grant County
September 21, 2021 08:30 - 11 minutes - 5.15 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! You can find our full show notes page here, with links to all the books we share today! Today our prompt is inspired by Grant County! This county is located near Minn...
Browsing Books: Cook County
September 14, 2021 08:30 - 11 minutes - 5.23 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Cook County is one of our lovely northshore counties. It is named after Major Michael Cook of Faribault, who was also a territorial and state senator 1857-62. To celebr...
Browsing Books: McLeod County
September 07, 2021 08:30 - 12 minutes - 5.84 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! In this county is the Merton S. Goodnow House. It is a 1913 Prairie School house designed by Purcell & Elmslie, an example of the architectural firm's work, which was t...
Browsing Books: LaSeur County
August 31, 2021 08:30 - 13 minutes - 6.24 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Today our prompt is inspired by Le Sueur County! Le sueur means "sweat" so we want you to read a book about exercise or good health. We give you links to each of thes...
Browsing Books: Jackson County
August 24, 2021 06:00 - 13 minutes - 6.28 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Today our prompt is inspired by Jackson County! This county contains Heron Lake. So we want you to read a book about birds. We give you links to each of these books o...
Browsing Books: Chisago County
August 17, 2021 08:30 - 9 minutes - 4.38 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Today our prompt is inspired by Chisago County! This county is located northeast of Minneapolis, on the border with Wisconsin. And Chisago County is part of CMLE, hoora...
Browsing Books: Carver County
August 10, 2021 07:30 - 11 minutes - 5.05 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! Today our prompt is inspired by Carver County! This county is located to the west of Minneapolis. It’s named after Jonathan Carver (1710–1790), early explorer and carto...
Browsing Books: Cottonwood County
August 03, 2021 08:30 - 12 minutes - 5.62 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we look at Cottonwood county. The Jeffers Petroglyphs, near Jeffers, contain pre-European Native American rock carvings; to celebrate that, we want you to rea...
Browsing Books: Kandiyohi County
July 27, 2021 08:30 - 9 minutes - 4.54 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we look at Kandiyohi county. Earl B. Olson, founder of Jennie O Turkey, was born here, and raised his daughter Jennifer here. This week we want to prompt you ...
Bonus Episode Media Landscapes and 23 Things
July 21, 2021 22:00 - 24 minutes - 11.2 MBHi everyone, and welcome to a special bonus episode of Linking Our Libraries! We are sharing some information about the free training program available to library staffers: 23 Things Media Landscapes. We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange. Our members are libraries of all sorts: public, schools, academics, special libraries, archives, and history centers. We talk about a lot of different skills that people will need when they work in libraries. Providing education and training is...
Browsing Books: Olmstead County
July 20, 2021 07:30 - 9 minutes - 4.48 MBThis season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge! This week we look at Olmsted county. It is one of four counties in Minnesota that does not have any natural lakes; read a book about deserts. We give you links to eac...