Latest News

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ProQuest database downtime January 30

by Beth Staats
ProQuest will be taking up to an eight-hour maintenance window beginning Saturday, January 30 at 9:00 PM CST to upgrade infrastructure, enhance security, and maintain reliability on many ProQuest products. During this maintenance window, the following products will be temporarily unavailable.
A photograph of wooden bookshelves and a card catalog in a sunlit library.

Schedule a virtual site visit with Minitex

by Zach Miller
Minitex staff are organizing virtual site visits with the libraries we serve. If you are interested in scheduling a visit, please fill out this survey to let us know: z.umn.edu/mtx-site-v
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Books about the earth and our environment

by Beth Staats
Are your students learning about planet Earth? Maybe they're writing a report on global warming or oceans and forests. Or maybe they're learning about the impact humans make on the environment and aspects of climate change. Ebooks Minnesota has many books about these and other topics surrounding planet Earth.
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Minnesota Compass - a tool for librarians in reaching out to diverse populations

by Beth Staats
Minnesota Compass, led by Wilder Research, "was developed when leaders from across Minnesota voiced a desire to have credible, easy-to-access data about their communities. Wilder Research worked with advisors representing business, government, nonprofit, and philanthropy to develop and implement Minnesota Compass as a statewide resource for reliable data."
A photograph of white lilly of the valley flowers amidst fresh green leaves.

PALS to host free virtual conference in April

by Zach Miller
The MnPALS virtual spring conference, Flexibility in Library Services: Rediscovering Our Work, will be held April 5-9, 2021. All sessions will take place between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and the conference will have two themes, "Making the Most of Alma/Primo VE" and "Moving Beyond the ILS." The conference is free to attend. The planning committee is currently accepting session proposals using an online form. The deadline to submit a proposal is January 22.
Flags of the world

ELM Tips & Tricks: Compare Countries

by Linda Mork
Do you need quick, reliable, up-to-date information about the countries of our world? Check out Britannica's Compare Countries tool.
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What is media literacy and why is it important?

by Beth Staats
In the library, education, and information world, we hear the term 'media literacy' again and again. So what is it exactly? How can we be sure we are media literate? I recently attended an ALA webinar on 'media literacy' that helped to answer some of these questions.
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Cooperating Libraries in Consortium (CLIC) to join Consortium of MnPALS Libraries

by Zach Miller
The six academic institutions that comprise Cooperating Libraries in Consortium (CLIC) have completed contracts to join the Consortium of MnPALS Libraries. The system migration will begin in March, and the institutions will go live on the MnPALS environment in Summer 2021. As part of this strategic transition, the CLIC consortium will officially dissolve on August 31, 2021.