Spotlight on Sharing: Friday Grab Bag, April 7, 2017

Friday Grab Bag is a weekly Spotlight on Sharing series that highlights fun, unique, and interesting happenings in Colorado libraries. News from the Colorado State Library is at the bottom. Let’s open the Grab Bag!

National Library Week

National Library Week, April 9-15, is a time to reflect on the ways that libraries strengthen our communities. Many libraries celebrate with special events, contests, and programs. You can show your love for libraries on social media using the hashtags #NationalLibraryWeek and #LibrariesTransform.

Grand County Libraries are kicking off their Read the Rockies! community reading program during National Library Week. From April 9-15, submit your book suggestion to Jeanie Johnson at jjohnson@gcld.org. Books can be fiction or nonfiction, and must be set in the Mountain West or written by a living Colorado author. Vote for your favorite title from May 1-15. The winning title will be included in the Adult 2017 Summer Reading Program.

Louisville Public Library has a variety of programs planned for National Library Week, capped off by a drawing for prizes on April 19. Stop by and leave your comments about what the library means to you on their chalkboard in the lobby.

Garfield County Libraries are celebrating National Library Week with a photo campaign. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram to see photos and stories about patrons who love their library, then share your own story.

Living Well

Healthy Living Seminars is a three-part series at Gilpin County Public Library that covers wellness, nutrition, and smoking cessation. The first session, Living Well, is on April 22 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library’s Lifelong Learning Series kicks off April 13 with Community Solar vs. Residential Solar: An Affordable Revolution. Presenters from FORE (F.riends o.f R.enewable E.nergy) will present a community-wide approach to solar. Explore new topics within this series each week through May 18.

On Tuesday, April 25 at 7:00 pm, the Bank of San Juans will present Your Own Home at John C. Fremont Library. Participants will learn the difference between renting and buying, and how they can protect their home investment.

The Birds and the Bees

Beekeeping programs are all the buzz these days. Clearview Library District is offering Beekeeping 101 on Tuesday, April 25th from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Greg Bowdish from Hunters Moon Meadery will share beekeeping basics and discuss why bees are so important to our environment.

Bird enthusiasts: head over to the Council Tree Library in Fort Collins on Wednesday, April 12 at 6:30 pm to learn about the springtime nesting behaviors of Rocky Mountain Raptors.

Bud Werner Memorial Library has announced their 2017 Yampa Valley Crane Festival Photo Competition. The Yampa Valley is home to hundreds of cranes during the summer months before they make their way south for the winter. Professional, amateur, and youth photographers are encouraged to submit up to two photographs of Sandhill Cranes or their habitat by August 13, 2017 for a chance to win prizes. Visit the website for all the details.

Just for Teens

Jefferson County Public Library is hosting a Teen Job Fair at the Lakewood Cultural Center, April 22 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Members of Basalt Regional Library’s Teen Book Review Club can read and review pre-publication titles AND eat free pizza. The next meeting is Monday, April 10 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

This Friday, April 7, teens in Poudre River Public Library District are invited to the Glow-In-The-Dark Egg Hunt Party from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the Old Town Library. Besides hunting for glowing eggs, this after-hours party will feature video games, snacks, crafts, prizes, and a dance party with DJ Dante.

Get Creative

Denver Public Library is accepting submissions for their 2017 Lego Building Contest. This year’s theme is the Denver Museum of Nature and Science—get inspired by museum exhibits ranging from dinosaurs and vikings to Egyptology and outer space. If you need a refresher on what the museum offers, DPL has passes that patrons can check out. Drop off your entry along with the submission form at a participating DPL branch between April 8 and April 15.

Clearview Library District is offering Sewing Machine Basics on April 10 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm. Participants will learn how to thread a sewing machine and use the basic settings. Registration is required.

What’s New at the Colorado State Library

Check Out Colorado State Parks keeps growing! Patrons can now check out a State Parks pass, along with a backpack filled with outdoor goodies, at academic libraries as well as public libraries. Check Out Colorado was also recently featured on 9News. Do you love this program? Be sure to share your State Parks pics on social media with the hashtag #CheckOutColorado.

The 2016-17 School Library Survey is open from April 3 – June 1, 2017. LRS uses data from the survey to create annual Colorado School Library reports.

One Book 4 Colorado is right around the corner. Starting April 17, all Colorado 4 year-olds can pick up a copy of the OB4CO title at any public or military library, or any Denver Preschool Program classroom. Watch this new promo from Governor John Hickenlooper.

Join the next CSL in Session on April 18 at 12:00 pm MST, when Babi Hammond will present Learning from Your Patrons: An Introduction to User Research. CSL in Session is a free online learning series from the Colorado State Library. No registration is required.

Check out the newest posts on Colorado Virtual Library:

• Spying Sweets. Try some recipes inspired by Ian McEwan’s Sweet Tooth, a title available for checkout from the CSL Book Club Resource.
• Helen Bonfils. You’ve probably heard of the Bonfils Blood Bank before, but did you know that its founder, Helen Bonfils, also established the Denver Center for the Performing Arts? Read the historic biography of this important Denver philanthropist.

The Colorado State Publications Library blog has a wealth of information for all Coloradans. Here are this week’s posts:

• Protecting Colorado’s Groundwater
• Time Machine Tuesday: Colorado and the Great War
• New Report on Heroin Use in Colorado

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This post is part of the Spotlight on Sharing initiative, which aims to increase the visibility of resource sharing in Colorado libraries. How is your library sharing? We’d love to hear about it! Email Amy Hitcher, ahitchner@coloradovirtuallibrary.org. On Twitter follow @hitchlib and use the hashtag #spotlightonsharing.