Friday Grab Bag, December 11, 2020

Culture & Community

Culture Fest, Mesa County Libraries’ annual celebration of cultural diversity on the Western Slope, happens online this year and features a wide-ranging look at the stories of several immigrants to the region.  Because of pandemic-related precautions, the library is unable to host the in-person Culture Fest celebration this year, but check out the schedule of virtual events and culturally-themed Take-and-Make kits for kids.

Bud Werner Memorial Library convenes a seven-week Shakespeare Reading Group: Measure for Measure on January 13 at 6:00 pm. Led by William Shakespeare aficionado Carl Steidtmann, this reading group is for both first-time and experienced Shakespeare readers and anyone who might like to do some reading aloud, acting or presenting. The overall emphasis is on enjoyment of Measure for Measure as the group discusses the play, reads brief excerpts together, studies a theatrical presentation, and learns about the playwright and his world.

Adults are invited to join Douglas County Libraries on December 15 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm for Hidden Gems: Classic Films Virtual Discussion. Watch the classic film The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant and Loretta Young on your own before the meeting, and then meet to discuss it via Zoom.

Add to your holiday celebration and learn a little of Glenwood Springs’ fascinating history with the Hidden History of Glenwood Springs Scavenger Hunt! Visit Garfield County Libraries’ Glenwood Springs Branch to pick up a scavenger hunt question sheet. Once completed, bring it back to the library to earn a treat and entry into a drawing for “Glenwood Gold” gift certificates that can be used at local participating businesses. The scavenger hunt runs from Dec. 7 through Dec. 19, is free, and there are questions for adults, teens, and kids.

Pick ‘n’ Mix

Did you know that from the moment the cork comes out of the bottle with a faint “pop,” to actually drinking and tasting the wine, all five senses are engaged? Join Eagle Valley Library District on their Facebook page starting December 18 for Wine 101 with Sommelier Rob Farrer. Learn the basic sensory physiology and how to maximize your wine experience in fun and humorous short video clips, get great tips for selecting wine and learn a few trade secrets. Get started on your very own wine journey this December!

Join the Denver Botanic Gardens starting January 4 at 6:30 pm for the winter 2021 session of The Rose & Thorn, a story time for adults hosted virtually and read by staff at the Helen Fowler Library. One book will be read each month over the course of four sessions, focusing on cozy mysteries with botanical themes. Stay at home with a glass of wine or craft project while a librarian reads you through A Flower Shop Mystery series by Kate Collins, which follows Abby Knight, a flower shop owner who seems to always get involved with local crime.

Join Grand County Library District at 5:30 pm on December 16 for Outdoor Recreation during a Pandemic: Resources for Avalanche Safety in the Backcountry.  Grand County local and avalanche educator Jamie Wolter will discuss avalanche safety in the backcountry, the importance of minimizing risk in the backcountry,  and how to find the resources you need to help you make smart decisions.

Grants & Funding Opportunities

Support for Pre-K-12 Library Collections Nationwide
The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries
The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries provides funds to the country’s neediest schools so that they can extend, update, and diversify the book and print collections in their libraries with the goal of encouraging students to develop a love of reading and learning. The focus is on schools serving pre-K through 12th grade in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, all U.S. territories, and Department of Defense schools. Public, public charter, private, parochial, city, state, county, and reservation schools are eligible to apply. This includes special schools, social services schools, and juvenile detention center schools that serve any combination of pre-kindergarten through high school students. These grants may be used only for books, periodicals, eBooks, reference materials, and magazine/newspaper subscriptions. The application deadline is January 29, 2021. Visit the Foundation’s website to review the application guidelines.

Preservation of Humanities Collections Funded
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions program helps institutions such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections, including special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects, and digital materials. The application deadline is January 14, 2021.

Museums & Libraries in the News

Why Some Libraries are Ending Fines | The Atlantic
The Fine-Free-Movement gets much deserved  attention from the national press, including a shout out to the Colorado State Library’s 2016 report showing that eliminating overdue fines removed barriers of access for children.

Cheech Marin’s Chicano Art Collection Now in Colorado Springs | Westword
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is the last stop of a nine-city for the show Papel Chicano Dos: Works on Paper From the Collection of Cheech Marin, curated by Melissa Richardson Banks of CauseConnect. Marin began collecting art by Chicano artists in the 1970’s, and has assembled one of the largest collections of Chicano art in the world with more than 700 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and videos.

Fundraiser aimed at renovating Clifton Elementary library | The Daily Sentinel
Academy Mortgage of Western Colorado, along with District 51, hopes to raise $65,000, to renovate the Clifton Elementary School Library with new paint, carpet, shelving, furniture, reading materials and, perhaps most importantly, technological upgrades such as Chromebook computers.

Learning Opportunities

Upcoming GRT Quick Bites: Grandparents as Informal Caregiver with Gail Yerbic

• December 15 @ 12:00 pm
• Free, no registration required!
• Join Online

Upcoming Quick Bites: STEM with Toddlers: Yes You Can! with Kate Brunner

• December 22 @ 12:00 pm
• Free, no registration required!
• Join Online

Free Online Learning Opportunities for December
The free online learning opportunities keep coming!

Library Research Service

How to conduct a secondary research evaluation in four steps
Conduct an evaluation without ever leaving your desk using these four simple steps from LRS.

Colorado Virtual Library

View free WiFi locations in Colorado
Though many library buildings are closed to the public, they are still helping their communities access the internet to complete school work and other crucial tasks. Find connections for all with our new, interactive, map of free WiFi locations.

CHNC Comes to Marmot
Records for the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection is now available to Marmot Library Network members and Colorado discovery partners.

Trustee Corner – December 2020
This month’s Trustee Corner has Intellectual Freedom and Public Library Policy, trustee training opportunities, and much more.

State Publications Blog

• Time Machine Tuesday: The State Office Building Turns 100
• Feeding and Observing Birds in Winter