Friday Grab Bag, December 17, 2021

Pick ‘n’ Mix

From mid-December to mid-January, Pine River Library is hosting a traveling exhibition designed to teach kids and their families about money, thanks to a competitive national grant from the American Library Association (ALA) and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. Thinking Money for Kids is a new multimedia experience for children ages 7 to 11, as well as their parents, caregivers, and educators. The interactive exhibit uses games, activities, and a fun storyline to help children understand what money is and its function in society. They will also learn about making financial decisions, the value of money, and concepts like fairness, responsibility, and charitableness.

Anythink Libraries invites teens to How To: Graffiti Art on December 17 from 3:30-5:00 pm. Learn the basics of street art with The Queenz of Hip Hop and help create a community art piece! No advanced registration is necessary.

‘Tis the Season

Usher in the season with Nederland Community Library’s A Wreath of Holiday Stories on December 20 from 3:00-4:00 pm.  Local Storyteller Kathleen Santopietro will introduce the audience to females who dazzle imaginations and inspire heartfelt holidays through stories featuring fascinating females who remind us that there’s more to wisdom than three men bearing gifts. Afternoon tea and refreshments will be served.

Many folks know that our modern-day Santa Claus had his start as St. Nicholas, but what happened on the journey to make us think of a “jolly old elf,” rather than a pious Christian Bishop? Join Arapahoe Library District on December 20 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm for The History and Folklore of Santa Claus to find out where, exactly, Santa Claus comes from, and his popularity remains so high in modern American popular culture.

Join Vail Public Library for an Evening of Engagement with the local musical group, Mountain Harmony Acapella on December 22 at 5:30 pm. Singing a variety of holiday pieces, Mountain Harmony is sure to catch you up in the spirit of the season. Mountain Harmony is a women’s acapella group, performing in 4-part harmony.  Over the past 20 years, they have performed for tree lightings and other holiday events from Vail to Glenwood Springs. Their repertoire of holiday arrangements spans a few centuries.

Teen Games

As Samhain approaches and the veil to the spirit world draws thin, a group of psychics join together in a mansion to solve the murder of the ghost that haunts it… Come join Boulder Public Library every month  on the third Wednesday at 4:30 pm for a teen-led game of Mysterium, a cooperative murder-mystery board game! No prior experience necessary! For teens, grades 6 – 12.

Have you ever dreamed of being on the bridge of a spaceship?  Ever wanted to shout “The engines can’t take anymore, Captain!”  Or maybe, “Tell the enemy to surrender or die!”? This is your chance.  Join the Eaton Public Library and its flagship, the Lone Howler, for our twice-monthly Spaceship Artemis game nights. Artemis SBS is a fully cooperative spaceship bridge simulator game in which players work together to fly a ship and defend the sector from enemy forces (among other possibilities).  No experience is needed, and all players are welcome.

Ready for an epic campaign? Clearview Library District’s Dungeon Master will be leading twice-monthly Dungeons & Dragons campaign sessions on the first and third Saturdays of the month from 12:00-4:00 pm. For ages 12-18. Please register yourself below and John will get in touch with registered participants with further access information.

Museums & Libraries in the News

University of Colorado Boulder doctoral student leads research surrounding Black Twitter being the modern day Green Book | 9 News
Librarian and Historian Jemeka Lewis imagines an updated, modern day Green Book being useful for people in the Black community. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder found Black Twitter is just that and more.

Denver Public Library renames branch to honor Native American community leader | 9 News
The library at Santa Fe Drive and West 7th Avenue will now be called the John “Thunderbird Man” Emhoolah Jr. Branch Library.

‘Side by Side’ exhibit pairs work of local artists and painters | Vail Daily
The Vail Valley Art Guild has installed a new exhibit in the Avon Public Library that will travel to Gypsum in December and Vail in January.

Professional Development

Colorado Justice Partners Conference
Colorado Courts, Colorado Bar Association and the Access to Justice Commission invite librarians to the Colorado Justice Partners Conference, two sessions that are designed to inform and provide an overview of Access to Justice initiatives going on across the state. Be sure to register for each session.

• January 13 8:45-3:30 session features: Self-Help for Inmates with Civil Issues, WebEx Training for Court Hearings, Demos of Must-Bookmark Websites, Language Access & Resources, What is Access to Justice?, and Roundtable Discussion—come prepared to talk about your library patrons’ needs.
• January 20 8:45-3:30 session features: Virtual Clinics & Checkerboard,  Mediation,  Colorado Legal Services, DU Law & Innovation Lab, Increasing Access – Create, Engage, Connect, and Court Self-Help – Who, What, How.

Library Challenges on the Rise in 2021, Looking at You 2022
The Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL-IFC) has become increasingly aware of library challenges not only in our state, but throughout the region and nation. Publishers Weekly put “An “Organized” Effort to Ban Books in Schools and Libraries” as its top library story of 2021, BookRiot covers it in “Students, Teachers, and Librarians are Fed Up with Book Challenges, while American Libraries examines the conflicts that occur when library boards, administration and staff clash. How can you prepare for when these issues come up at your institution? Start locally by knowing about your library board and coming agendas. Consider attending an upcoming meeting of CAL-IFC (Jan. 12, 2021), and subscribe to ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) blog – and if there is a challenge happening in your library, know that the OIF is there to support staff and community.

Grants & Funding Opportunities

Preservation of Humanities Collections Supported
The Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions program helps small and mid-sized 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. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, and more. The application deadline is January 13, 2022.

State Publications Library

• Colorado State Parks: Harvey Gap

Learning Opportunities

Save the Date – Successful Supervision 2022!

• Join our introductory webinar on January 12, 2022 @ 11:00 am MT