Spotlight on Sharing: Friday Grab Bag, January 27, 2017

Friday Grab Bag January 27 2017Friday Grab Bag is a weekly Spotlight on Sharing series that highlights fun, unique, and interesting activities and news in Colorado libraries. Let’s open the Grab Bag!

Arts and Culture

Pikes Peak Library District is looking for artists who would like to exhibit their work at the library. Interested artists should bring five representative pieces of their artwork to Penrose Library on Wednesday, February 22 from 10 am – noon. The Art Evaluation Committee will select artists for future shows at the library. Read all the details and download the Art Exhibit Application on the PPLD website.

Enjoy an evening of “Celtic Rambling” (Irish tales and sounds) from Westcliff resident Jim Remington, February 4 at 2:00 pm at the Cañon City Public Library.

Denver Public Library’s Children’s Department and their ideaLAB are partnering to host a Victorian Mystery Tea on Saturday, January 28 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Get dressed up, have some tea and treats, and solve a mystery! RSVP: 720-865-1306 or CHLRef@denverlibrary.org

Mesa County Libraries has museum passes available for checkout. The pass allows entry for up to six people at the Downtown Museum, Dinosaur Journey, and Cross Orchards.

Writing and Storytelling

Due to popular demand, Berthoud Community Library is holding its Writers Group every Monday from 9:30 to 11:30 am. Writers of all experience levels and genres are encouraged to attend and engage in discussion and critique.

Basalt Regional Library’s Valley Writers 2 group meets the 4th Saturday of the month starting January 28 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm to share and critique short fiction, essays, and creative nonfiction. Registration is required—email Eleanor Shelton, eleanors0420@gmail.com

At Clearview Library District’s Teen Talk-Off, registered participants age 12-18 will have 5 minutes to tell a strange, funny, or life-changing story in the style of a TEDx talk. The event is February 3 from 5:00 to 7:00 at the Windsor Community Rec Center. Register on the Clearview website.

Libraries in the News

Delta County Library’s seed library was the subject of a recent article in the Delta County Independent. Besides highlighting the seed library, the article also pointed out the library’s many and varied resources that directly support its community.

Dolores Public Library welcomes their new director Virginia Mattingly, most recently the director of the Shuter Library in Angel Fire, NM. We’re excited to welcome Virginia to the Colorado library community!

This year, the Vail community will be reading The High Divide by Lin Enger as their One Book One Valley title. OBOV was featured in a recent article in the Vail Daily.

Building, Crafting, and Creating

Remember the classic Simon game? Now you can build your own using Arduino. Estes Valley Library is offering Interactive Electronics with Arduino on February 3 from 5:30-7:30 pm for ages 13 and up. Register online.

Kids age 5-12 can build a LEGO superhero vehicle while learning about acceleration and transmissions at the Lyons Regional Library on Saturday, February 4 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. Register by calling 303-823-5165 or emailing info@lyonsregionallibrary.com.

John C. Fremont Library is holding an origami class for adults, taught by artist Jennifer Gerring, on Thursday, February 2 at 6:00 pm. The class is free and paper will be supplied, though class size is limited. Register by emailing sean.beharry@jcfld.org.

Strengthening Communities

Anythink Libraries announces their One Kind Word Project Feb. 6-11: this week-long initiative invites community members to write notes of kindness and good cheer that will be distributed to those in need. To make your cards extra special, the library has partnered with local artists to offer classes on screen printing, calligraphy, and embossing.

To celebrate its 50th birthday, Bud Werner Memorial Library is throwing a party on Saturday, February 4 at 3:00 pm. Enjoy a festive afternoon of stories, trivia, and live music with the Yampa Valley Boys! MountainBrew Coffee will also be debuting its new special library roast at the event.

What’s New at the Colorado State Library

Voting for One Book 4 Colorado ends on Friday, January 27, 2017. Your vote will help determine the 2017 OB4CO title, which will be handed out to every 4-year-old in Colorado beginning April 17.

On January 25 I hosted a Spotlight on Sharing Webcast on the topic of Memory Care Programming at the Library. Panelists Amy DelPo from Denver Public Library and Deb Gonzales from Arapahoe Libraries shared how their libraries support patrons with dementia and other forms of memory loss, and they had tips for other libraries that want to start offering these programs.

Leigh posted an update on the planned Colorado-Wyoming Service Hub for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). In her post, Leigh described the work of the DPLA and the progress that the planning committee has made towards becoming a service hub.

The next CSL in Session is February 15 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. Jane Martel from Arapahoe Libraries will share tips on improving communication and relationships at work. CSL in Session is always free and requires no registration.

Arian recently added three new graphic novel titles to the CSL Book Club Resource. These graphic novels are great for getting teens talking, reading, and creating. Learn how your library can borrow these and other book club kits.

Arian also published a historical biography of Ouray, who was an important Ute chief in the 19th century.

Amy in the State Publications Library published three blog posts this week on a variety of topics. Learn about the changes to Denver law regarding remote starter systems in cars; take a time machine back to the Union colony at Greeley; and learn about whirling disease, a parasitic infection that affects Colorado’s trout population.


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.

Amy Hitchner
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