The Friday Grab Bag is a weekly series that highlights fun, unique, and interesting happenings in Colorado libraries, and includes news from the Colorado State Library.
Before we dive into the bag, I wanted to share some exciting news! The Colorado State Library has created a shared Virtual Events Calendar to help #LibrariesCOnnect all Colorado residents with live and recorded programs and activities while staying safer-at-home. If you are offering virtual programs this summer, create an account and submit your events to the calendar, and promote the calendar within your community to help users find events, tutorials, and more. If you have questions about the calendar itself or with the submission process, reach out to my colleague Beth Crist (crist_b@cde.state.co.us).
Now let’s open the Friday Grab Bag!
Pride & Joy
June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month! Pikes Peak Library District invites you to show your pride through the creation of an LGBTQ+ Pride Wreath on June 27 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Explore color ideas to show off specific gender identities and sexualities, or include all of the colors of the rainbow plus brown and black. Participants will pick up program supplies from the library in order to participate in this virtual program. Program supplies must be picked up the day before the program by library close.
Library teens! Come celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall, which kicked off LGBTQIA+ liberation, at a Virtual Dance party with Pueblo City-County Library on June 28 from 7:00-9:30 pm! Dress up if you want to, help Teen Librarian Ciara design the playlist, and be yourself as you dance to the beautiful rainbow of pride. Allies welcome! The dance party will be on Zoom, and you’ll need to register to get you an invite!
Teens are invited to join Jefferson County Public Library on June 19 from 5:30-7:00 pm for Virtual: Read Out Proud Book Group. This book club is for LGBTQ+ Teens and their allies who are interested in reading and discussing books featuring queer characters, authors, and themes beyond PRIDE month. This group is a space for teens to read stories that might resemble their own experience as well as to discover entirely different perspectives and experiences.
Fri-YAY Fun
Join Denver Public Library reader’s advisor extraordinaire Lainie for Friday 5 at 5, a flash book buzz featuring hot new and forthcoming titles that you just have to know about! Give them 15 minutes, they’ll give you five books. Head over to the Denver Public Library YouTube Channel Fridays at 5 pm!
Summit County Library hosts Friday Virtual Craft-er-noons every 3rd Friday at 3:00 pm with a new crafternoon video. Join in for a step-by-step stay at home craft session! Make a different item during each session using simple supplies you already have at home. Access a list of weekly projects and materials here.
Music & Lyrics
Mesa County Libraries invites families to view DRUMS, Dragons, and Unicorns: FIRE UP Your Imagination with Drum Safari on June 23 from 10:00-10:45 am. be captivated watching Drum Safari’s video featuring drumming, puppets, and a whole lot of fantastical fun! This performance plays on the Mesa County Libraries YouTube channel.
Join Garfield County Public Libraries on June 25 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm for LET THEM ROAR Songwriting Series: Emotion in Music. This workshop will explore creative ways we can express ourselves when music is used as a language. Look at three basic ways feelings can be expressed to create motion in music and try them out through group exercises to gain musical insight & discover new tools for songwriting. Register and participate via Zoom.
Explore the history of lyricism, from its ancient roots in storytelling all the way to modern day Hip-Hop with Arapahoe Libraries’ Lyrics Writing Workshop on June 22 from 6:00-7:00 pm. Participants will practice creating their own lyrics using a variety of techniques and skills. No materials needed, though a pen and a pad for taking notes are encouraged. Click HERE to register.
Bon Anniversaire
Englewood Public Library reaches centennial | Englewood Herald
Englewood Public Library is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and plans to host different events throughout the summer to honor the library, and the opportunity for residents to purchase commemorative stickers for their library cards in exchange for the waiver of fines.
In the midst of the COVID chaos this spring, Denver Public Library’s Older Adult Services quietly turned one year old. Since April of 2019, DPL has been creating unique programs, services, trainings, and community connections — all to better serve people who are age 50 and older.
Museums and Libraries in the News
The Denver Protests Made a Mark on Colorado History…and History Colorado | Westword
History Colorado is collecting artifacts from recent protests including projectiles, discarded cans of spray paint, and placards in addition to taking documentary photographs. These items will be reviewed by a curatorial team adding materials to the History in the Making initiative.
Learning For All
Why Your Library Needs a New, Short-Term Strategic Plan | June 24 @ 12:00-1:00 pm MT
Libraries and allied institutions can weather economic and natural disasters. Sometimes the damage is permanent, but people adapt and rebuild. How can libraries survive and continue to support their communities and institutions? You might choose to create and implement a new strategic plan, one that engages the world with fresh assumptions, focuses on immediate goals and priorities, dramatically reduce services, and innovates in different directions, even if the latest plan is three months old.
Is strategic planning dead? Preparing for the future when tomorrow is uncertain | June 22 @ 11:00 am
Should you think about strategic planning in the middle of a crisis? What does a strategic planning process look like in turbulent times? While looking ahead three or more years may be out of the question, strategy is necessary to help your library bring order to the unknown and provide the road map your library needs to feel secure in your decisions and communicate with stakeholders.
Grants & Funding
Colorado Humanities Cares Humanities Relief Grants
These are economic stimulus funds approved by Congress to help mitigate the effects of closures on nonprofit organizations. In recognition that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the public humanities field across the state, Colorado Humanities is directing federal funding to meet the emergency needs of organizations and individuals. Libraries are eligible to apply.
CHRAB Re-Grant Program
The Colorado Historical Records Advisory Board (CHRAB) recently announced this year’s funding opportunities from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for Re-Grants. Administered by the Colorado State Archives, the CHRAB Re-Grant Program will award six grants of $5,000 to applicants around the State of Colorado.
What’s New at the Colorado State Library
Learning Opportunities
Library Friends & Foundations Forum: Book Donations & Books Sales During a Pandemic
- July 9 @ 2:00-3:30 pm MT
- Registration required
- Register to receive Zoom login
Library Research Service
Visualizing Data: the logarithmic scale
LRS’s latest entry in the Between a Graph and a Hard Place series breaks down logarithmic scales, which we encounter all the time, but tend to misunderstand.
Colorado Virtual Library
Trustee Corner – June 2020
The June edition of Trustee Corner has resources on equity, diversity, and inclusion in libraries, and much more.
Resources Addressing Racism for Youth Services Staff
Recent national events have brought a critical focus on racism in this country. We’ve compiled resources for youth services staff to help address this topic in your library.
State Publications Blog
Are you thinking of making a change this year in your job? Check out Library Jobline for hot new library employment opportunities.
- Education and Events Coordinator: Garfield County Libraries / Rifle, CO
- Library Collections Manager: Garfield County Libraries / Rifle, CO
- Staff Trainer: Garfield County Libraries / Rifle, CO
- Youth Services Librarian: Bud Werner Memorial Library / Steamboat Springs, CO
- Director of Public Service: Grand County Library District / Granby, CO
- Catalog Associate: Grand County Library District / Granby, CO
- Library Technician II: State of Colorado Department of Corrections / Canon City CO
- Librarian – Diversity & Inclusion: Jefferson County Public Library / Arvada, CO
This post is part of the Spotlight on Sharing initiative, which aims to increase the visibility of resource sharing in Colorado libraries. Do you have a story from your library to share? Email Marisa Wood, mwood@coloradovirtuallibrary.org. Also, be sure to follow Colorado State Library on Twitter and Facebook.
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