Friday Grab Bag, March 15, 2019

St. Patrick’s Day…

… is this weekend!  Here’s a few things to put you in the spirit.

The Pikes Peak Library District library cart drill team will be putting their library carts to creative use at the 35th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Colorado Spring. Cheer them on tomorrow, March 16, starting at Noon.  Read full coverage at The Gazette.

Pikes Peak Library District Drill Team. Image courtesy of Heidi Buljung.

All ages are welcome to join the High Plains Library District for Celtic Steps Irish Dance Performance. Experience the best of local Irish Dancing with a 30-minute performance by the multiple-time World Champion & National Champion dance troupe, Celtic Steps. The performance will take place on March 16 from 10:00-10:30 am at the Erie Community Library.

Jefferson County Library hosts acclaimed Celtic fingerstyle guitarist Jerry Barlow for an afternoon of music, stories, and humor on March 17 from 2:00-3:30pm.  Celebrate familiar Celtic tunes with Barlow’s program, For the Love of Celtic Music, as featured on NPR and PBS. No registration is required, and all ages are welcome.

Armchair Exploration

Winter doesn’t seem to be done with us quite yet, but that’s no reason not to see the world from the comfort of your library!

Adults and seniors are invited to join Arapahoe Libraries for Active Minds: Spain on March 18 from 1:00-2:00 pm for an exploration the roots and legacy of the Spanish Empire and how this important country fits into the regional and global puzzle today. Registration is required. Visit the event page to sign up.

Mesa County Libraries welcomes adults to Armchair Travel, World Cruise, Part I. This ship sets sail on March 18 at 6:30 pm for New Zealand, Australia, Komodo, Borobudur, Shanghai, Xian and the Terra Cotta Soldiers, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, and Singapore. Seating is limited, and tickets will be handed out at the door beginning at 6:00 pm, so arrive a little early to get a spot!

Join Pitkin County Library and Matt Cull for an evening of Travel photography and narrative. Experience Matthew Cull’s incredible photography and entertaining tales as he recounts his 3 month, 6500 km journey by bicycle through 13 Eastern European countries from Estonia to Istanbul: a maze of old world cities, castles, villages, churches and bucolic countryside.This event, on March 19 at 6:00 pm, will be Cull’s final presentation of the winter season.

The Pikes Peak Library District’s World Traveler Book Club meets every 3rd Thursday for global exploration through the written word.  They will convene next on March 20, from 3:30-5:00 pm to discuss the March selection – Russia through Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys. See where else you’ll go in future month’s here – just scroll down to World Travelers.

Education for all

CLiC Spring Workshops: There is still time to register for CLiC’s Spring Workshops! The dates and locations for 2019 are: Grand Junction: March 21 & 22 @ Colorado Mesa University Fort Morgan: March 29 @ Fort Morgan High School Pueblo: April 15 & 16 @ CSU-Pueblo.

• For more information and to register: http://bit.ly/2019SpringWorkshops
• Questions? Just ask at clichelp@clicweb.org

Calling all Podcasters (and wannabes)

Interested in creating a podcast, but don’t know where to start? Adults and teens are invited to join Arapahoe Libraries tomorrow, March 16 at 2:00 pm for Podcasting for Beginners. Beyond the Trope, five year veterans of the podcasting world, will share techniques and secrets for creating engaging content, building an audience, and getting involved with the local media community to create a successful long-term podcast. Register here.

Teens can learn the basics of audio recording while creating their own podcasts at the upcoming Teen Audio Camp at the Mesa County Libraries’ 970West Studio.

Teen Audio Camp is an all-day workshop, and participants can sign up to participate on either Tuesday, March 19, or Wednesday, March 20. The camp runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm each day, with a one-hour lunch break. No previous experience is required to participate, so it’s a great opportunity to learn how a studio operates!

The Longmont Public Library presents The Wild World of Podcasting on April 4 from 7:00-8:00 pm with Laura Krantz,  Denver podcaster and creator of the 2018 podcast “Wild Thing,” with author Scott Carney, which examined Bigfoot and Bigfoot enthusiasts and believers. Krantz will discuss how she got into the subject matter of the podcast (again, Bigfoot!) as well as hurdles she encountered in trying to put the podcast together and get it published. She’ll talk about developing content for the episodes and juggling the business side of podcasting. Registration is required, so visit the event page to reserve a seat.

Libraries and Museums in the News

The Know highlights a new exhibition at the Center for Colorado Women’s History that traces the contributions of women who helped build Colorado. “Women / Work / Justice,” opens on March 30, and features seven women who pioneered national workplace shifts in the 20th century. Read the full coverage here.

Congratulations to Colorado’s own Jim Duncan! On March 14, The American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) Immroth Award Committee announced that Jim Duncan, Executive Director of the Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC), is the recipient of the 2019 John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award, which honors significant contributions defending intellectual freedom.

The Daily Camera reports on CU Boulder’s “Living Libraries” event, which features human “books,” and is meant to provide space for stories that often go untold as a means to foster empathy and kindness in the learning process, and highlight the importance of counter-stories to offset the imbalance of power in libraries and institutions.

In some very Colorado news, Moose Keeps Silverthorne Library Closed. Yes, you read that right!

Grants and Funding Opportunities

Funds for Local Organizations in Company Communities
Union Pacific Foundation: Community Ties Giving Program
The Union Pacific Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities served by Union Pacific Railroad, primarily in the midwestern and western United States. Through the Community Ties Giving Program, the Foundation provides Local Grants to nonprofit organizations that address the following categories: Safety, Workforce Development, Community Spaces, and Local Needs. Grants generally range from $2,500 to $25,000. Organizations interested in receiving a grant must complete an online survey to determine eligibility beginning April 1 through May 31, 2019, which is also the last day that eligible organizations may submit an online application. Visit the Foundation’s website for detailed information about the funding priorities and application process.

Digital Literacy

Learning Edge March #1
Christine Schein rounds up the latest news in digital literacy and educational technology.

Colorado State Publications Library Blog

• Avalanche Safety
• Time Machine Tuesday: Colorado Minerals and Geology
• Resources on Colorado Liquor Laws

Colorado Virtual Library

Adobe Spark – Bag of Tricks
Kieran Hixon adds a tool to your Bag of Tricks in his overview of Adobe Spark.

Growing Readers Together Initiative Receives Preschool Development Grant
Public libraries are early literacy leaders in their communities. In recognition and expansion of this mission, Growing Readers Together (GRT), a Colorado State Library initiative, was awarded funds through the Preschool Development Grant.

Topics in History: Intersectionality in Colorado: Women’s Rights are Human Rights
While Colorado history has no shortage of fierce and courageous women who stood against oppression, today we celebrate the intersectional movements that transcended gender, race, and sexual orientation to unify Coloradans in the common belief that no one is free until everyone is free.