Friday Grab Bag, May 15, 2020

Storytelling in the Quaran-times

This summer Nederland Community Library is inviting community members to be part of #NedSpeaks, a project to document and preserve individual and collective COVID mountain histories in the ways that best resonate with the creator— traditional book arts, oral histories, story quilting, vlogging, and any /or all combinations!  All ages and stages of life are welcome to participate. The library will be adding stories (however they manifest themselves) to the local history collection, and providing physical and virtual resources to help you express yourself.

The Clear Creek County Library District encourages anyone interested to begin collecting material to contribute to a new Clear Creek County COVID-19 Community Archive Project, which will document, in real time, our perspectives, thoughts, and experiences on how COVID-19 is affecting our communities. Examples of material include: photographs of business signs or roads; virtual interviews with those in your community; your own written thoughts on this historical event; or other materials you feel are significant. For submission instructions, and sample donation/release forms, visit the link above.

Because we tend to remember what we record, the Longmont Public Library has launched a local StoryCorps project, #StrongmontStories, Sharing in Place, to assist the Longmont community in creating an oral history of the COVID-19 experience. #StrongmontStories is where the recordings will be uploaded and accessed. Interviews that do not address the COVID-19 prompt questions or veer too far off-topic may not be included in the final archive.

Lake County Public Library invites patrons to contribute to Leadville history through the COVID-19 Journaling Project by keeping a daily journal during the pandemic and submitting their writings to the library’s archive. Future historians and researchers will want to know how this epidemic affected daily life in Leadville, and this is a chance to help them out! For guidelines, submission instructions, and prompts, click HERE.

Stories of Colorado: Social Distancing Diaries

Looking for an activity to keep you (or home bound kiddos) busy, and connect with friends and family in a meaningful way? Consider creating an oral history via smartphone for the Stories of Colorado: Social Distancing Diaries collection!

Virtual Self Care

Mesa County Libraries’ 970West Studio Artist in Resident TJ Smith shares his process for developing daily habits (Daily Duties) and tracking self improvement using iconography, and will give guidance on how you too can use this method.

Join Vail Public Library on May 20 from 11:30 am -12:30 pm for Virtual Yoga with Anne Anderson. This gentle yoga class is great for those who are looking for a softer, nurturing, and relaxing practice in a style that encourages a highly individualized approach to practice with on-going encouragement.

Museums and Libraries in the News

Newest library district gets website | Durango Herald
The Southwest La Plata Library District (Colorado’s youngest) announced its new website, developed with the help of the Colorado State Library’s CO Libraries service.

Team Pete reads aloud for literacy and community | Colorado Spring Military Newspaper Group
The staff at the Peterson Air Force Base library are working to ensure their patrons still feel supported and connected through a virtual read aloud story time.

The Post-pandemic Future of Libraries | The Atlantic
An excellent run down on how libraries are supporting their communities during the pandemic and beyond, including Colorado’s very own Poudre River Public Library District and Anythink Libraries . Go team!

Grant & Funding Opportunities

$15 Million in IMLS CARES Act Grants Now Available for Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services has two new funding opportunities for museums, libraries, federally recognized tribes, and organizations that primarily serve Native Hawaiians. The combined $15 million federal investment will provide direct support to these institutions, equipping them to respond to community needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline for submitting applications is June 12, 2020, with award announcements anticipated in August.

Learning For All

Free Webinar: Online Survey Tools and Techniques | May 19 @ 12:00 pm MDT
Learn about the tools and best practices for designing a reputable online survey, recruiting participants, and analyzing the data.

How to Be a Webinar Superstar! | May 20 @ 12:00 pm MDT
Find yourself working remotely these days? Or perhaps you already do work remotely but are looking for a way to amp up your online delivery game? In this engaging session, Dr. Steve Yacovelli will share his best practices for both creating and delivering stellar online meeting content.

Why Futurists Can’t Predict the Future, And How You Can | May 26 @ 12:00 pm MDT
Professional forecasters can fail for many reasons. Learn 14 principles that can improve your accuracy when you’re peering into your crystal ball.  What are some unexpected factors that can upset the most educated guesses–and remember, when we are talking about the future, it’s all guesswork.

SBA Paycheck Protection Program Issues for Museums and Libraries | Recorded
As Small Business Administration (SBA) Phase 2 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding remains available, IMLS hosted SBA Economic Development Coordinator Noah Brod in a webinar discussing PPP issues most relevant to museum and library communities.

Learning Opportunities

CSL Webinar Archive
We’ve had a lot of great webinars lately, but if you missed or were unable to attend (some of them filled up quick!), fear not – archived video recordings and supporting materials are available for viewing on demand!

Library Research Service

What’s typical and why does it matter?
Average is one of those statistics that comes up a lot. What does it mean? How can we use it? What are its limitations? When should we use medians instead? LRS covers all that in this week’s “Between a Graph and a Hard Place” blog.

State Publications Blog

• Time Machine Tuesday: The Mount St. Helens Eruption
• Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

Colorado Virtual Library

Learning Edge: May 2020 #1
The Learning Edge May 2020 #1 rounds up resources and news from the education field, and reminds us that we are in new territory and it is okay to keep it simple.

Touring Colorado’s Collections: Front Range Community College Digital Archive
This spring, librarians at Front Range Community College launched a digital collection in partnership with the CSL’s CVL Collections program that chronicles the construction of the solar powered Westminster campus in the late 1970s.

Colorado Classroom – Read With Me at Home
Beginning May 18th, every Monday through Friday for the next five weeks, Rocky Mountain PBS will provide 2 hours of standards-aligned K through 3 literacy and English language development lessons to students across the state.