Friday Grab Bag, September 25, 2020

Hispanic Heritage Month

Join Poudre River Public Library District in a celebration of Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month on October 3 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. Adolescentes, comida, cultura e identidad: prepara polvorones tricolor / Teens, food, culture, and identity: bake tri-colored polvorones features a conversation on food, culture and identity while you learn how to prepare this traditional Mexican cookies: polvorones tricolor. Renowned baker, Eliceo Lara, will lead this bilingual conversation while teaching from his kitchen in Mexico City. Participants must provide their own ingredients and tools, and have access to an oven.

Renowned poet Juan Morales joins Pikes Peak Library District to teach a virtual poetry workshop on September 26 at 1:00 pm in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs September 15th through October 15th. Register now to participate!

Museo de las Americas is teaming up with the Denver Public Library to bring you a masked dia gratis/free day on October 10 from 12:00-5:00 pm that is entirely en español. From museum tours, to arts & crafts activities, everything will be in Spanish. AND the Bookmobile will be there, full of Spanish books, movies and magazines, as well as some free giveaways for nuestras familias! To maintain social distance, you must register for this free event.

Learning for All

Once Upon A Training: The Impact Of Stories On Learning And Engagement | September 29 @ 10:00 am MT
Once upon a time in land near a salty sea, Patrick Hoecherl, a coordinator of staff development sat in his glass tower at the Salt Lake City Public Library. A dark presence, tedium, had permeated the training landscape. Was there a hero who could be called upon to deliver the system from the rising darkness? This webinar will highlight the benefits of using stories to increase engagement during staff training sessions. It will include practical examples from courses Patrick has developed as well as tips for developing training courses at your library.

Language Arts

You are invited to the virtual Friends of the Lyons Regional Library Annual Meeting, featuring keynote speaker, Colorado author, Margaret Mizushima on October 1, at 7:00 pm. Ms. Mizushima is the author of the Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries series, set in the rugged, high Rockies. In addition to publishing this award-winning series, Margaret serves as president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, was elected the 2019-2020 Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and is also a member of Northern Colorado Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Women Writing the West. Click HERE to register for this virtual event.

Calling all local playwrights: Denver Center for the Performing Arts Education is thrilled to offer First Mondays – Local Playwrights Forum, a resource to hear your material read out loud, beginning on October 5 from 6:30-8:30 pm. Submit 10 minutes of a work-in-progress for a special opportunity to help you develop it further. This cold reading series is a tip of the hat to Naked Angels’ “Tuesdays at 9,” a program that has helped playwrights develop their work for years in NYC and LA. For submission info and to register, click HERE.

Have a book idea, but don’t want to go the route of traditional publishing? Explore the options of Self Publishing with Yourself on October 13 from 10:00 to 11:30 pm with High Plains Library District informal discussion of the variety of options available to you. Look at companies that help you publish, whether you should focus on ebooks versus printed, and basic strategies to get your name out there!

Monologues are an important piece to include in your acting toolbox, especially when you’re first starting out. An actor should have an arsenal of 4-6 polished monologues at any given time. Join Arapahoe Libraries on September 30 at 6:30 pm for Virtual Intro to Theater: Contemporary Dramatic Monologues and be ready for anything and everything.

Grant & Funding Opportunities

Support for Nonprofit Organizations in Nine Western States
The Kampe Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. General Grants are provided to organizations that address one or more of the following program areas: healthcare and education for special populations (youth, people with disabilities, low-income populations, and senior citizens); Christian ministry, ethics, and social justice; science and engineering; and sustainable agriculture and environmental issues.Visit the Foundation’s website to learn more about the application process.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation
The purpose of the program is to support museums, cultural, and performing arts programs; schools, hospitals, educational and skills training programs, programs for youth, seniors, and the handicapped; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and their programs. The Foundation provides support for specific projects or activities of an organization, as well as for operating support.

Grants Enhance Rural Communities in Targeted States
The Laura Jane Musser Fund encourages collaborative and participatory efforts among citizens in communities in Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Wyoming, as well as parts of New York and Texas.

Youth Organizations in Company Communities in the U.S. and Canada Funded
The Nordstrom Corporate Giving Program supports nonprofit organizations in the communities where company stores are located, including locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Museums & Libraries in the News

John Krueger earns Colorado’s Outstanding Library Trustee Award | Estes Park Trail Gazette
John Krueger, president of the Estes Valley Public Library District’s Board of Trustees, has been selected as recipient of the 2020 Outstanding Library Trustee Award, given by the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL).

The National Museum of Finland returned Pueblo Tribes’ ancestral remains from its collection for reburial in Mesa Verde, Colorado | PRN Newswire
The ancestors and grave items, which are estimated to date back to the 13th century and were part of the National Museum of Finland’s Mesa Verde collection, have been repatriated to the Hopi Tribe, the Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of Zia, and the Pueblo of Zuni, indigenous tribes of the United States, to be reburied on September 12, 2020.

Longmont Councilman Tim Waters says community needs to understand library’s importance, funding needs | Longmont Times-Call
Longmont City Councilman Tim Waters says the city has “got to build an understanding” of the Longmont Public Library’s importance to the community, pursuant to findings that the library is too small to serve the city’s current population, and is underfunded in comparison to other Colorado public libraries.

DOLLY PARTON’S IMAGINATION LIBRARY PROGRAM THRIVING IN CHAFFEE COUNTY | Ark Valley Voice
To date, more than 30,000 books have been mailed to more than 1,150 children in Chaffee County through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Colfax library employees say MLK Jr. branch overrun with drugs, violence and filth | Sentinel Colorado
Employees at Aurora Public Library’s Martin Luther King Jr. branch say the branch’s campus has become enveloped by violence and squalid conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting meetings with city officials.

Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum announces COS@150 sesquicentennial stories | The Gazette
The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum will commemorate Colorado Springs’ sesquicentennial through 150 stories and plays.

Colorado Virtual Libary

Get To Know CSL: Tyler Kottmann on Audio Production at the Colorado Talking Book Library
Tyler Kottmann, who works behind the scenes as the Studio Director at the Colorado Talking Book Library, a unit of CSL that provides services for the print-disabled, is front-and-center in the latest edition of #GettoKnowCSL.

A Window to History: The Wonderful World of Old Newspaper Ads
Three historic Florence titles are now available on Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection . Join us in exploring them through the wonderful and wacky world of old advertisements.

Read With Me Today
Be instrumental in sharing the importance of reading with parents and families with the recently launched Read with Me Today website and campaign, which was designed to provide caregivers with tips and resources to support their children’s reading progress.

Learning Opportunities

Preserving Colorado History: A virtual conference for small rural Colorado museums and libraries

• October 9
• Registration: $15/Students are free
• Click HERE to register

Library Research Service

42: The answer to every bad evaluation question
If you want a useful finding, you have to ask the right evaluation question. The latest blog post from LRS provides simple steps for crafting questions that will focus your study, clarify outcomes, and authenticate your work.

State Publications Blog

• Time Machine Tuesday: Roaring Fork Valley Ghost Towns
• 2020 Election Information