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.
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Festivals and Cons
Boulder Public Library is seeking volunteers for their upcoming ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival on September 21-23. The festival is a celebration of world literature that features features author talks, community conversation and more. Volunteer opportunities include author liaisons, children’s program help, event photography, ushers, book signing/authors’ lounge assistance, and much more.
CU Boulder Libraries invites students, professors, and librarians to Open Con, September 7 from 9:00 to 4:00 at the CU Boulder Rec Center. Spend the day learning about open educational resources and developing a plan to advocate for open research and more affordable textbooks. Register online for this free event.
Teens: rock your cosplay at Poudre River Public Library District’s Teen Nerd Prom, August 24 at Old Town Library. Get nerdy with retro video games, an anime room, crafts, snacks, a dance party, a musical instrument petting zoo, and more. The prom is in conjunction with the Fort Collins Comic Con. Teens must be 12-18 years old and have a free ticket that can be downloaded from this website.
Mesa County Libraries are seeking program proposals for their upcoming Comic Con, to take place on Saturday, October 6, at Two Rivers Convention Center. They’re looking for great panels covering comics, sci-fi, games, cosplay, literature, filmmaking, art demonstrations and much more! Submit a proposal.
Pick ‘n’ Mix
Learn how to build your own solar food dehydrator, August 11 from 10:00 to 11:00 am at Pine River Library. These dehydrators are easy to make and a great addition to your self-sufficient home.
Enjoy a cold brew while you sign up for a library card! Denver Public Library’s Wheelie the Book Bike is celebrating Denver Days at Declaration Brewing, August 11 & 12 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. See the Denver Days website for even more events.
Anythink Wright Farms is hosting an open house for The Studio on Saturday, August 18. Stop and in get acquainted with the tools in the Studio, then stay for a session (or more) on photography, virtual reality, parallax, and YouTube production, presented by local creators.
As part of the Summer Sidewalk Astronomy program, Jefferson County Public Library is hosting a Perseids Meteor Shower Watch Party on August 13. Gather around the sundial in front of Stanley Lake Library around 7:00 pm, when astronomer Aric Vyhmeister will assist participants in using their telescopes and provide additional details about the wonders of the cosmos.
The Grand County Community of Writers will hold their monthly Writers Workshop on Sunday, August 26 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at the Granby Library. Send your submission to annawinkel@hotmail.com by August 18 in order to receive thoughtful feedback at the August 26th meeting. All types of writing are welcome.
Connecting Communities
Arthur Lakes Library at Colorado School of Mines is starting the school year stress-free with Mindful Mondays. Every Monday beginning August 20, drop in from 3:00 to 3:30 to learn the benefits of practicing mindfulness and to participate in a guided meditation led by Mines students & staff.
The Dementia Caregiver Support Group meets the fourth Thursday of every month at Lafayette Public Library. The group is a safe place to receive support from fellow caregivers and volunteer facilitators, who have been trained by the Alzheimer’s Association. The next meeting is August 28 at 6:00 pm.
Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is this year’s One Book Steamboat title. Pick up a copy at Bud Werner Memorial Library and visit their One Book Steamboat website to see upcoming events related to the book.
Eagle Valley Library District, Vail Public Library, and Eagle Valley Schools continue their partnership to offer seamless access to library resources for K-12 students. One Valley, One Card is a program that allows students to use millions of free EVLD and VPL resources with their school ID. Learn more.
August Tunes
Jam with fellow uke players at High Plains Library District’s monthly Ukulele Strumming Circle. The group meets the third Thursday of each month from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at Carbon Valley Regional Library. The next meeting is on August 16, so bring your uke, learn some new tunes, and play along with other enthusiasts.
Libraries in the News
Craig Press: Moffat County commissioners file intent to place museum, library mill levy on November ballot (Moffat County Libraries)
Broomfield News: Library considers going fine-free (Broomfield Library)
CBS Denver: Fundraising Event Combines The Library & Tattoos: ‘It Was Worth It’ (Denver Public Library)
Alamosa News: Capulin welcomes community library (Conejos Library District)
What’s New at the Colorado State Library
‘Let’s Share’ Forum
Do you have ideas about community engagement, early literacy, and programming to share with your library colleagues across the state? Let’s Share is an online space to post experiences, questions, and comments. The forum is part of the expansion of the CSL Kits program, which you can learn more about in “Let’s Talk About It!” – Community Conversations in a Big Red Box.
Learning Opportunities
Digging into Assessment Data: Tips, Tricks, and Tools of the Trade, with Linda Hofschire and Lynn Silipigni Connaway.
- Aug. 14, 2018, 1:00 to 2:00 pm
- Free! Register to join online
CSL in Session, Getting Unstuck: The Secret Life of Procrastinators, with Jean Heilig & Christine Kreger.
- Sept. 20, 2018, 12:00 to 1:00 pm
- Free; no registration needed; join online
View other upcoming learning opportunities for August 2018. For Colorado-specific events check the Library Learning & Creation Center.
Plains to Peaks Collective (PPC)
Last week, Leigh Jeremias and Amy Hitchner travelled to the Wyoming Library Association Conference in Casper to represent the PPC. They spoke with attendees about how to participate in the PPC, and encouraged them to share this resource—filled with valuable historic collections from Colorado and Wyoming—with educators, students, and researchers in their communities. Learn more: ppc.cvlsites.org
Colorado State Publications Library
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 Amy Hitchner, ahitchner@coloradovirtuallibrary.org. Also, be sure to follow Colorado State Library on Twitter and Facebook.
- Friday Grab Bag, November 16, 2018 - November 15, 2018
- Friday Grab Bag, November 9, 2018 - November 9, 2018
- Friday Grab Bag, November 2, 2018 - November 2, 2018