Friday Grab Bag, April 5, 2024

The Friday Grab Bag is a weekly series that highlights fun, unique, and interesting happenings in Colorado libraries, and includes news from Colorado State Library.

Let’s open the Friday Grab Bag!

Eclipse Parties

Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library’s Eclipse Watch Party is April 8 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm in the library garden. Pick up glasses starting April 1 for the 60 percent viewing.

Boulder Public Library’s Solar Eclipse Viewing Party includes solar-themed crafts, experiments, and tasty treats. Join them on April 8 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm at Meadows Branch.

Estes Valley Library’s Eclipse Viewing Party is April 8 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Estes Park Memorial Observatory. They will have viewing glasses, a livestream of the NASA event, four filtered telescopes, tours of the radio room, crafts, and snacks.

Teen Time

Jefferson County Public Library invites teens to Celebrate Earth Day with eco-friendly activities: make your own terrarium, build a personal hydroponic growing system, and enjoy a bunch of upcycling crafts. Join them on April 12, 6:00 pm, at Golden Library.

Gunnison County Libraries’ newest teen escape room is an 80s Murder Mystery on April 10 at Gunnison Library. Set at a 1985 arcade grand opening, your task is to discover who did the dastardly deed. Dressing up is encouraged!

Teens from Basalt Regional Library and Pitkin County Library will go toe-to-toe in a friendly MarioKart Tournament, April 18 at 4:30 pm. Learn the basics of responsible online and in-person gaming while you battle it out for prizes and bragging rights. Contestants should contact their library to register.

Celebrating Poetry

Denver Public Library’s Memory Cafe is celebrating National Poetry Month with a Springtime Poetry reading on April 23 at Virginia Village Branch Library. Explore your creativity by reading and writing poetry together.

Lamar Public Library announced their 2024 Writing Contest. Cash prizes will be awarded in categories for short story, one-sentence story, essay, and poetry. Submissions are due by May 31; visit their website for contest rules.

Grand County Library District welcomes poetry lovers to Verse Voices: A Performance Poetry & Craft Program on April 27 at Fraser Valley Library. Participants will have the opportunity to read a poem and create their own poetic expressions during a Blackout Poetry craft session.

Pick ‘n’ Mix

Garfield County Libraries welcomes Sue Gray for her presentation Introduction to Apocalypse Survival, April 15 at Carbondale Branch Library. She will introduce the basics of preparing water, shelter, fire, and food to survive an emergency.

Bemis Public Library and the Littleton Garden Gang present the third annual Bemis Plant Swap on April 13 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Bring cuttings, seedlings, transplants or houseplants that need a new home, and take some new-to-you plants home in exchange!

Learn to Grow Your Own Mushrooms with the help of Aurora Public Library. They are offering this hands-on make-and-take class on April 13, 10:30 am, at Hoffman Heights Library.

Clear Creek County Library District is celebrating National Library Week April 8 – 12 with complimentary coffee, tea, cookies, and prize drawings at Idaho Springs Public Library and John Tomay Memorial Library.

Louisville Public Library, in partnership with Boulder County Office of Sustainability, Climate Action, and Resilience, is circulating two induction cooktops. Experience cooking with these unique appliances, which use a magnetic field to create targeted heat delivery and reduce energy consumption.

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education recently shared that the American Music Research Center archival collections within the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries’ Rare and Distinctive Collections has acquired a collection of materials from American banjo player Otis Taylor. Taylor, who was born in Denver, is a prolific entertainer who has released multiple albums, worked on various films and tv shows, and was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2019.

Accessibility Corner

News, tips, and resources to support technology accessibility

• Using Plain Language. Advice for making your communications understandable and your resources easy to use.
• Recordings and Transcripts of OIT’s Office Hours. Stay up to date on conversations happening in the Office of Information Technology about HB21-1110, Colorado’s accessibility law.

What’s New at Colorado State Library

School Libraries

• Dinosaurs are the past. School librarians are the future.

Learning Opportunities

• CSL in Session: The Science Behind Our Burnout: Compassion Fatigue in Libraries
  • April 9, 12:00 – 1:00 pm, online
  • No registration required
• Fostering Inclusive Mentorship: Strategies for Supporting Librarians Across Their Careers
  • April 15, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, online
  • Registration required
• Colorado Resource Sharing Conference
  • April 17 (pre-conference) & 18, online
  • Register by April 15
• 36th Annual Colorado Teen Literature Conference
  • April 20 at Bear Creek High School in Lakewood
  • Registration will close when full
• Colorado OER Conference
  • May 17 at the Auraria Campus in Denver
  • Registration is free; travel scholarships are available
• Community Conversations for Election 2024
  • May 21, 1:00 – 2:00 pm, online
  • Registration required
• De-escalation Skills Workshop (Colorado Only)
  • May 29, 12:00 – 2:00 pm, online
  • Registration is required
• HESTL EdCON (statewide K-12 library conference)
  • June 6 in Lone Tree
• Find even more learning opportunities by browsing the Libraries Learn Calendar from Colorado State Library or the Continuing Education Calendar from Maine State Library (note: all MSL events are listed in Eastern time).

Library Jobline

Are you considering a job change this year? Check out Library Jobline for hot new library employment opportunities, like this selection from around Colorado.

• Librarian Bilingual (Spanish) Career and Workforce Development – High Plains Library District
• Library Page – High Plains Library District
• Youth & Family Services Customer Experience Associate II – Douglas County Libraries
• Cataloging & Materials Manager – Pikes Peak Library District
• Librarian – Family & Children’s Services – Pikes Peak Library District
• Patron Experience Associate – Lakewood Library – Jefferson County Public Library
• Children’s Librarian – 30 Hours – Loveland Library
• Library Manager for Smoky Hill, Kelver and Davies Libraries – Arapahoe Library District
• Librarian (Youth Services, Part-Time) – Bemis Library
• Circulations Services Clerk (Part-time, 30 hours) – Bemis Library
• Programming Coordinator – Pine River Library
• Multiple Professional Positions available – Boulder Public Library District

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This post is part of the Spotlight on Sharing initiative, which aims to increase the visibility of Colorado library programs and resource sharing. Do you have a story from your library to share? Email Amy Hitchner, ahitchner@coloradovirtuallibrary.org.

All images are from the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, a service of Colorado State Library.