CSL News | Resource Sharing

Friday Grab Bag, February 17, 2023

By Amy Hitchner: Published on
CSL News, Resource Sharing
Three-piece band
Mile-Hi Boys Band
The Aurora Advocate, Feb. 21, 1963

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!

Stories and Literature

Westminster Public Library will be hosting a Family Stories art workshop at the Irving Street Library on Feb. 25 at 2:00 pm. This program is presented in partnership with Museo de las Americas and features Chicana narrative artist Carmen Lomas Garza, who will demonstrate how to illustrate family stories and traditions. The event is part of the 2023 One Book Westminster programming lineup. Registration is free.

Family poses for a photo
Here Comes the Wiggses
Craig Empire Courier, Feb. 17, 1943

Estes Valley Library’s Love Your Local Authors Festival is back for its sixth year. Join them on Feb. 25 to interact with local authors and hear them showcase their work. Event details.

Nederland Community Library invites you to Book Talk Tea on Feb. 23. Sip some tea while you share your favorite book recommendations. Register online.

Mesa County Libraries will host presenter Lyn Fraser for The Geography of Murder, an exploration of settings in mystery fiction, Feb. 23 at Central Library. The class will consider crime fiction authors across a range of settings and focus on the role played by place or geography in the stories. Register.

Longmont Public Library will host Boulder County Parks & Open Space for their presentation, Story in the Rocks – The Geologic History of Boulder County, Feb. 25 at 2:00 pm. Join volunteer naturalists to learn the fascinating stories that rocks can tell. Event details.

Lafayette Public Library welcomes author Nyibol Bior for Black History Storytelling, a family event on Feb. 18 at 3:00 pm. Bior will present “Changing Your Blues to Blue Skies,” followed by an art activity. Learn more.

Pitkin County Library presents Literature Out Loud, Aspen’s monthly storytime for adults. The event on Feb. 21 features writings by John Steinbeck and Edgar Allen Poe, voiced by Janice Estey and Brad Moore. Event details.

Wilkinson Public Library’s Dear 2020 Writing Workshop is an opportunity to explore losses and blessings of the pandemic through poetry. Poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer will lead the workshop on Feb. 21. Register online.

Fun and Games

Teens are invited to Aurora Public Library’s Friendship Party, Feb. 23 at Martin Luther King Jr. Library. Celebrate your friends with a photoshoot, craft, games, and snacks. Register online.

Jefferson County Public Library is offering Giant Games as their Teen After Hours event on Feb. 24 at Evergreen Library. Challenge your friends to life-size versions of Battleship, Uno, and Yahtzee. Registration required.

Understanding Video Games is Summit County Library’s 3-part discussion series for adults. The first session on Feb. 21—What are the Kids Playing?—will delve into the learning benefits of some of the most popular video games, like Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and Among Us. Learn more.

Tweens are challenged to put their baking and decorating skills to the test in Pueblo City-County Library District’s Cupcake Wars, Feb. 18 at Rawlings Branch. Registration and waiver required.

Pick ‘n’ Mix

Two snowmen
The Snow People Say
Colorado Daily, Feb. 19, 1973

Basalt Regional Library’s Art for All Ages is a program to encourage adults and kids to spend time doing art projects together. Join the fun on Feb. 18 at 2:00 pm. Event details.

Broomfield Library is holding a Community Art Swap on Feb. 25. Exchange your gently used art supplies, or bring in canned goods and toiletries instead. Learn more.

Pikes Peak Library District’s annual Homeschool Science Fair is a non-competitive opportunity for K-12 homeschool students to demonstrate their projects to other families. Get inspired on Feb. 17, 10:00 am, at Library 21c.

Get a jump start on your spring garden with Spanish Peaks Library District’s Gardening 101. The class meets Feb. 26 at 1:00 pm. Event details.

What’s New at Colorado State Library

Book Club Resource

Library Services Spotlight

Colorado State Publications Library Blog

Learning Opportunities

  • Virtual Partner Forum: Spark the Change Colorado’s RSVP Program
  • 2023 CLiC Virtual Winter Workshop
    • February 23 (2:00 – 4:30 pm) & 24 (8:45 am – 3:00 pm)
    • Registration is open now and includes access to session recordings.
  • How We Got Hammered at the Library
  • From Isolation to Conversation: Talking with the Community – Part 3
  • Virtual Partner Forum: Living Room Conversations
  • Children & Teen Services (CATS) Interest Group 2023 Workshop
    • March 20; 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
    • In-person at Loveland Public Library
    • Discount pricing for CAL members
    • Register by March 13
  • CAL Adult Services Interest Group (ASIG) Spring Summit
    • March 29; 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
    • Virtual
    • Discount pricing for CAL members
    • Features two presentations relevant for Colorado librarians
    • Learn more and register
  • 2023 Colorado OER Conference
    • May 19 at History Colorado in Denver
    • Proposals are due by March 13. Learn more
  • Online Learning Opportunities in February 2023 for Library Staff. Browse this great list of free online learning opportunities shared with us by Wyoming State Library.

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.

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.

Amy Hitchner
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