
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. Let’s open the Friday Grab Bag!
Library Events & Programs
Up to the Challenge

Tweens can challenge their skills and abilities at Pikes Peak Library District’s Minute to Win It on January 30 at Old Colorado City Library. Join them for a night of fun and friendly competition.
Security Public Library is hosting a Hat-a-Thon on January 25 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Come and enjoy lunch while you make hats that will be donated to local food banks, shelters, and community residents.
Westminster Public Library is hosting their One Book Westminster Launch Party on January 25 at 2:00 pm. Come listen to a talk on Colorado’s vibrant literary scene, pick up a passport, and borrow a copy of Go As a River by Shelley Read.
Brain Builders
Put on your sleuthing hat—Basalt Regional Library invites you to solve The Case of the Mislaid File (And Other Computer Mysteries) on January 29. Learn to decode cryptic messages and solve puzzling behaviors that you may encounter on your computer.
Get to Know Your Sewing Machine at Broomfield Library’s inventHQ Makerspace on January 29. Whether you have a new machine or one gathering dust, bring it and learn the basics of threading, winding a bobbin, selecting and customizing stitches, and maintenance.
La Veta Public Library welcomes Victor Neufeld, PhD, for Dementia: What You Need To Know on January 30 at 2:00 pm. His presentation will address common questions and concerns of people with dementia and their caregivers.
Gather and Learn

Loveland Public Library invites you to join poet April Stutters for Encountering a Poet: Marge Piercy on January 25 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. This all-ages workshop will explore the themes and styles of Marge Piercy, a prolific writer in many genres including poetry.
Join Garfield County Libraries for Coexistence Works: Protecting Livestock and Wolves with Nonlethal Coexistence Methods on January 27 at Glenwood Springs Branch Library. Suzanne Asha Stone and Glenn Elzinga will discuss how their organizations help human communities coexist with wildlife.
West Custer County Library invites entrepreneurs to a Small Business Workshop on January 28 at 5:00 pm. This multi-part series will cover defining your purpose, attracting customers, and structuring your small business for success.
Gunnison County Library District is hosting a Community Rock & Fossil Day at Gunnison Library on January 25 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Geologist Dr. Ryan King will present on Interpreting Dinosaur Tracks and Traces: The Influence of Morphology, Behavior, and Depositional Environment. The afternoon will also include family activities.

What’s New from the Colorado State Library
Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection
Desperately Seeking High School Newspapers – for CHNC
Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection 2024 Fast Facts
Learning Opportunities
All events are online except where a location is noted.
- Building Equity-Based Summers Cohort – Colorado Only
- January 16 – May 1, 2025
- Working in the “Gray Area:” Determining Healthy Boundaries When the Best Choice Isn’t Clear – Colorado Only
- January 21 – January 30, 2025
- Adventures in Library Partnerships
- January 29, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
- Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Brain Health – What Everyone Should Know
- January 30, 2025, 12:00 – 1:30 pm
- Introduction to Workplace Conflict Resolution (Colorado Only)
- February 4 & 5, 2025, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
- This session is full. Contact Christine Kreger to be added to the waitlist.
- 2025 CLiC Virtual Winter Workshop
- February 5 & 6, 2025
- Maryland State Library Cultures Conference: Building your network
- February 12, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
- Cultivating Empathy, Trust, and Optimism: Strategies for Motivating Demotivated Library Teams
- February 13, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
- Strategies for Success for Neurodiverse librarians
- February 18, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
- Library Technology Accessibility Workshop
- February 18, 8:30 am – 4:15 pm
- University of Denver Anderson Commons
- Design Thinking in the Library: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
- February 18, 4:00 – 5:00 pm
- Booktalk Your Way to the Friendliest Library in Town (Colorado Library Staff Only)
- February 19, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
- Talking Teen Services: Working with Teen Volunteers Panel
- February 25, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
- 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.
- Events & Social Media Specialist – Garfield County Libraries
- Technical Services Supervisor – High Plains Library District
- Library Associate – High Plains Library District
- Library Associate- Children’s – High Plains Library District
- Library Specialist, Castlewood Library – Spanish fluency – Arapahoe Libraries
- Early Literacy Trainer and Outreach Specialist – Arapahoe Libraries
- Manager, Facilities – Arapahoe Libraries
- Adult Collection Specialist Librarian – Denver Public Library
- High School/Library-Media Specialist – Montrose County School District
- Full-time 40 hour Building Doctor – Anythink Support Services (Northglenn)

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, hitchner_a@cde.state.co.us.
All images are from the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, a service of Colorado State Library.
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