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
Kids & Families
Alamosa Public Library invites kids to join experts from Parks and Recreation for a Youth Birdwatching Hike and Birdhouse Build on March 22. Bring water and dress for a hike along the Rio.
Estes Valley Library, in partnership with EVICS Family Resource Center, is offering For Your Family: 10 Free Library Resources on March 27 at 11:00 am. Parents and caregivers will want to know about these valuable resources the Library offers to families.
Who doesn’t love Saturday Morning Pancakes? Every month, High Plains Library District invites kids of all ages to enjoy a pancake breakfast while listening to timeless children’s stories. The next event is March 29, 9:30 am, at Fort Lupton Public & School Library.
Bemis Public Library welcomes preschoolers and their families to the Canyon Critters Reptile Show on March 28 at 3:00 pm. Kids will learn the characteristics and behaviors of each critter, and even get the opportunity to handle them.
Summit County Libraries is hosting a Children’s Puppet Making Workshop on March 26 at Summit Branch Library. Kids will design and make hand puppets while learning about storytelling.
Learn New Skills
Looking for new ways to sell your stuff locally? Join Jefferson County Public Library for Beyond Garage Sales: Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and Nextdoor on March 21 at Arvada Library.
Lyons Community Library’s Winter Clinic Series continues on March 28 with Navigation Basics. This fun and informative session will cover how to use maps, compasses, and gps tools.
Pikes Peak Library District is hosting their Spring Makerspace Open House on March 22, 2:00 to 5:00 pm, at Library 21c. Explore what the makerspaces have to offer by experimenting with watercolors, sewing, pinback buttons, and other fun spring projects.
Pick ‘n’ Mix
Aurora Public Library and the Aurora History Museum invite you to learn about Great Women of Aurora on March 25 at Hoffman Heights Library. The program will include profiles of teachers, community activists, volunteers, and a homesteader.
Pueblo City-County Library District will host historian Dave Lively for Lost Lodges of Rocky: A Balance of Wilderness and Hospitality on March 26 at Pueblo West. His program will explore how visitor lodging has changed over the years in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Southwest La Plata Library District invites you to stop by Fort Lewis Mesa Public Library from March 25-29 to vote for your favorite Peep-o-Rama (dioramas using marshmallow Peeps). It’s a spring tradition!
What’s New from the Colorado State Library
Accessibility Corner
Accessibility Quick Tip: Invitation from OIT. The Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) invites state and local governments and all public entities to share their thoughts about the Technology Accessibility Rules.
Book Club Resource
Book Club Author Suggestion: Julia Alvarez
CVL Vox: Works from Local Authors
‘Some Who Cannot’ by Susan E. Quinlan
‘Renewal’ by Cristina A. Bejan
Learning Opportunities
All events are online except where a location is noted.
- Maryland State Library Cultures Conference 2025
- February 12 – April 9
- Ageless Grace in Libraries Community of Practice: Spring 2025
- March 24, 10:00 – 11:00 am
- How to Be a Librarian for Brain Health and Dementia
- March 25, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
- 2024-25 Youth Services Learning Community (Southwest Region)
- March 26, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Pine River Library
- Loneliness and Social Isolation: Tackling the Social Disconnection Epidemic
- April 2, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
- Aging at Your Library: How Colorado Libraries Meet the Moment for Aging Adults
- April 4, 1:00 – 2:30 pm
- April 7, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
- Effective “Debriefing” in the Workplace: Supporting Staff Who Experience High-Stress Events (Colorado Only)
- April 8, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
- How to Engage Older Adult Patrons through Creative Aging this Summer and Beyond
- April 10, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
- 2024-25 Youth Services Learning Community (Mountain West Region)
- April 11, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Grand County Library District’s Granby Library
- 2025 Colorado Resource Sharing Conference
- April 18, 10:30 am – 5:00 pm
- Pikes Peak Library District, Library 21c (Colorado Springs)
- Find even more learning opportunities:
- Libraries Learn Calendar from Colorado State Library
- Continuing Education Calendar from Maine State Library (note: all MSL events are listed in Eastern time). A different view of these events is available at Free Online Learning Opportunities for March 2025.
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.
- Library Manager – Delta County Public Library District
- Special Collections Cataloger – Denver Public Library
- Science & Engineering Librarian – University of Colorado Boulder Libraries
- Library Circulation Supervisor – Broomfield Library
- Senior Librarian – Acquisitions (adult nonfiction) – Pikes Peak Library District
- Library Clerk – Aurora Public Library
- Supervisor, Early Literacy Specialists – Arapahoe Libraries
- Library Specialist – Castlewood – 30 hours – Arapahoe Libraries
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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