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 as well as images from the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Let’s open the Friday Grab Bag!
Library Events & Programs
Summer Fun
As part of their Summer Reading Program, Lafayette Library welcomes the Grupo Tlaloc Aztec Dancers on May 30. Experience a dynamic performance by this Denver-based group.
Lyons Community Library is offering a Summer Reads Book Share for adults on June 2. This monthly series takes on a summer theme as participants dig into new arrivals at the library and swap recommendations with fellow readers.
West Custer County Library’s Elementary Homeschool Field Day is May 26. Kids in grades Pre-K through 5 will compete in sporting events and receive a t-shirt souvenir.
Channel your inner knight with High Plains Library District’s Unearthing History: Medieval Jousting, June 5 at Mead Town Park. Kids and tweens can participate in feats of arms including jousting, axe throwing, and sword-swinging while learning about the history of the medieval knight.
Pick ‘n’ Mix
Boulder Public Library will offer a Backyard Composting Workshop on May 30 at Meadows Library. Boulder County Resource Conservation Division will help you understand why and how to compost.
Garfield County Libraries is offering Bake with Confidence: Hands-On Sourdough & Q&A on May 30 at the Rifle Branch. Learn shaping techniques, baking tips, and how to troubleshoot common sourdough challenges.
Durango Public Library is whipping up some friendly competition at their Teen Cookie Decorating Contest on June 3. Participants will design and decorate 3 cookies for their peer judges.
Broomfield Library invites their community to participate in a Bags, Backpacks, and Luggage Swap on May 30. Bring new and gently used bags, purses, totes, backpacks, suitcases, and other luggage to trade for other secondhand items.
Buena Vista Public Library is hosting a History Photo Booth on the afternoon of June 1. Come dressed as your favorite Colorado historical figure and get your picture taken.
On Display
Bemis Library invites you to visit their current BMoCA exhibit, The Loneliness of Infrastructure, featuring the oil paintings of Colorado artist Markus Puskar. The series explores isolation and atomization; themes which Puskar identifies as key social trends in 2026.
Loveland Public Library, in partnership with Heart and Sol, invites you to celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month with To Climb a Gold Mountain Documentary Screening on June 2 at the Rialto Theater. The film shares the experiences of four Asian women in the United States from the 1850s through present day.
From May 6 – 28, Garfield County Libraries’ Silt Branch hosted the Circle of Light Photography Exhibit, which will now travel to the Glenwood Branch Library from September 23 – October 14 and the New Castle Library from November 2 – 23, 2026. The exhibit features photographs taken by individuals whose sight was restored through eye tissue transplants, along with their personal stories of gratitude and hope. The library found it to be an incredibly meaningful exhibit for their community.
America 250 – Colorado 150 Celebrations
To celebrate Colorado 150, Loveland Public Library welcomes author and historian Kenneth Jessen for Colorado’s Vanished Towns on June 13 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. Across Colorado, nearly half of the communities that once thrived have completely vanished, some without a trace. In his presentation, local historian Ken Jessen uncovers how these towns began and the forces that ultimately caused their demise. Join this eye‑opening journey into Colorado’s hidden past and discover the stories waiting beneath the surface.
Clearview Library District invites you to become a citizen archivist at Unearth a Story: Historical Document Transcription on June 7 at Windsor Library. You’ll participate in “By the People,” a crowdsourced transcription program from the Library of Congress for improving search, access, and discovery of the The American Revolution in Context Collection.
Is your library planning any 250-150 events? The Colorado State Library would love to feature them in the Friday Grab Bag. Email Amy Hitchner with an event link or the details.
What’s New from the Colorado State Library
Learning Opportunities
All events are online except where a location is noted.
- HESTL EdCON
- June 9 at the DCSD Campus in Lone Tree
- Find even more learning opportunities:
- Libraries Learn
- Maine State Library’s Continuing Education Calendar (note: all MSL events are listed in Eastern time). A different view of these events is available at Free Online Learning Opportunities for May 2026.
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.
- Student Success Librarian – Western State Colorado University
- Materials Assistant – High Plains Library District
- Library Page – High Plains Library District
- Bilingual (Spanish) Workforce Library Associate – High Plains Library District
- Library Assistant Substitute (Adult Services) – Bemis Library
- Library Assistant (Part-Time 20 Hours, Adult Services) – Bemis Library
- Full-time 40-hour Outreach Guide – Anythink Community Engagement
- Part-Time 25 hour Studio Host – Anythink Libraries, The Studio
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, [email protected].
All images are from the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, a service of Colorado State Library.
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