The quiet room on the second floor of a mountain community’s public library is an unlikely place to attend a punk rock concert, and yet that is exactly what occurred during Estes Valley Library’s after-hours Tracks & Stacks event last year. In fact, the library hosted six bands or musicians during a single evening culminating in a community experience not unlike that of a music festival. Not only did the event bring in over 120 people (both regular library users and new faces), it was also a prime example of how a library can build community and bring joy to those it serves whether they’re avid readers or not.
With that being said, I’m sure there are library staff who might struggle to see how hosting an event of this scale is feasible and wondering what (or who) inspired the idea in the first place. I had the same questions when first hearing about this event in my search for Colorful Colorado Libraries. By sharing stories from the people who made it happen, this first post in the Colorful Colorado Libraries blog series will illuminate what took place behind the scenes (or in this case back stage) to bring this event to life…
Continue reading this post on LRS.org and check out more posts on research in a library context from Library Research Service.
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- Tales from a Model Makerspace - May 18, 2026
- Where Art and Research Meet - April 16, 2026
- “The Heart” and “the Lifeblood of this Community” - April 2, 2026