The event will be held on the Auraria campus on March 31, 2011, 8:30am-3:45pm.  Registration opens February 1st and closes March 11th. Keynote authors are Maggie Stiefvater and Todd Mitchell!

More information:

• CTLC Website
• CTLC Facebook page
• CTLC Flyer (PDF)

Feel free to share this information with anyone you think may be interested in attending or getting involved.

There are some grants available for both teens and adults to attend, plus opportunities to be a teen panelist, receive graduate credit, present, and exhibit. Be sure to check out the CTLC website after January 10th for more info.

Schools all over the country participated in Banned Websites Awareness activities and some were featured in the New York Times. Colorado’s own Silver Creek High School in Longmont “held a “graffiti debate” on censorship on Wednesday: Should schools block Web sites? On sheets of white butcher paper hanging in the library, they wrote lists of the pros and cons of online access.” Silver Creek’s librarian, Phil Goerner, organized the debate to encourage students to think more deeply about ethical issues related to censorship, including how it can take away a person’s voice.

If your school participated in a Banned Websites Awareness Day activity, we would love to hear about it! Please email Michelle Gebhart with the details.

Library advocacy can’t just start and stop. It needs to be continuous. (Because those who speak against the public sector don’t take holidays.) To that end, I wanted to announce two things:

1. The BHAG website is still up and running, still the go-to place for ideas, tips, and support.
2. BHAG 3.0 is about encouraging all of us to start coordinating our messages. Which messages? The same four, because YOU HAVE TO REPEAT MESSAGES MANY TIMES BEFORE THEY ARE COMMUNICATED. (Sorry to yell at you.)

The top post at the BHAG website explains all this in more detail. But here’s the brief focus: between October and December, we should all try to underscore a message that resonates well with our patrons. That message is:
“Libraries build community.”

Here’s what we’ve learned about the best way to get something across:

• Tell a story. “Gloria moved to Highlands Ranch and for a while, being stuck in a new place with a toddler all day was pretty stressful. But then she took her daughter to a storytime at the library. There, she met three women, all with children the same age and Gloria’s. Now they’re the best of friends, and Highlands Ranch doesn’t seem so lonely.” (Person, problem, library solution, happy ending!)
• Back it up with some data. “In fact, the Highlands Ranch Library has 50 meetings scheduled for the month of October alone, NOT including the 3 storytimes every week day. Did you know that the library has over 1500 visitors every single day? That’s more business than many anchor stores.”
• Give it a tag line: Libraries build community.

Now it’s a matter of getting that story out there. How? Here are just a few ideas from the BHAG website.

• Give a talk at a local civic club.
• March in a local parade.
• Buy or bake an apple pie, and present it to the mayor.

Library advocacy. It’s What’s Next. (And be looking for at least one reminder every month.)

Download flyer (PDF)

AGENDA:

• 2012 statewide summer reading, presented by Kathy Barco: “Dream Big – Read” (children), “Own the Night” (teens)
• Lunch and networking
• Early literacy: Fun in the library for babies and new parents
• Update on Colorado youth services initiatives
• Distribute Summer Reading manuals and Highsmith catalogues

DATES and LOCATIONS (register at least 1 week in advance):

• 10/20/2011 – Rifle
• 10/21/2011 – Eagle
• 11/02/2011 – Pueblo
• 11/03/2011 – Englewood
• 11/04/2011 – Boulder
• 11/10/2011 – Dolores

REGISTRATION: All-day program, $20 per person. Includes breakfast, lunch, and materials. Register now!

QUESTIONS: Michelle Gebhart, 303-866-6894

I especially like their idea of playing different games from around the world to go with the “One World, Many Stories” theme. Below, a photo of the kids playing Jogo, a South American game.

“Our teens are reading and uploading their reviews-we can’t keep up with them!  As part of our summer program we are creating a mural for our main patio space.  The Mural was designed with the teens by one of our very talented service specialists on staff.   Kids are designing beautiful book pages. ”

Wilkinson PL is going to celebrate the end of their summer program on August 12th with a pop and lock workshop! “We have a professional choreographer from LA (with ties to the Telluride Community)  who will be working with us to host this event.”

To learn more about summer reading, visit the State Library’s summer reading site and the Collaborative Summer Library Program. This year’s statewide themes are: “One World, Many Stories” (children), “You Are Here” (teens), and “Novel Destinations” (adults).

We received 158 votes for this year’s pin (!!!), but this design (adjusted due to feedback from many of you) was the clear winner.

Following the same procedure as previous years, the Colorado State Library will place a large pin order and would be glad to “piggyback” and add your order to ours. This is a great way to promote next year’s programs, and placing a large order will make it cost effective for all of us.

Pricing details: $0.60 each (lower than last year!)

You will be emailed an invoice with the total amount owed, and this will be payable once you receive the pins in late September/early October. NOTE: A $5 shipping & handling charge will be added for orders being shipped outside of Colorado.

We will submit our bulk order on 8/12, so please submit your order NO LATER THAN Thursday, August 11th. Thank you!

The summer reading theme for 2012 is nighttime.

• Children’s slogan:  Dream Big – Read
• Teen slogan:  Own the Night
• Adult slogan:  Between the Covers

VOTE NOW!
We need your responses by Friday, July 29th, 5pm.

“First picture is of the kids’ summer program with the kids meeting Apache the wolf. They got to pet and learn all about wolves at our June 28th program where we had record breaking attendance of 241.”

“Second Picture is of the teen summer reading program where they got to create travel journals. We have 31 teens registered and a record 15 show weekly for programs.”

“The last two pictures were window art done by one of our library patrons for the summer program.”

To learn more about summer reading, visit the State Library’s summer reading site and the Collaborative Summer Library Program. This year’s statewide themes are: “One World, Many Stories” (children), “You Are Here” (teens), and “Novel Destinations” (adults).