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This September at CALCON, the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) annual conference in Breckenridge, GCPLD was honored with 3 state awards! These awards are given annually at CALCON to highlight, celebrate, and inspire people inside and outside of the library world. These state awards showcase the innovative ideas, hard work, and accomplishments of librarians, trustees, and partners from all 271 public libraries across the state.
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award was presented to our district’s Spanish Services Team. This award recognizes an organization that has contributed to advancing or advocating for equity, diversity, or inclusion in Colorado library services. Our Spanish Services Team was established 3 years ago to promote library services and programs and to provide a welcoming space to the rapidly growing Hispanic population of Garfield County. This team has worked hard to increase our Spanish language materials collection, recruit new bilingual staff, add engaging Spanish or bilingual programming and events, and serve as a community resource for the Hispanic community. The team’s efforts culminate yearly at our Hispanic Heritage Festival hosted by the Rifle Branch on Sept. 29th.
Our Board of Trustees President, Adrian Rippy-Sheehy was named Outstanding Library Trustee of the year. Adrian has directed the Board of Trustees through their work championing the fundamental right to freedom of expression and actively fighting against censorship and suppression of ideas. Her tireless advocacy for the unrestricted flow of information and ideas has had a profound impact on our community and library staff who hold true to the right of every member of our public to free unrestricted access to all materials and respects the rights of parents who are ultimately responsible for the reading choices for their children.
The Library Partnership of the Year Award went to the Discovery Café in partnership with the Rifle Branch Library. Discovery Café’s goal is to provide a uniquely holistic full-service program that supports the unhoused, addicted, and disenfranchised individuals by offering everything they need in one place to move themselves from crisis to dignity and independence. The Rifle Branch Library and Discovery Café share a dedication to inclusivity in providing a safe space free of judgement at the library 5 days a week and have served nearly 4,000 clients since the partnership began. Accepting the award was Gabe Cohen, Executive Director.
In September 2023, Garfield County Libraries inaugurated our bee mural, painted by artist Matt Willey, on the side of the Rifle Branch Library. Matt’s global art project, The Good of the Hive®, raises awareness about the shocking population decline of honeybees while celebrating the incredible behaviors and importance of bees as pollinators. As Matt says, bees work as a collective inside of the hive, thinking and acting together to maintain the health of the collective. This should serve as a reminder to us all that when we all work together, we connect and thrive as a community.
“Bees never forget that they are part of something bigger than themselves… their hive is a part of them. What if we embodied this idea? What if we got curious about the world and each other again instead of intimidated by it? This is why I turn walls into windows – to remember that we are all connected… that separation is an illusion.”
– Artist, Matt Willey
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