Open Book | Fall 2023

Chapter 22, Fall 2023

OPEN BOOK In This Issue

The Boulder Public Library Staff Newsletter

2 A Message from Monnie 3 Q&A with Juan Jimenez 5 New Faces at BPL 9 New Roles at BPL 10 Q&A with Chris Barge 14 Betty the Book Bike’s 10th Birthday 18 Celebrity Authors 23 Community Media & Civic Dialogue: Q&A with Jaime Kopke and Vladimir Flores 28 HA.I.K.U 32 SOD Photos 39 Influential Picture Books 43 Items Found In Our Books 48 Carnegie Cache: 30 Years of Scott Carpenter Park 49 Yes, And. 52 What Do You Meme?

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Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.

—Emily Brontë

All Open Book content is part of the public record.

Chapter 22, Fall 2023 A Message from Monnie Monnie Nilsson, Editor

Farewell for now!

Hello Everyone! As we welcome you to this September/Fall Open Book edition, we want to note that this is the final chapter of the Open Book staff enewsletter to be produced by Meadows Staff. As we get closer to districthood, Open Book is going on hiatus until the District Communications team is in place. Future editions will likely be coordinated by new communications staff who will build on what we’ve all created here.

We thank you for reading and sharing aspects of your careers, BPL roles and personal lives with the Open Book team and your fellow colleagues, and for contributing such wonderful content. We’ve been through a lot of interesting things together over the years, and it’s been a pleasure to document so many of them. We’ve built a wonderful colleague community!

From Tony Burfield, founding editor of this enewsletter, to Terri Lewis (now retired) who shared wonderful and hilarious examples of her editorial work, to the Meadows Team, who have most recently poured their hearts into this thing, we appreciate your cooperation and readership throughout. It’s been uplifting to serve as Open Book Editor for the last four years. Thank you for your support and readership!

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“Whatever good things we build end up building us."

—Jim Rohn

Open Book Team Meadows Staff: Jessica Ashcraft Rebecca Doyle Alyssa Finer Cassie Loosbrock Barbara Magill Monnie Nilsson Ilan Sherman David Shugert

As for this edition, we have a few more things to share and more new BPL staff to introduce.

Onward!

Monnie

Guest Contributors: Nicole Docimo

Hidden within these pages is a Little David Shugert.

See if you can spot him!

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Q&A with Juan Jimenez, Literacy Manager Monnie Nilsson

I come to BPL from “I Have a Dream Foundation,” which supports and helps underserved children thrive and succeed in school and beyond. I was a program director for the past 2 years leading the largest group of 63 teens, but also worked on supporting their families in different capacities. I moved to BPL because my experience as an educator, program director, and language teacher wholly align with the different literacy programs the library offers.

What are the main responsibilities in your new role as Literacy Manager?

Photo by Juan Jimenez

I oversee BoulderReads and its different programs by providing additional leadership on literacy work, building collaborations, partnerships with organizations in the community, strengthening and expanding the programs, supporting our staff, and more.

Tell us a little about your background, your hometown, your education, previous work, and why you decided to make the move to BPL.

What BPL staff/workgroups other than the Outreach/Literacy team do you work with most?

Juan Jimenez recently joined Kate Kelsch’s workgroup.

I was born in Medellin, Colombia where I completed my undergrad degree in Didactics and Foreign Language Instruction from the University of Antioquia. I also worked and studied in France, a master’s degree in Literature, Languages, and Cultures from the University of Burgundy. When I moved to the US, I worked as a Spanish and French instructor, and completed a Master of Arts in Romance Languages and French Literature from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. After that, I worked for six years at CU Boulder as a teaching assistant while I earned my PhD of Philosophy: Contemporary French and Francophone Literature. In total, I’ve been a Spanish and French college instructor as well as a school coordinator for over twenty years.

My role engages in different collaborations across library departments. So far, I’ve been collaborating with Chris Barge of the Library Foundation, Annie Ledford of the Youth Services, and I’ve been actively supporting Kate Kelsch with the elaboration of the Outreach and Literacy strategic plan.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Tell us something that might surprise us about you: I have lived in 10 different cities, and love to go salsa dancing.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in your role?

It might be to publicize and expand our programs to serve a larger portion of Boulder’s underserved and diverse communities. But this is an excited challenge!

What’s your favorite part of your role?

I really enjoy all aspects of managing a team, programming, and collaborating across departments within and outside the library.

Has anything surprised you about your role since joining BPL? All the great human and economic resources the library has. I am looking forward for the great opportunities the library might have for the community when it becomes its own district.

Favorite book?

Don Quixote by Cervantes, Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in Times of Cholera by García Márquez, In Search of Lost Time by Proust, Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky, and Les Misérables

by Hugo.

What’s the best part of your job?

I enjoy the opportunities my role offers to have a positive impact on others: the library patrons and my team’s professional development. I am passionate about inspiring people to reach their full potential through literacy – reading, writing, and communicating effectively.

What is something staff might find surprising about your role at BPL? The numerous meetings. Lol! 4

Chapter 22, Fall 2023

New Faces Cassie Loosbrock We are very happy to have our new staff in the library. What would we do without them? We think it is helpful to put names with faces. Below please find introductions to our new colleagues along with photos and brief bios. Welcome aboard, newbies!

Photos courtesy of staff Carey Franklin, Reading Buddies Coordinator - Main ¡Hola todos! I’m Carey! It is a delight to be joining the Boulder Reads team. I delight in time spent in nature walking, hiking, camping, stargazing, or just simply taking in the wonder of it all. After living for many years in Latin America you’ll find me enjoying all of the deliciousness of fresh tamales and pupusas.

There is nothing quite as soul refreshing as sharing cup of coffee with a friend or a good book. I am coming to the library from the wild world of education and curriculum writing.

Oliver Baez Bendorf, Teen Librarian - Main Growing up queer in Iowa, I owe my poetry passion to supportive adults. While studying poetry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a library job led to an MLIS degree. I lucked out with a practicum at The Bubbler, Madison Public Library's arts-focused makerspace. I've led writing workshops for over a decade. Book three of my poems, Consider the Rooster, comes out in 2024. I "retired" from full-time teaching during the pandemic—now excited to connect with teens through Boulder Library, no grades! Poetry's power is versatile; the Teen Space's proximity to 811 (poetry) delights me. I moved to Colorado for family, worked at Longmont Public Library, now pumped to foster creative, confident, caring lifelong library users here in Boulder. Show me photos of your animals (furry, scaly, feathery). Basketball fan too- Go Nuggets! Loving the Library crew!

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Maria Tormos, Library Coordinator - Main From a dynamic career in strategic consulting and market research to a new chapter as a library specialist, Maria brings a wealth of experience and a passion for knowledge to her current role.

With over two decades spent in the corporate world, Maria developed a keen understanding of information management, research methodologies, and strategic decision-making. She holds a Master's degree in Business Administration, which has proven to be a solid foundation for her transition into the world of libraries.

Now, as a library specialist, Maria is committed to connecting people with the resources they need, fostering a love for literature, and promoting lifelong learning. Her journey from boardrooms to bookshelves reflects her unwavering belief in the transformative power of information.

In her free time, she enjoys reading mystery and thriller books and spending time with her family.

Carl Nicoletti, Materials Handler - Meadows Although not a native of Boulder I have been here for over 50 years. Boulder has changed in that period of time but most things about me are still the same. I still ride motorcycles and bicycles and have more bicycle miles (60,000) than motorcycle (40,00). My son and I try to take a tour on the motorcycles each year and did a four state tour last year and an Oregon coast ride this. I've been a member of a target archery club for over 25 years and love getting into the mountains with the bow to stump shoot.

I have two children (at 42 and 39 are they still children?) and am with my partner for six years. Clara is a music librarian and works at CU. We enjoy traveling but our 12 year old German Shepherd keeps us home a bit more than we'd like.

I was lucky enough to stay home with my kids as they grew. I worked weekends mowing lawns and photographing weddings (125!) and weekdays I baked cookies and flew kites. It's been a great ride. Life's been good.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Juan Jimenez Diaz, Literacy Manager - Main Juan Jimenez is originally from Colombia where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Didactics and Foreign Language Instruction. He later worked and studied in France where he earned a Master’s degree in Literature, Languages, and Cultures from the University of Burgundy. In 2007, he moved to the US, and worked as a Spanish and French instructor and school language coordinator with different institutions around the Kansas City area, while he was earning a Master of Arts in Romance Languages and French Literature from the University of Missouri Kansas City. In 2014, he moved to Colorado to study his PhD in French at CU Boulder. In total, Juan has been an educator for over twenty-three years.

Juan comes to the BPL from “I Have a Dream Foundation” of Boulder, which supports and helps underserved children thrive and succeed. He was a program director for the past 2 years leading the largest group of 63 teens. He worked extensively with Latino teens and their families, and the schools in helping ensure the teens success in academic work and supporting their families on different capacities.

Juan is passionate about inspiring people to reach their full potential through literacy programs. He is trilingual and has firsthand experience learning two languages – French and English – beyond his mother tongue – Spanish.

Priya Huseby, Materials Handler - Meadows Hello! I'm thrilled to be joining Meadows and the BPL team! I'm also relieved to be back in Colorado after living on the east coast for far too long. When I'm not at the library, I love hanging with my family (including Sally the Chinook), seeking out new breakfast spots and listening to podcasts of all kinds.

Recommendations are welcome and appreciated. I hope to see you around the library soon!

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Rosina Revello de Garcia, Bilingual Youth Services Coordinator - Main I was born and raised in Uruguay, in a multicultural family of Italians and Spaniards, so being a migrant was probably in my blood. I love spending time with family and friends, or alone in nature or at home, and meeting people from other cultures.

I always felt the need to express myself through art. I am an author and illustrator of children's books and poetry for adults, and my artistic explorations included ballet, ceramics, painting, paper and fabric collages, interior design, and more recently, multimedia miniature sets.

Besides books for the Young, my favorite readings are in the non-fiction section since I not only love art and poetry, but also science and certain parts of history. Time travelling would be my superpower of choice, so to find out what on earth really, actually happened! I also love films from around the world (I am very hooked with everything Korean lately). Two of my favorite documentary series are the original Cosmos with Carl Sagan and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.

My work with kids and families began in my home country as a founder member of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) and continued in the USA as a member of SBWI (Society of Children book’s Writers and Illustrators).

For six years, I taught Spanish to students K-6 in traditional and Montessori schools in Douglas County.

Today I am very excited for the opportunity to join BPL in a similar role to the one I held for five and a half years at Jefferson County Public Library. I feel thankful for being able to continue learning and collaborating from my role as Bilingual Youth Services Coordinator.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023

New Roles Cassie Loosbrock These staff members aren’t new to the library, but they have new roles within the library! We asked each person to share one or two sentences about what they’re looking forward to most in their new position, or what they are currently enjoying about it Photos courtesy of staff

❤️

David Meyers Current BPL Position: Materials Handler - Main New Additional BPL Position: BPL Substitute Library Coordinator In addition to my regular role as Library Materials Handler (which I will have held for 8 years next month), I became a Library Coordinator (TSV) in 2022.

As an MH, I enjoy the variety that the work entails, from shelving to processing holds to operating the AMH. Becoming a LC as in my substitute capacity is a learning experience as far as it furthers my ability to help keep the library functioning in other ways, such as creating library cards and educating our patrons as to the services we provide.

Adriana Martinez Previous BPL Position: Library Cataloging Specialist Resource Services Current BPL Position: Cataloging Librarian Resource Services I've enjoyed working with BPL staff -- especially the Resource Services team -- and look forward to continuing to help patrons and staff find resources!!

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Q&A with Chris Barge, BLF Director Monnie Nilsson

I met my wife Erin at a going-away party for a friend we had in common. She approached me and said she’d been reading my serial narrative about a couple whose life was ruined by meth.

Never underestimate the power of writing to open new doors!

When our daughter was born, I went into provider mode and saw with fresh eyes that the newspaper industry was going nowhere fast, financially. I thought about how much I liked writing about people who make a difference, and decided I’d try to make a difference in my community directly by going to work for nonprofits.

Photo by Chris Barge Tell us a little about your background, your hometown, your education, previous work, and how you came to be the Boulder Library Foundation Executive Director.

I spent my early years in Atlanta and fell in love with creative writing in elementary school. That passion grew through middle and high school in Asheville, NC, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I minored in Creative Writing and majored in The Psychology of Religion - an interdisciplinary pursuit that allowed me to take psychology, anthropology and religious studies classes from my favorite professors. I spent the first 10 years of my postcollege life in newspapers, including as a reporter at the Boulder Daily Camera and the late great Rocky Mountain News, where I wound up covering politics. I loved how each day differed and presented an opportunity to meet someone new and try to boil their story down to its bones.

Community Foundation Boulder County became my professional home for 13 years. I learned how to raise money and advocate for causes I cared about, like Latino parent engagement and early childhood education. I co-founded a nonprofit organization called Engaged Latino Parents Advancing Student Outcomes. I edited the Community Foundation’s biennial TRENDS Report on the social, economic and environmental health of Boulder County.

I jumped at the opportunity two years ago to join Boulder Library Foundation as its first executive director. I loved the idea of helping to support a worthy Library District political campaign and a capital campaign for the new NoBo Library. I loved the culture I discovered among the staff of the library, and within the Library Foundation itself.

I enjoy being surrounded by books. When I walk past or through the stacks at each of our branches, I imagine the writers who created them and smile in awe of their contributions.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 What’s the average donation to the Boulder Library Foundation?

Our median gift amount increased last year, from $100 to $150. Our largest donation was a $700,000 grant from the Colorado Health Foundation to build a playground and plaza at the NoBo Library.

Is there a ‘typical’ donor?

When I’m not working, I’m hanging out with my wife Erin, who’s a local elementary school teacher, our daughter Ellery, who’s a Sophomore at Boulder High and an accomplished ballet dancer, and our son Milo, who’s in 7th grade and passionate about mountain biking and snowboarding. Our dog Scout gets us out on the trails nearly every morning. I also play a fair amount of tennis.

Our typical donors are library patrons of fairly modest means who want to give back. Boulder Public Library means so much to so many people. And that is mostly thanks to the incredible dedication and customer service shown every day by our amazing librarians and other library staff.

What are your main responsibilities as BLF Director?

Mainly, my job is to create the conditions that allow the foundation to best support our community through the Boulder Public Library. We focus a lot on raising money, advocating for the library and its inclusive mission, and telling stories about patrons whose lives have been positively impacted by the library.

How many staff work at the BLF? We have two full-time staff members. My colleague Juliette Leon Bartsch is our Director of Development & Marketing. We also contract with several folks who specialize in such tasks as bookkeeping, accounting, graphic design, and social media.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 What’s the toughest part of your job?

The toughest part of my job is knowing with any certainty how to best spend my time. It’s more of an art than a science. A mentor once told me it’s hard to see the world from behind a desk.

So I try to strike a balance between getting out there and meeting people, and making time for correspondence, staying current, completing projects, supporting my team, and researching and applying for grants.

What’s the best part of your job?

What groups or individuals do you work with most frequently in your role?

I love the variety of long-term projects, shortterm tasks, and relationships I get to nurture.

Each day is different. It also helps that libraries attract caring and creative people. I love this culture.

I work very closely with David Farnan and the senior staff here at the library. I work closely with our Foundation’s volunteer board members and with my colleague Juliette. We spend a lot of time with the Foundation’s donors and prospective donors, including grant makers at other foundations and corporate sponsors. We stay in good contact with the Boulder Library District Trustees and the Boulder Library Commissioners.

We also make an effort to show up for the library’s wonderful and diverse programming.

And it also helps to attend community events, or even just go for a walk along the Boulder Creek Path or on Pearl Street. I’m constantly running into people with resources and ideas that might benefit our library.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Do you see the Foundation’s role changing as BPL becomes a district? How do you see the relationship between the Foundation and BPL changing with districthood (is this a word?), if at all?

Tell us something that might surprise us about you: I have played the flute since I was 7 years old.

Few things make me happier than a jam session with old friends.

For nearly 50 years, the Boulder Library Foundation has provided funding for programming that the Boulder Public Library couldn’t otherwise afford. It was a deficit mentality. We were backfilling where tax dollars fell short.

Now that voters have approved a better funded and governed Boulder Library District, we are moving towards a day when tax dollars can support programming. The Foundation is in a position now to shift our donors from a deficit mindset to a more imaginative place of innovation, where we can help the library lean into its social mission. I think we’ll also continue to support capital projects.

Our intention is to grow the Foundation’s positive financial impact on the library. We’ll do that by showing patrons the impact of the library on our community.

Favorite book?

That’s a tough one. I’m a sucker for literary fiction and the occasional thriller. Recent books I’ve enjoyed include “Remarkably Bright Creatures” and “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.”

Has anything surprised you about your role since joining the Boulder Library Foundation?

I have been pleasantly surprised by the library’s consistently supportive culture, and by our community’s passion for our library.

I was also surprised to discover how quiet the foundation has been during the bulk of its existence. I see a ton of potential for our Foundation to grow its donor base and its advocacy for democracy’s last great unbroken promise.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023

Ding-ding! Celebrating Betty the Book Bike’s 10th birthday Barbara Magill

Betty events have averaged about 250 visitors in a 2-hour event. In the past, she has visited the Boulder Farmers Market and special events, such as the Halloween Munchkin Masquerade where 2,500 kids stopped for candy and free books. The most popular books have been picture books and graphic novels.

"The greatest thing about Betty is that she can adapt to virtually any scenario and is big enough and flexible enough to either bring a few books to kids or provide programming at large festivals,” Celine says.

Photo courtesy of Aimee Schumm What is 10 years old, orange and weighs between 300 and 500 pounds? Betty! Kids follow her big hips wherever she goes. You might see her at outreach tours, parties and events showing off her stuff. Betty is the Boulder Public Library’s book bike, a tricycle that enhances outreach efforts with her zero-emission fun and excitement.

Laughing children flock behind Betty, following her with their bicycles until she stops and does her thing. Just what is Betty's thing? She creates a fun, festival-like atmosphere and shows off some of what the library has to offer. Betty doesn’t just have free books. Celine Cooper, who, according to Kathy Lane, “became Betty’s stalwart steward,” says, “She has held everything from Wi-Fi hot spots, to books, to wildflower seeds, to MakeyMakeys and other electronics, to laser-cut parts from BLDG 61 … and more!"

“She was a highlight of my role as outreach specialist,” Celine says, “not only because it is SO fun to ride, but also to see the pure joy/excitement/curiosity on people's faces when riding around town or to an outreach event.

Every time I was on Betty, I felt like a celebrity — people would wave and smile, they would stop and ask questions, and best of all, the kids...would run up to Betty like she was an ice cream truck! She and I put in a lot of good miles together, and I'm so happy every time she makes her way into the community.”

Photo courtesy of Celine Cooper 14

Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Her official debut was in September 2014 during Outside the Lines week, a promotion during which about 175 libraries across the country made special presentations and staged public outreach events designed to educate people about the many ways libraries have evolved.

“This was before e-bikes were very popular and I LOVED people’s reactions when I would pass them on the bike paths around Boulder!” Aimee says. “It was a great marketing tool for the library!”

Photo courtesy of Vladimir Flores-Garcia Vladimir Flores-Garcia uses Betty for cultural programs or outreach tours close to NoBo. At this year’s closing Summer of Discovery party in Holiday Park, young riders followed Vladimir as he rode the bike.

“Normally, what I do is ride the bike, playing world music and speaking bilingually with the microphone (I have a portable sound system), making occasional stops to give away books and stickers,” he says.

Betty is Aimee’s brainchild. She was the project lead on bringing Betty to life. Kathy was also key in getting Betty off the ground. In fact, Kathy gave Betty her name.

“I proposed naming the book bike Betty after my librarian grandmother, Betty Vierling, (whom I fondly note also had wide hips),” Kathy says.

“Alliterative nomenclature and a lovely legacy.”

Aimee recalls that David Farnan, who became library director just a few months before Betty was born, said “yes” to funding the book bike.

Celine has used Betty to transport materials and provide activities to programs like Boulder Housing Partners, I Have a Dream, BVSD and other community partners. For larger festivals, she gives away library merchandise, talks about our programs and, of course, uses Betty as a conversation piece. “People love Betty!”

This year Betty-the-Book-Bike turned 10-yearsold. In fall 2013, Betty had her first appearance at Manhattan Middle School for Ride/Walk to School Day. Betty also participated in the holiday light parade that first year in downtown Boulder.

“We had about a dozen library staff and their families in the parade,” Aimee Schumm, BPL IT Senior Manager, says.

Photo courtesy of Aimee Schumm 15

Chapter 22, Fall 2023 More BPL staff helped get Betty going. Adam Watts suggested making the bike a hot spot, way back when the makerspace was still a dream.

“Staff from several workgroups took turns hosting Betty at the farmer’s market,” Kathy says.

“Terzah, Eladia, I, Aimee, Neal, and many others were frequent riders. Some staff loved the idea of Betty, but weren’t comfortable riding, especially in traffic, so they would meet the book bike at different locations.”

Betty was built to specifications by Main Street Pedicabs in Broomfield, which gave BPL a price break at about $5,800. It was the first customized bike they made. Aimee remembers that Steve Meyer of Main Street Pedicabs was eager to expand his business to book bikes.

"His vision and timeline were a good match for us, so that’s where Betty was born,” she says.

“The tricycle setup with the dual wheels and cargo at the rear is incredibly stable and has a tight turning radius." A rider can see better without having cargo obstructing the front view as with some other models.

Photo courtesy of Aimee Schumm

Photo courtesy of Julian Ingram “She wasn’t easy to ride — it took some practice to ride a tricycle,” Aimee says. Experienced cyclists have a bigger learning curve than people who aren’t natural riders. It operates like a vehicle, not a bike. Weighing about 300 pounds empty, it doesn’t turn just by leaning. Also, cyclists are accustomed to putting their feet down to stop, and this is dangerous when riding a fully loaded, 500-pound vehicle. Riders need to stay mounted and use the brakes.

And it is no easy feat to just change her tire. That involves using a jack since she's so heavy, changing the tube out like a regular bike, then inflating the tube with help from BLDG 61’s air compressor. "Aside from the tires flattening, there aren't really any issues unless someone (me) forgets to charge the battery before riding ... uphill ... in the middle of July,” Celine says. “Not a fun ride."

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 In October 2018, Betty acquired some crochet pieces for the Yarnfiti exhibition in the Canyon Gallery. “Alicia (Marian) and I were the ones who sewed the pieces together to adorn Betty,” Louise Fordyce recalls. “The horns and the rest of Betty's decorations were made by Maribel, one of our program presenters. She used Mexican alebrijes, or fantasy creatures, as her inspiration and put horns on the helmet, in imitation of an alebrije mask — just for fun.”

Betty now lives in the Conoid (vestibule) of the Main Library. She loves everyone’s attention as they walk through. A U-lock prevents Betty from moving very far, and the pedal assist cannot be engaged without a key, so she feels safe. It does get a little hot in there, though, which can melt the inner tubes off the valves. At least she’s out there for everyone to admire, not hidden away in storage.

Kate Kelsch, our outreach and literacy manager, is looking forward to having a new, full-time outreach staff member soon so they can help decide a plan for Betty. This year the library purchased graphic novels and other new books for Spanish-speaking patrons to be used during Betty outreach, but staff hope to have a more coordinated plan for Betty next year, including Betty training for staff.

“I am hopeful our beloved Betty will be out in the communities much more starting next summer,” Kate says.

Photo courtesy of Leanne Slater 17

Chapter 22, Fall 2023

CELEBRITY AUTHORS David Shugert

Celebrities are basically just private citizens we want to know more about, and we get to do that—without stalking them—when they write books about themselves and their careers, a.k.a. autobiographies. In some, celebrities detail their upbringings or struggles with mental issues and such, while in others celebrities recall their time acting or singing or throwing a ball around a field. And some celebrities have branched out and written actual fiction, even children’s picture books. Here’s some feedback from BPLers who have read some of these celebrity writings.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023

BPL Volunteer Program Manager Christine Burke recently listened to the audiobook of a celebrity memoir with what some might consider to be a shocking-sounding title, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” in which former child actor Jennette McCurdy details her time starring on the Nickeldoen TV series iCarly and her toxic relationship with her mother.

“The author herself read her memoir for the audiobook, which was especially poignant,” says Burke, who goes on to say that she thought it was “an interesting and brave memoir. Though I have a very different type of relationship with my own mother, thankfully, I appreciate that McCurdy wrote about her experience. It is unfortunately relatable to many who have toxic and painful relationships to their parents, and I think it is brave and important to speak openly about taboo topics like toxic family dynamics, eating disorders, and [the] dark realities of the entertainment industry.”

GRB Specialist Stella Fowler also listened to a celebrity memoir, albeit one with a more lighthearted subject-“Stories I Only Tell My Friends,” by Rob Lowe.

Lowe himself narrated the audiobook, which made Stella feel like she was “sitting down to coffee with Rob just to reminisce and hear his take on some of his most famous roles.

Of course, I didn't get to tell my own stories, but I had a wonderful time listening to his especially his encounters with Cary Grant.”

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023

Karen Bowen seemed especially impressed with the partly fictionalized memoir “Bound for Glory,” by Woody Guthrie:

“It pulls the reader so effectively into a life on the road during the Great Depression that your mouth feels gritty and your stomach burns in hunger. It is an unforgettable book: authentic, lyrical, subversive, unflinching, and funny.”

GRB Materials Handler Sarah Gallardo’s 7-year-old daughter, Vivian, is currently “enamored” of a [Junior Fiction] book series by her favorite popstar, Jojo Siwa.

“I wasn’t surprised to find out that these kinds of books were available along with all the other types of marketing and promotion of the ‘Jojo Siwa’ brand,” says Sarah. “But I have some SERIOUS suspicions about her actually being the author of these books.

Even if she co-wrote them, it only says ‘by Jojo Siwa’ on the cover. This type of credittaking for a book I really don’t think she wrote honestly makes me question the writing talents of any other book labeled as authored by a celebrity. Like, is this really a multitalented person? Or is this just someone with a clever, savvy PR team…?”

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023

Melanie Borski-Howard recommends a pair of picture books by brother-band member Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle.

“There’s a Beach in My Bedroom” and “There’s a Rock Concert in My Bedroom” are “a bit cliché, but cute,” says Melanie, adding that “Beach” has been suggested for the 2024 early Literacy Practice PLAY, “because it shows children how to use their imaginations.”

Terzah Becker says she makes a point of not reading books by celebrities, because it bothers her that “they get book contracts when so many other, probably better writers out there languish in obscurity.” But last year, she gave in to the lure of her “teenage crush” and read the original version of "Just a Geek" by [Stand by Me star] Wil Wheaton, who, like Terzah, is now in his early 50s.

“I'm not ‘online’ enough to keep up with his popular blog and website, but I've been peripherally interested in his transformation from actor to geek-culture sage,” she says. And last year, he released a new memoir that used his "old" memoir from 2004 as a starting point, and so she decided to give both a shot, starting with the original. “Alas, like most celebrity memoirs, it was rambling and self-indulgent,” she says. “There were far too many references to Hooters waitresses and fantasies about porn stars as well as some homophobic slurs.”

The newer edition, she says, “didn't really rectify all of this, just added a bunch of overly-apologetic and whiney notes to the offensive passages. So I didn't finish it. I do think he came to recognize his youthful writing's--and his youthful self's--flaws.”

In the end, though, Terzah saw that Wheaton “recognized the good things in his life--his new website and blog, his marriage and stepkids, his comedy troupe--but he still couldn't let go of the old dream [of being a true movie star]. This book, for all its flaws, was his reckoning with that.”

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 NoBo Branch Manager Celine Cooper recommends “The Book with No Pictures” by BJ Novak, an alumnus of the U.S. version of The Office.

It’s “a really funny Storytime read!,” she says.

As for me, I like celebrity autobiographies, but I tend not to read them straight through, front-to-back, like a work of fiction. I’ll skip around, looking for spots that, if it’s a movie or TV star, talk about their experience making movies or TV shows, or, if it’s a singer, how they came to make a certain album or song. The details of the personal lives just don’t interest me as much.

I did this recently with “The Boys,” in which Ron Howard and his little brother, Clint Howard, discuss their careers and growing up in the entertainment industry.

Admittedly, the personal-lives stuff proved more interesting to me with that one, as I’m a fan of Ron Howard’s and his work.

And I’m currently using the same method with “Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman,” which is essentially a publication of the diaries he kept for roughly 25 years, from around 1992 up until his death in 2016. A very interesting look into the mind of one of my favorite actors. (From what I gather, he didn’t have a particularly great time making the Harry Potter movies; he had far more love for theater work, I think.)

The only autobiography I more or less read straight through was “Mama’s Boy,” by screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (aka husband of British diver Tom Daley), in which he details growing up with a mother who didn’t let tough circumstances—including a physical disability--prevent her from living the life she wanted.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 CIVIC DIALOGUE and COMMUNITY MEDIA: A Q&A with Jaime Kopke and Vladimir Flores Monnie Nilsson

As we make big advances toward districthood and achieving many of the 2018 Boulder Public Library Master Plan goals, using the library as a platform for engaging in civil civic dialog stands out as one of our bigger expressed goals which is still in progress, and it’s one that is likely to take many forms.

The Master Plan mentions the library’s aim to “provide resources and facilities to encourage civil civic dialogue and create a forum of ideas to address local, regional and national issues.”

Furthermore, Appendix B: mentions the following: Cultivate Civic Dialogue & Participation “Input received from community members who participated in the master planning process indicates that the community desires more opportunity to engage in civic dialogue on topics and issues that are linked to Boulder’s values and challenges.”

And “The community leaders who were interviewed during the master planning process suggested the library could play an important role in providing a platform for community members to engage in civic dialogue with one another, rather than having their views simply amplified in separate silos. They want more community members to listen to each other and empathize with others’ challenges. They believe cultivating civil, civic participation will serve to develop leadership skills in the ‘next’ generation of Boulder community members. They also cited the importance of creating convenient opportunities for community members with less time or finances to be civically engaged if they choose to, so that everyone’s voice can be heard, not just those who have greater resources.”

With a joint understanding of this aim, and by using specific tools and resources, our library system can work toward further addressing the goal of increasing community civic dialog by continuing to utilize existing media and by offering a platform for members of the public to create their own forms of community media. Our library platform can (and already does) consist of space, books and other print materials, digital materials, the Foundry, exhibits and library programming.

In the following Q&A, Jaime Kopke and Vladimir Flores discuss their experiences with civic dialogue/civic engagement and with community media, elaborating on how community media can enhance these things and how the library can be a community media platform.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Working Definitions of Media and Community Media:

Monnie: What does “Community Dialog” or “Community Civil Civic dialog” mean to you?

Media: Media, the plural of medium, broadly describes all channels of communication, including everything from printed paper to digital data. Media is comprised of news, art, educational content, and any form of information that can reach or influence people, including television, radio, books, magazines, billboards, fliers, and the internet.

Kopke: Civil and civic dialogue is very broad, which is great because it keeps the possibilities open. Essentially it is having respectful, open dialogue about issues that are important to the community and world at large.

Community Media: Media that is created, controlled (and usually owned) by members of the community. It often focuses on topics, stories and perspectives that aren’t a large part of corporate media coverage. Community media stands in contrast to corporate media in that its financing is limited and usually relies on a variety of donations, underwriting and minimal local advertising, available grant funding, and non-monetary contributions.

Think of hyper-local Spanish radio stations, small town or neighborhood-focused newspapers, alt weekly local newsletters, library book club podcasts, and the like.

Community media includes an output.

Monnie: Thank you both for participating in this Q&A. What does “Community media” mean to you?

Jamie Kopke: I liked the definition above!

Vladimir Flores: Community media are social interactions and communication processes built on the democratic use of information technologies. Its primary characteristic is that it targets audiences with similar interests with its communication products or messaging.

Flores: They are methods of communication or interaction that take place amongst people who have common interests or ideas; they might take place in person, through the media, or both, and aim to reach agreements on a topic or circumstance that matters to that group of people.

Monnie: In what ways do you currently see the library encouraging community civil civic dialog?

Kopke: There are so many ways this is happening; it would be hard to list them all! We make spaces available for free for community use - for meetings, presentations and discussions. We also have specific programming that can be used as a springboard for civic dialogue, expansive series like One Book One Boulder, or our exhibitions program. There have also been numerous one-off offerings over the years with a variety of partners, from formal panel discussions with Conference on World Affairs to an intimate sewing circle after the 2020 election.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Monnie: In your tenure at the library have you ever produced community media? If so, what are some examples?

Monnie: What would it look like to have the library serve as a community media platform?

Does it already do this? If so, in what ways?

Kopke: I believe we already serve as a platform – a platform is about designing the framework for others to create their own content and giving agency to those groups. The Walker Art Museum did a great project several years ago called “Open Field”. They let community members take over the large field outside the museum and program it in whatever ways they wanted. But it wasn’t without parameters and mutual goals. They offered some basic equipment and a set of community rules around the use – a term they called “seed it, then cede it.” I think about that phrase a lot. The library does not need to be intimately involved in planning every happening, in fact it’s best if we aren’t! We just need to create the right tools, then let the community take it from there.

Kopke: The exhibitions program is very robust, and we pivoted the gallery away from being solely a passive viewing space to a more participatory platform several years ago. The pandemic has put a damper on those efforts in recent years. Almost every show is created by the community though, centered on topics they care about – Rocky Flats, air quality, housing density or even local birds.

Within that framework, we’ve utilized oral history archives from Carnegie for interactive storytelling, we had a human library and also distributed little booklets produced by community members. I also think some patrons use the makerspace in ways that amplify community media through zine, button or other making activities.

Monnie: Are there specific examples of community media that the library could better support?

Kopke: We do not currently have a lot of physical tools for creating traditional media, for example creating podcasts or recording a film. There is the Foundry in the Teen Space, which could perhaps be utilized by a wider audience. However, I think we would want to ask the community first if community media resources are needed, and what they would use. If this is a path the library is interested in pursuing, we would want to do a lot more community engagement.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Monnie: In your opinion, what would it take for the library to become a successful (or more successful) platform for community media to encourage community civil civic dialog?

Monnie: If not, have you been involved specifically in programming or activities around encouraging community dialog? If so, what did you do, and what was the outcome?

Kopke: In 2019 we piloted a program called Civic Soup – it was a drop in gathering centered around a loose topic where people could talk over a bowl of soup. There was a lot of potential there. Once the dust settles on the district transition and we have new staff, new ideas and new energy we’ll recalibrate the whole suite of civic, civil dialogue offerings.

Flores: I produced radio shows in 2022 with youth who attended the open call for a bilingual podcast.

Six teens get involved in the Teen Space of the main library by contributing their voices, recordings, and sound editing practices. In this case, the interest of this teen group was getting information on two topics: a skate park and the science behind the radio.

Another media production I was involved in is related to librarians, specifically librarians of color like me. For this reason, in 2023, I attended the National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color. To document my experience and learning, I produced a 4-episode radio show. In this case, my colleagues from the libraries are the community with whom I want to communicate this matter.

Kopke: Since we already do offer several ways for folks to use the library as a platform, I think part of expanding is just in rebranding the message. If we can reframe the language in a way that shares that framework I mentioned before and talks about it through a lens of activation and empowerment, that may be an energizing shift. I also hope we can find ways of more publicly sharing what is happening in our spaces on a daily basis.

Flores: Public libraries, like community media, are spaces for the cultural expression of the communities that they serve. This encourages community dialogue through allowing people to use the space for free, providing personal assistance, and teaching them how to utilize information technologies, which is a strategy for equal access to culture and knowledge. As a democratic principle, this strategy aims to position artistic participation and cultural rights as fundamental rights.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Monnie: What are the current roadblocks, if any, to becoming a better community media platform?

Kopke: Just the typical constraints of time, energy and funds. Having a focus on community media is easily within reach if we decide it is a priority. So many exciting possibilities – just imagine if we had that Channel 8 studio!

Monnie: What are the tools that the library currently has that could be better utilized to be a better community media platform?

Kopke: This is exciting – we have so many ingredients! We have our makerspace(s), meeting rooms, the theater, the Foundry, exhibitions spaces and our oral history program. I think it would be a fun exercise to consider how Carnegie and its programs could be activated to better support community media development, what an amazing resource!

Flores: Many libraries around the world incorporate digital media labs where users have the opportunity to work on projects on their own or in teams using information technology. Some public libraries even produce their own media or facilitate space and technology in favor of community media groups.

The narrative podcast Borrowed which has been produced since 2019 as a part of the Brooklyn Public Library's initiatives, is a successful example. Another great example is the Radio Maconda project of the Barclona's Gabriel García Márquez Library. In the spirit of community media, this library promotes a platform open to other libraries in the city where they can showcase their activities and work through programs that are uploaded to the network in the form of podcasts.

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HA.I.KU Ilan Sherman

Thank you to everyone who participated in the ChatGPT v Human haiku challenge! In this segment of BPL Open Book I asked BPL employees to submit a haiku about a movie, book or coworker. There are also some that deviated or added to these topics. For each haiku submitted I had a “chat” with ChatGPT, an A.I. language model, and asked Chat to create a haiku about the same topic. At no time did I reveal the human written haikus to Chat for inspection.

Most similarities between the human and Chat haikus are coincidence, however I did give some suggestions, like “try to include a question,” “please throw in a colloquialism,” and “I’d like the lines to rhyme.”

In the process of creating the haikus with ChatGPT I did give Chat additional prompts like “Please make this 20% more evocative,” “Remove the word ______ from the haiku,” or “Do not reference that this is a movie in the haiku,” and other similar requests.

Below you will find the human submitted poems along with the ChatGPT poems created with prompts by Human Ilan Sherman. Can you guess which is which? A bar of chocolate awaits the best judge of A.I. v BPL Humans!

I had great fun interacting with my human coworkers at BPL as well as chatting with ChatGPT to create haikus about your chosen subject matter. I think for now I prefer human interactions over Chat!

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Lara Hnizdo v. ChatGPT, which is which?

Michael Serrano v. ChatGPT, which is which?

Amidst tresses twined Tall, brown strands do gently sway Brit-Marie, Lara?

Spotted from behind Lanky, long brown hair trailing.

Britt-Marie? Lara?

Whispers through time's veil Fate entwines two souls in grace Celestial threads bind.

Star-crossed souls unite, Mitsuha and Taki's quest, Love's found in Your Name.

Rosina Revello de Garcia v. ChatGPT, which is which?

Oliver Baez Bendorf v. ChatGPT, which is which?

Creek's laughter in glass Rain's tender touch on lush trails Library's warm embrace.

Heavy summer rain.

The bridge over Boulder Creek is a waterfall.

mafia's strings are pulled.

Marlon's whispers, power's grip, fates sealed in dark halls.

dangerous canoe, an offer you can't refuse, take the cannoli!

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Oliver Baez Bendorf v. ChatGPT, which is which?

Monnie Nilsson v. ChatGPT, which is which?

Barbie of our time Pink and divine, girls align Gotta’ love her spine

Dreams take vibrant flight Rockin' fashion, colors ignite Adventure every night

mystery package plucks Milo from apathytollbooth adventures...

Milo's world awakes, tollbooth leads to wonder's chase, words weave dreams in space.

Rosina Revello de Garcia v. ChatGPT, which is which?

David Meyers v. ChatGPT, which is which?

Morning Journey Orange of eastern sky, You're lost now among the clouds I'll see you again in time.

Celestial Farewell Beyond the veil's shroud Loss of love, a haunting ache Ghostly hearts entwined.

The voice of the rain keeps singing on Boulder Creek like an open book

Glass bridge 'bove the creek Whispers of rain on nature's path Library's heart, a gentle beat

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Instructions to submit your entry: 1. Print this page with the table below 2. Each Haiku pair is numbered 1-8, and each haiku within the pair is labeled A or B 3. In the table below C= ChatGPT and H= Human 4. For each haiku (A or B) in each pair (1-8) circle either C or H to correspond with your guess as to who wrote the haiku 5. Submit your answer to the bonus question in the final row of the table 6. You can take a picture of the completed table and email it to shermani@boulderlibrary.org or put the completed table in the courier for Ilan at Meadows Library 7. The table with the most correct guesses will win you a fine chocolate bar! Ties will be determined by the answer to the bonus question. Further ties will be determined by random draw.

8. Thanks and Good Luck, Human!

Bonus question: When asking Chat to create haikus I found that 7 out of 8 of the haikus created by chat shared one word in common. Can you guess what this word was?

(With most of the generated haikus, I asked Chat to remove this word and replace it.)

Submit your guesses! The person with the most correct guesses will win a chocolate bar!

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Photos courtesy of BPL staff Curated by Cassie Loosbrock

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Photo courtesy of Tim McClelland

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Photo courtesy of Tim McClelland

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Influential Picture Books Rebecca Doyle

It’s incredible how some books can stick with us after years—or even decades!

Picture books especially can leave a lasting impression on a young and developing mind. Listed below are some that have influenced fellow staff over the years.

Stella Fowler

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The influential picture book that got me was What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry. Not only did I love What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry as a child and continually pour over the pages trying to see all the different things going on, but my oldest son loved it, too. In fact, when he was under 2 years old, I came into his room to get him up for the day only to find that he had ripped up all the pages of What Do People Do All Day? and scattered the pieces all over his bed. When I asked him why he did this, his response stunned me - "I be book!" he exclaimed. In his little mind, he loved the book so much that he wanted to become the book, so he tore it up.

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Laura Hankins Jessica Ashcraft I have a few picture books that I loved as a kid. One was Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, another was Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey. In fact, I loved Dogzilla so much, my mom never returned it to the library and instead let me keep it forever. Maybe my chosen career path is my subconscious' way of trying to right this wrong! I also really loved Hide and Snake by Keith Baker. I recently used it for a reptile storytime and took a picture of it and sent it to my mom with a "remember this?" text, she immediately responded saying yes and that I used to read it every night as a kid!

Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats was my favorite! I grew up in Florida and really wanted to make snow angels and play in the snow like the boy Peter did! I still love that book! Ezra Jacks Keats still makes me happy! Every few years in the big snows I make an angel!

Nicole Docimo

Alice Eccles Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats was my favorite! I grew up in Florida and really wanted to make snow angels and play in the snow like the boy Peter did! I still love that book! Ezra Jacks Keats still makes me happy! Every few years in the big snows I make an angel!

I found the picture book The Maggie B by Irene Haas at a book fair at my elementary school. I remember enjoying the book because of the delicious descriptions of Margaret’s cooking (my dad is a chef, so I’ve been a foodie since before the term was coined) and the fanciful watercolor illustrations. As an adult, I still read this book to my kids (it has been taped several times), and the story and illustrations that show the child protagonist running her own little ship with great ability (she nets her own lobster, makes seafood stew and cares for her baby brother!) captivate us all.

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Rebecca Doyle Although I had a ton of books I loved as a kid, there were a few that I remember reading over and over: Hey Al! by Arthur Yorinks, The Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall, The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Stan and Jan Berenstain, and Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish. I loved “fixing” the things that Amelia mixed up, and the labelled containers at the end of Messy Room warmed my heart. What stuck with me about the Ox Cart Man was the beautiful and perfect simplicity of it, and I loved Al’s little apartment which becomes his actual paradise at the end of the book.

Karen Bowen My book is La Llorona, by Joe Hayes. I was lucky enough to have Joe Hayes read regularly at my local library and my elementary school, and he is an incredible storyteller. I was terrified of La Llorona but I always dressed up like her on Halloween, and I would wail, “Wheeeerrreee are my children?”

Amy Campion Harold and the Purple Crayon was a favorite of mine! We had a small hardback version at home and I loved how he just drew wherever he wanted to be. I didn’t realize it was that influential, but I went on to be a set designer for many years, so perhaps! My favorite page was when he got into bed and drew up the covers.

Melissa Holladay I loved these books as a kid and still have them on my bedroom bookshelf: Waggy and His Friends and Little Richard and Prickles.

Both are written by Patricia M. Scarry with pictures by Cyndy Szekeres.

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Rachel Garfield-Levine When I was about 4 my parents read me a book called The Taily-Po, and it filled me with fear the likes of which I have not felt since then. It's based on a southern folktale about a man who catches the giant tail of a mysterious creature in his trap, and the creature ultimately hunts him and his dogs, looking for its Taily-Po. I lost sleep over it, I became convinced that a small family of tailypo creatures lived under my bed, I refused to sleep with my back facing open space for literal YEARS. To this day if I think about the last page of the book, where the creature has chased all the man's dogs into the swamp and he's alone in his cabin hearing it come for him demanding its Taily-Po back, I get the shivers and feel a little creeped out. I still have no idea why my parents picked this book to read to me, or more accurately why someone wrote the creepiest possible version of the story as a picture book for small children. Watch out for the Taily-Po!

Monnie Nilsson A picture book that influenced me as a child was A Child’s Book of Manners by Ruth Odor. I thought that book was so funny because it said things like, “Don’t be a Sally the Slurper, Don’t be a Messy Bess, Don’t be a Picky Percy, Don’t be a Shoveler Sam!” It was supposed to teach table manners. I’m not sure how much it worked.

Another book was called The Big Tidy-Up by Norah Smaridge. It’s about a little girl who let’s her bedroom get so disorganized and dirty that she can no longer find anything, and her mother puts a ‘keep out’ sign on her bedroom door. When she finally gets so mired in the mess, she finally decides to clean up her room and is much happier for it. I’m sensing a theme here. I must have been a illbehaved, messy little kid!

😉

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ITEMS FOUND IN OUR BOOKS Curated by Jessica Ashcraft

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 It turns out this is an anniversary year for the Scott Carpenter skate park! The park first opened 30 years ago (on July 2, 1993), after three years of discussion about how to make it happen. The skateboard park project appears to have come about when a group of young people joined forces with YMCA youth services staff to get their voices heard.

Sean Robinson, left, and Joel Foss, both of Boulder, volunteer their time Wednesday to get the new YMCA skateboard park ready for its opening next Thursday. It is located at Scott Carpenter Park.” Photo is dated June 23, 1993. from the Boulder Daily Camera collection at Carnegie Library.

CARNEGIE CACHE: 30 Years of Skating at Scott Carpenter Park Nicole Docimo Recently, a former city staffer contacted me with a prospective donation of archival materials about the Valmont Bike Park and the Scott Carpenter Skate Park. As luck would have it, I had been standing inside the Scott Carpenter Skate Park for the first time just days before as my six-year-old son begged me to take him there to ride his bike.

This is one of the many reasons I love working in a local history archive for my own community—there is an additive effect—I visit a place, then I happen upon its history in the archive, then the next time I visit I get to experience it through the lens of history.

The kids complained about being forced to break the law to do their sport. The skate park opened with construction money from the city and the operation of the park by the YMCA. At first opening, an entry fee of $2.50-$5.00 was charged.

The Scott Carpenter skate park was not the first in Boulder—I found newspaper clippings in our Daily Camera clipping files about a skateboard park called Hi Roller that opened in the spring of 1978 near Thunderbird Shopping Center (now Meadows on the Parkway). It is unclear when and why Hi Roller closed, but by 1993 it had been several years since Boulder skaters had anywhere safe and legal to skate. The skatepark has been redone multiple times since, but as the mom of a budding trickster biker, I can attest that the next generation rejoices that it’s still there.

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Yes, And.

At the city MI training, more than forty employees, mostly from the open space and parking enforcement departments, filled the conference room. As the sole library employee, I felt super lucky to be participating. In 1983, William R. Miller, a clinical psychologist, birthed MI when he described how he successfully treated problem drinkers. The motivation for change needed to come from within the individual, and done in a way where the person understands how the change aligns with their own values. A shortcut for understanding MI is the mnemonic RULE: Resist the righting reflex, Understand the individual’s own motivations, Listen with empathy and Empower them.

Alyssa Finer

Stock Photo

The patron needed to stop yelling at himself in the library restroom. It was loud and unsettling to others. The Boulder City training on Motivational Interviewing (MI) drilled into my head not to approach in a confrontational manner. To be inquisitive, try to understand why he was behaving that way, and help him find the internal motivation to change. I used one of the short starters we had learned at the training “It sounds like you are having a hard time,” to let him know I was outside the door. The men’s restroom would be a tight space but best to see the patron to access the situation. I knocked on the door to let him know I would be entering.

The facilitator started the training by having us practice a martial arts movement that she said would help us visualize what we would achieve through MI. Going against our intuition, we needed to lean into another’s aggression as a way to harness their power and then swerve so their aggression had nowhere to land. It was fun to partner up and role play but still difficult to grasp how attempting this physical move would show us how leaning into a confrontational situation leads to de-escalation.

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Chapter 22, Fall 2023 Back at our places around the large table, we began with the first MI step, reflection. We found new partners and had to think of a situation we wanted to change, like not exercising enough, a too long commute, or for me eating too much in the afternoon so I skipped dinner with my husband. To help make our partners heard, we were given starter reflection phrases to use like, ‘you are so frustrated about,’ and ‘you don’t like when people don’t understand this is important to you.’ My partner, a burly man from the parking enforcement division tried his best to find words to reflect back my concern about failing to make dinner with my husband a priority since the meal I loved most was breakfast. The goal was to reflect back and listen as I explained that after a day starting with the same breakfast I have eaten for years, then snacks and lunch, dinner becomes the lowest priority. This man, who went rogue in the exercise by letting me know how much he loved a good dinner, raised his eyebrows at my lack of understanding why my husband didn’t just fill up more during the day.

After we switched roles for the reflection portion, the facilitator emphasized the need for staying relaxed in conflict de-escalation efforts. We had a relaxation booster as she went around the room and inserted acupuncture needles at points outside our ears.

After the reflection portion and with everyone more relaxed, we moved on to the importance of incorporating the phrase ‘yes, and,’ to show empathy and then make boundaries. We practiced voice intonations, not raising the end phrase into a question. And then, letting our statements sit. Showing nothing more than a friendly face. I was familiar with ‘’yes, and’ from the improv classes I had taken at the Groundlings years ago when I moved to Los Angeles. Even though I was the worst improvisor in the class (which I took twice), I kept that phrase ‘yes, and,’ and reminded my husband that his ‘yes, but’ led to a different outcome. This training gave me more evidence that ‘yes, but’ only leads to more conflict.

Including positive statements to help deescalate made sense. This was the beginning of the martial arts ‘swerve’ away from aggression we had practiced earlier. Something as simple as thanking the person for letting you know they are upset, or appreciating that they let you know they see things differently, throws the confrontational person off balance and affirms their underlying intent.

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Finally, MI would not work without emphasizing the person’s autonomy, that the decision for change is up to them. A person can only hear one thing at a time and throwing advice at them in a confrontational situation only makes them defensive and does not help motivate change.

My partner had to hold back his advice about what changes I could make to prioritize eating dinner with my husband.

As I was writing this article and thinking how hard it would be to wait until seven, or even later, to eat dinner with my husband, I heard a library patron near the front desk getting impatient and confrontational. As the patron got more irate and demanding, my co-worker, Ilan, softened his tone and agreed the situation must be frustrating for him. The library was soon quiet and I realized some people are natural conflict de-escalators.

Lucky for me and my parking enforcement partner there is always the benefit of learning and practicing MI skills. And lucky for my husband, even though I had finished my lunch well before noon and would be starving after biking home, I was still trying to find the internal motivation to wait and eat dinner with him.

Back in the men’s room, I was excited to use my MI skills. After using the reflection starters, I got to the ‘yes, and’ to set the boundaries. Yes, I understood he thought the bathroom door was soundproof. And, that was a misunderstanding. I lowered my tone as I added the boundary that the bathroom was not the place for his action. I understood he did not mean to make anyone uncomfortable in the library, especially the younger people. Careful not to deny his story, I encouraged him to find better methods for change than yelling at himself. I apologized for being in the men’s room and for needing to interrupt what he was hoping would be a private, although loud, moment and left the choice up to him about facing the consequences if he didn’t change his behavior. This situation resolved easily but we all know that is not always the case. At times, we face patrons with altered mental states who are not even aware of their actions and lack any desire to change their behavior.

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What do you meme?

Jessica Ashcraft BPL-specific memes to make you LOL

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Stay tuned for more in the coming months from our new District Communications Team!

There will be lots of “New Faces,” and we hope there will be a spotlight on our wonderful substitutes, upcoming services, and all the district news to come!

THANK YOU FOR READING.

Share your feedback: nilssonm@boulderlibrary.org

Did you spot the hidden Little David?

He's on pg. 17!