It's finally here! Virtual Comic Con at Home runs October 1 - October 31, complete with: 

►Now - Oct 22 Comic Con Art Show: visit our Central Location to see the art in person, or see our Facebook album)

►Oct 1 - 31 All Ages Graphic Novel Reading Challenge (register now) Prizes include: mystery bags filled with graphic novels, Comic Con swag, local gift cards, and much more!

►Oct 2 - 9 Comic Con Take and Make (available while supplies last)

►Oct 6 at 2:00 p.m. Comic Con Story Time via Zoom

►Oct 7 at 10:00 a.m. Comic Con Story Time in Spanish via Zoom

►Oct 7 at 6 p.m. Vintage Toys with Artist in Residence Evan Curtis via Zoom (registration required)

►Oct 8 at 10:00 a.m. Comic Con Story Time via Zoom

►Oct 10 Cosplay Contest video release on social media

►Oct 16 at 4:00 p.m. Comic Con Teen Trivia via Zoom (registration required)

Visit mesacountylibraries.org/comiccon for all the details for Virtual Comic Con at Home!

Check out the NPR Coronavirus Comic mentioned in this episode here: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/07/811616161/kids-around-the-world-are-reading-nprs-coronavirus-comic

Listener discretion is advised for this episode. Trigger warnings are listed below for each banned book discussed.

1:50 - 9:45 Perks of Being a Wallflower, 13 Reasons Why: Suicide
10:10 - 18:38 The Hate U Give: Death, shooting of a black student by a white policeman
18:45 - 34:40 George: Transgenderism
35:00 - 44:40 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Content frightening in nature (spooky!)
44:45 - 52:08 Prince & Knight: Teen Suicide, LGBTQ+
52:16 - 1:04:00 No trigger warning! A great discussion on how banned books influence reading.

Censorship is whack, yo. Mesa County Libraries strives to ensure our patrons always have access to resources they need and want, and works to expand our collection to include and represent diverse voices. Throughout history, books discussing varied topics have been challenged or banned from library shelves. Banned Books week is a celebration of the freedom to read, draws attention to books that have been banned and challenged, and highlights persecuted individual. We at Mesa County Libraries are no friends of censorship, and encourage our patrons to read outside of your comfort zone by picking up a banned book and expand your world view! Thank you to Andy, Andrea, Trevor, Rachel, Logan and Elise for joining us on the podcast to discuss some of their favorite (or not so favorite) banned books. You can find all of the books discussed in this episode and many banned and challenged reading lists on our catalog at mesacountylibraries.org. To read more about WHY each book has been banned or challenged, visit marshall.edu/library/bannedbooks

Banned Books mentioned in this episode:
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - recommended by Andy
Th1rteen r3asons why by Jay Asher
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - recommended by Andrea
George by Alex Gino - recommended by Trevor

Check out the Our Diverse World booklist and Banned and Challenged YA Books at mesacountylibraries.org!

Have you ever read an article from The Onion and laughed? Have you then observed a family member share that same article on Facebook, believing it was fact? How do you politely let her know what she's sharing as "truth" is actually satire?

Information Literacy and Digital Literacy sound like big, scary, words the average person wouldn't use. But when it comes down to it, Information Literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

In a digital age where information is being shared quickly and without second thought, we need to build up our Digital Literacy, which the ALA defines as: “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.”
Basically, using technology appropriately and effectively.

Bethany and Emmi sit down with frequent guest and Librarian Ike to discuss misinformation, disinformation, confirmation bias, and maybe the most important ways to combat the spread of falseness and intent to harm: Fact Checking and the CRAP Test (no, seriously).

Mesa County Libraries is always available to assist patrons in finding facts and evaluating sources. Visit mesacountylibraries.org, email us at ask@mcpld.org, or call 970-243-4442 for more information.

We're back with Season 3, baby! Evan Curtis, our fall 2020 Artist in Residence, is offering both virtual and in-person programs! Learn how to do stop motion animation, create sound effects, and enjoy a virtual tour of his vintage toy collection. Visit mesacountylibraries.org and check out our event calendar for all of Evan's Artist in Residence programs, and visit him during his Meet and Greet hours from 4 - 6 p.m. every Thursday August - November.

We have so many excellent goodies for our Children and Teen patrons! Every Friday we're releasing a craft Take and Make kit and an instructional video on our social media pages for you to follow along. You can pick these kits up at any of our locations, and even schedule to pick one up when you pick up your holds curbside! Call 970-243-4442 to schedule your Take and Make pickup.

Bethany is joined this week by TJ Smith and Chandler Smith, founders of Creative’s Landing, to discuss Riff for Relief - a music initiative tied to West Slope Startup Week that highlight the region’s incredible music scene, while raising needed funds for the many artists who have suffered financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode also features musician W.ill. of Wowzers, a good vibe jazz hip hop trio participating in Riff for Relief!

Riff for Relief is from 7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m., Thursday, July 30, 2020. This free show will involve prerecorded Mini Desk sessions, a live Singer Songwriter Round, Special Guest and Headliner. The music will be accompanied by an art gallery with a percentage of proceeds going to the Grand Valley Music Relief Fund. Visit westslopestartupweek.com/music/ to reserve your in-person seat at Mesa Theatre, or watch the livestream event on Creative’s Landing’s Facebook page at facebook.com/Creatives-Landing.

GoFund Me to support local artists: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/riff-for-relief

Featured Musicians:
The Show:
Mini Desk Prelude (PRERECORDED)
- El Camino Burnout
- Suckafish
- Valley Curse
- Wave 11
- Wowzer

Singer Songwriter Round (LIVE)
- Dave Mensch
- Talya Dewey (of Rizzo)
- Morgan Crouse (of Southside Highway)

Special Guest (LIVE)
- Cosmo

Headliner (LIVE)
- Still House String Band

Welcome to Community Conversations! A series of conversations Mesa County Libraries staff has with passionate and informed community members. On our first ever Community Conversations episode, Bethany and Emmi sat down with the Tremaine Jackson, Head Football Coach at Colorado Mesa University. Hired in late 2019, Coach Jackson has navigated a wide variety of changes not only related to how he adapted running practice of a team of 100+ players due to COVID-19, but on a community level opening up a dialogue of being uncomfortable, participating in peaceful protests, and raising the acknowledgement of racism in the Grand Valley. Settle in for a conversation about race relations and bias and how we as a community can use our resources to learn, discover, create, and connect with everyone around us. Thank you Coach Jackson for an educational, kind, and much needed conversation!

For more information about resources mentioned in this episode, visit mesacountylibraries.org. Find the Mesa County Oral History Project on our website at https://mesacountylibraries.org/mcohp/, and be sure to stop in our Central Regional History Room to review "Hooded Empire: the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado" by Robert Goldberg, to learn important and relevant history about the roots of racism in Colorado. For more books about Race in America, visit https://mesa.marmot.org/.

Running is fun… right? Library Assistants Amberlee and Rose Marie share with Bethany and Emmi why on earth they enjoy the worst type of exercise of all time. All joking aside, physical fitness is to the body what reading is to the brain. You need to do it for your mental health! Listen in as these ladies share how running (as well as other types of exercise) aid in the strengthening of their bodies, souls, and minds.

Other resources mentioned in this episode:
Books:
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
• What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
by Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel (Translator

Magazines:
• RBDigital

Resource Guide:
• Health and Wellness

Podcasts:
• I Weigh with Jameela Jamil

Summer Reading is here! We talk to Head of Youth Services, Cydney and Librarians Diana and Ike and learn about all of the fun stuff we have planned for Summer Reading 2020! Teen Services Coordinator Andrea shares about all of awesome events and prizes available for Teens as well! Sign up for Summer Reading at mesacountylibraries.org!
Other resources mentioned in this episode: • Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

Elizabeth, our Collections Librarian, is an avid traveler. Enjoy this virtual "Armchair Travel" experience and take a trip to Colombia with Elizabeth, Emmi and Bethany! Want to check out the visual beauty of Columbia? Enjoy this video podcast episode of The Audissey on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/thogDwzMcI4

First things first, kids: holds are back! Please visit our COVID 19 guide for instructions on how to pick up your holds. https://guides.mesacountylibraries.org/covid19/library

Is Bethany's mom a saint? Our sources say yes. Bethany and her mom Tami coordinated an effort to manufacture masks for family, friends, and co-workers during this pandemic. This is an extremely compassionate feat for a teacher navigating distance learning (Tami) and full-time library assistant/grad student (Bethany) and those of us who were gifted masks are extremely grateful for the act of kindness. Thank you Bethany and Tami!

Trevor Adams, Library Associate in our Youth Services department, is a collage artist in his free time! Trevor started a fantastic and connecting initiative by mailing out his postcard-sized collage artworks to those who requested them. How many did he mail out, you ask? Listen to the podcast to find out (Spoiler: it's a LOT!).