Lafayette Public Library brings community, information,
and ideas together to inspire literacy, learning, and discovery.

We offer great ideas, opportunities, and solutions with our Check In @ LPL monthly online newsletter. We love hearing from you - drop us a note!

Welcome to springtime at the Library! This month we celebrate our library and volunteers; we share our love for poetry, and and we give out books to all our 4 year-old children! Enjoy all we have to offer during April, and stop by to visit.

The Library will be closed all day and the book drops locked on Easter Sunday, April 21, and on Friday, April 26 for Staff Training. No books are due on those days.

National Library Week

First established in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and communities across the United States each April. National Library week celebrates the impact of libraries on community as well as the acknowledgement of the contribution of library workers. Find out how you can be part of our library community.

Volunteer Appreciation Week
Did you know that Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 7-13? Our library is such a great place to work, to browse and to hang out thanks in large part to our generous team of 250 volunteers. Young and old(ish), weekly or just as needed, our volunteers help us carry out the important work of the Lafayette Library.

Library volunteers are tutors and storytellers. They’re computer coaches or tech gurus. Our volunteers are patient and passionate, energetic and resourceful. We value every single one of them who have given of their valuable time to support the Library’s vision.

During Volunteer Week, we’ve arranged a special recognition luncheon here at the Library for adult volunteers. If you’ve received an invitation, don’t forget to RSVP! If you’re an adult volunteer and have misplaced your invitation, just let your staff supervisor know you’ll be attending. It’s not required, but it’s important that all our volunteers know that they are recognized and greatly appreciated.

Want to be an active part of our volunteer community? National Volunteer Week is a great time to get involved - Find opportunities to make a difference in our community!

It's Good to have FRIENDS

Our hardworking Friends of the Library Foundation volunteers are here every day, accepting, sorting, and organizing donations of books and related items. Through their efforts, they raise thousands of dollars for Library programming.

Their most recent spring break sale netted $3500+, and they're still counting! Please consider supporting your library - join the Friends as a member, and better yet, as a volunteer. We are so grateful for our Friends, and all they do for our community. Thank you!

Our Teen Volunteers ROCK!

Teens – Looking for fun, new friends, and valuable experience? Well then, the Library could be the place for you. We’re looking for some outstanding teens to work with kids and other teens this summer, and we’d love to have you on the team!

Looking for Summer Reading Volunteers
Grades 6-12: 2 hours once or twice per week (during June 1-July 31). Give out prizes, and help all age groups sign up and log reading minutes at the Summer Reading table. You might also help with programs and other tasks. Apply now!

Reading & Writing Buddies Grades 9-12: 1-2 hours a week for one hour each time June 1 – July 31. Work with other teens - get matched up with younger kids and read books, write short stories, play games, make a difference and have fun together! Summer sessions take place at the Lafayette Library and at Boulder Ridge Mobile Home Park in Lafayette. Join us!

Have you met our Volunteer Computer Coaches?

Our Volunteer Computer Coaches offer free, basic tutoring in the Library’s main floor Computer Lab. Just drop by with your new device or your tech questions, and our patient and skilled volunteers will lend a hand. Our coaches just might have the answer you’ve been looking for! No advance appointment is needed, whether you’re downloading ebooks for the first time, figuring out your new camera phone, or setting up a new social media account to keep in touch with family and friends. Just drop by and say hello as your schedule permits.

Hours:

Mondays; 10:30-12:30 and 5:30-6:30 pm
Tuesdays; 10:30-12:30 and 5:30-6:30 pm
Wednesdays; 10:30-12:30
Thursdays, 5-6:30 pm
Sundays; 1-3 pm

If you’re interested in joining our Volunteer Computer Coach team, just fill out our Volunteer Application.

Thanks to AARP Tax Aide Volunteers

We are so grateful to the AARP Tax Aide volunteers for their tireless efforts in helping our community access low-cost, accurate, trustworthy tax help.

This year volunteers started in February, and have faithfully shown up every Wednesday to help us navigate our way through the tax labyrinth. Thank you, volunteers – from all of us at the Lafayette Library!

Library 101 is where we highlight a new Library resource or service, and also offer refresher reminders for some of our resources that you might not know about yet. Stay tuned each month for valuable Lafayette Library information!

Holds Limits With auto renewals are under way, check out another new feature for us ravenous readers - increased hold limits! Most of us check out several books at a time, and have pending requests for other items. When we hear about a great new title, we go to our online account and add it to our holds queue! We’ve heard from customers that it can be challenging to limit the number of items they put on hold, so we're happy to announce that you are now able to keep up to 25 items on your holds list!

Since our Lobby shelves can only hold so many books, please keep tabs on what’s arrived, and pick things up as soon as your can. If you no longer need a book that’s on hold for you, let us know and we’ll pass it on to the next eager reader. As always, manage your account online, or through the express checkout machines at the Library. Questions? Always feel free to ask!

LIBRARY TOOLS FOR EASY ACCESS

We offer an assortment of tools that simplify your Library life. Try out a few, and enjoy the advantages of easy access.

RB Digital eMagazines - Stream or download magazines for free.
Museum passes - Free admission to area cultural institutions-restrictions apply.
Text messaging with the Library - Manage renewals and holds by text message.
iPads - Enjoy the use of an iPad in the Library, for up to 2 hours.
Libby helps you find and reserve library materials, from anywhere!
Lucky Day - On display in the lobby - avoid long hold waits on popular titles.
NY Times - Access all the news you need, for free!
New! Consumer Reports website - free access to the member content of the Consumer Reports website!

GET A HANDLE ON YOUR ENERGY USAGE

Power Check Meters help you make your home more energy efficient! They are available for check out; watch the video tutorial.

ART @ THE LIBRARY

We offer several art galleries throughout the library featuring local artists, community art, and local school art projects. Exhibits change regularly, so keep an eye out when you're visiting and enjoy a range of works by local artists. This month we feature works by Mr. Hollenbach's students at Centaurus High, Lora Witt, Susie Mottashed, the Mailbox Project by Ruth Meere, and BVSD student art by Ms. Deming's fourth grade class.

DATABASE COLLECTION

We continue to expand our database collection in order to offer easily accessible, comprehensive information on a wide range of subjects. See something on our list that you forgot was available? Try it - our librarians are happy to help.

Explore your Family History with Ancestry
Search billions of genealogy documents; access this resource at the Library.
Explora Easy-to-use and reliable content from leading publications.
Novelist Fiction readers, find new authors and titles based on what you like! Try Novelist Good Books Alerts to help you figure what to read next.
Novelist K-8 Kids and young adults find books similar to those they love.
ReferenceUSA gives you instant, real-time access to accurate, in-depth information on U.S. businesses and U.S. residents. Learn more!

Explore our blog posts this month for ideas on what to read and watch. We love to share what we come across, so try a few recommendations. You can access the books through our catalog.

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
Book discussion March 18, 6 pm
LafayetteREADS! is a quarterly Lafayette community reading and discussion group. We select books that are not only great reads, but that are relevant to today’s issues. Informal discussions focus on the book itself, as well as on ways in which the story sheds light on the contemporary world. Read and relate to your community!

If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life? It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children--four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness--sneak out to hear their fortunes. The prophecies inform their next five decades.
- The Immortalists, Library Catalog

LIBRARY OUTREACH

You don’t need to come to the Library to enjoy our services; we have a growing outreach program that allows us to present library services outside our building in places such as Josephine Commons elder housing, The Peaks senior living, Lafayette preschools and day care centers, and to our homebound patrons. See you at the Library, and not only in our building!

One Book Colorado

April 8-22

Each year the state of Colorado gives away 75,000 FREE books to 4-year-olds. Head down to the library April 8-22, and pick up your free book.

What is it? Shhhh, it's a surprise, and we won't know what it is until Governor Polis reads it out loud at a special storytime in Denver. Details at www.onebookcolorado.org!