Volunteering for Children’s Literacy Center – My Story

I started #volunteering with Children’s Literacy Center in January of 2017. I like libraries, I like reading, and I like reading to children. In addition, I wanted to make a positive difference in the world. That first Saturday at MLK, Jr Library in Aurora was the start of my literacy adventures and literally changed my life in ways I couldn’t yet know.

As I volunteered, I learned that often the most important aspect of the Peak Reader literacy program was the one-to-one time between tutor and tutee. Often, the children benefited most from having quiet time learning while being with someone who cared about them. Parents and teachers care so much but are also focused on other children and important responsibilities. I found I was part of a team of adults working for the children to succeed.

In February, 2019, I accidentally volunteered myself into a job as a Site Coordinator for Children’s Literacy Center at ZPlace in Green Valley Ranch. It’s been rewarding and difficult and a tremendous learning experience for me.

Now, I *love* libraries, I have gained so much more respect for librarians and teachers, I still like reading, I’m learning so much about literacy, and I love hearing the children read to me as much as I love reading to them. If anyone can make a positive difference in the world, it will be these children and the teams of people working for good.

Will you join the Children’s Literacy Center team? Where will your volunteering story take you?

https://www.childrensliteracycenter.org/volunteer-to-tutor

#Volunteerism #Local #Literacy #Reading #LoveMyLibrary#LiteracyIsMoreThanReading #LibrariansAreSuperHeroes #TeachersAreSuperHeroes #aplreadingrocks Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Library

January 7, 2019 – First Library Tourist Post of 2019! Denver Public Library, Ross-Cherry Creek Branch

Denver Public Library, Ross-Cherry Creek Branch

I wanted to love this library so much. There were festive holiday lights outside and books inside. Therefore, I should’ve been automatically in love. But I wasn’t. For a month I’ve been feeling guilty sitting on this post without publishing because I just lacked the warm-fuzzies that I have toward the Denver Public Library, Central Branch. Where the Central Branch is comfortable and welcoming, the Ross-Cherry Creek Branch feels very…useful. Perhaps just functional and a little sterile. There’s nothing wrong with being useful/functional/sterile. We spent 2 hours working at the library and it fulfilled our needs. I then spent 4 weeks agonizing over hurting the library’s feelings.

For RVers, this library has all the basics: bathrooms, power outlets, wifi, computers, printers, books, chairs, and an expansive kids’ section. Ross-Cherry Creek is in the Cherry Creek North shopping neighborhood of Denver, so it’s surrounded by hotels, stores, and restaurants. Cherry Creek Mall is just a few blocks South. There is a nearby golf course if that’s your style. However, the driving lanes and available parking in this part of town are best for narrow and short RVs, like Class B or shorter. I wouldn’t recommend trailers or motorhomes, but smaller tow vehicles (4-door sedans) would have no problem! The parking in Cherry Creek is metered up to three hours every day except Sunday or specific holidays. If you are at a Denver-area RV Park without a tow vehicle, you might be able to use RTD public transit or ride-sharing apps to get to Cherry Creek. Otherwise, this library definitely feels geared toward busy Denver businesspeople stopping by to use the free restrooms while shopping, or to print a résumé right quick. It is less cozy for long-term librarying.

Downstairs on the basement level (reachable by elevator or stairs), there are large gendered restrooms with some sinks that were not all in service at the time of my visit but may be fixed, now. If you need a conference room, there is at least one available for use downstairs.

While I was checking out the basement bathroom, Ash was able to talk with a library visitor about the Denver Fine Free program that started in January 2019. This warmed my heart since I’d been talking to Ash about this when we visited the Central Branch!

The main level has children’s books, the children’s play area, and check-out desks. There are no public restrooms on this floor. I liked the book displays on the walls.

Upstairs on the 2nd level (reachable by elevator or stairs) is where the computers, printers, adult books, and single-person non-gendered restroom are located. This restroom was quite popular, so there was a surprising amount of foot traffic on this level. I greatly appreciated the wifi and used my own computer for work. The chairs and tables worked for their purpose and I’m glad they were available! Some tables do not have power outlets, so you may need to look for one that does if you are there for an extended amount of time. There were smaller conference rooms upstairs that I think could be useful for small meetings or job interviews. The librarians up here helped lots of folks with checking out books, reserving computers, and fixing the printers from guests who filled the machines with their own paper (despite signs warning against this). I respect people who can do their job professionally, even when guests do not follow the posted notices. Librarians = Superheroes.

Many small children loved playing in the kids’ section on the 1st floor for the entire 2 hours we were in the library. Their happy sounds moved up from that floor to the second, due to an open floorplan where the floors are not completely separated. This became distracting after some time. Earbuds and listening to music were quite helpful, but I still actually wished I could be working in one of the smaller conference rooms.

My favorite part of this library is the wall art in the stairwell.

While I believe this library could potentially be very useful for an RVer who needed an office outside of their rig for three hours, I’m not certain it’s great for library tourism. This disappoints me a little, but maybe I just don’t know enough about Ross-Cherry Creek Branch to know better. Next time I visit, I’ll ask a librarian about what makes this library a unique stop for a library tourist.

As an RVer, what do you look for in a library? As a library tourist, where are some libraries that you like to visit?

December 23, 2018 – First Official Library Tourist Post! Denver Public Library, Central Branch

I checked out the Denver Public Library Central Branch, today. I’ve officially lived in Denver for almost 10 years and have only been here a handful of times. Once for my library card replacement, and once to meet a friend, and once to check out the Winter book sale. I always keep meaning to come back and thought that I might as well officially start my library tourism here.

This location is huge! Ash found out that there is a makerspace, called “ideaLAB” here. A few of the libraries in the Denver Public Library system have these ideaLABs, where people can work on crafts and skills of all kinds. We particularly liked the 3D printers. There were Dremels, knitting and painting supplies, and an ideaLAB instructor showed us his Santa hat with Bluetooth lights in the brim. I saw someone mixing audio files, and as we left the crafting room, a couple of people were entering the soundproofed recording studio. We’ll be back here with crafting ideas, for sure!

After checking out the ideaLAB on level 4, I headed over to the printer area to print out some downsizing paperwork from Kerensa & Brandon – RV to Freedom. On my way toward the escalators, I passed a display with “Central Library Self-Guided Tour” pamphlets, so I picked up one of those and a map. I met Ash downstairs (ahem “downescalators”) on level 2 and now we’re basically working on our computers until it’s time to leave.

From an #RVer perspective, this library could work as a nice indoor place to print documents, use free wifi for work (and/or play), charge electronic devices, as well as check out the beautiful downtown Denver Public Library via the self-guided tour. You do not need a library card for any of these services. 
Cons: metered street parking downtown, no cafe, only service animals allowed.

If you hold a Denver Library card, you can reserve the 3D printers, video conference rooms, hour-long usage computers, and admission to various museums in Denver. As well as check out books and movies and music and…well, nearly everything! Anyone who lives in Colorado can pick up a library card for Denver…and then online checkout becomes available to you from anywhere with wifi and a computer device!

Note: There is a large homeless population in Denver, so you will see people outside and inside the library. You might be interested to know that the Denver Public Library has social workers as well as peer navigators to help homeless individuals. https://www.denverlibrary.org/…/peer-navigators-help-demyst…
I love that the library is helping human beings, so this is a positive aspect to me. You may feel nervous if you or your family are not used to being in an urban center, and that’s okay, too. Everyone here has been minding their own business, so far, so I have no problems recommending this library for any person, whether RVer, homeless person or resident of a “sticks and bricks” stationary house.

Keep an eye out for a future post about the self-guided library tour!

See you at the library!

(I might need to work on my tagline…)
#DenverPublicLibrary #TheLibraryTourist #LibraryTourism #LoveMyLibrary #JourneyToRV