What's New at PPLD!

If you would like to offer your voice to the Colorado Springs Chorale Society here is your chance. For more information please go to www.cschorale.org.

Our next audition will be
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

First Christian Church
16 E. Platte Ave.
(Corner of Platte and Cascade)

Following this, the next audition date will be on
Tuesday, August 21, 2007.

To schedule an audition:
email us at csc@cschorale.org
or call us at 719-634-3737

The East Teen Center construction is well under way and is scheduled for completion in summer 2007. The center is located at the East Library and will provide teen specific programs, events and computer lab. Keep looking a the PPLD Blog for all the latest news.

The Old Colorado City Branch is temporarily closing on Saturday, April 28, 2007 to undergo renovations to the building. It is estimated that it will take 6 months to complete this work.

Workers will be putting in new wiring, new plumbing, and tearing out the ceiling to reinforce the roof. With these types of changes Old Colorado City Branch cannot be safely open to the public.

The Bookmobile will stop outside of the Old Colorado City Branch every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Bookmobile will have holds that have come in for patrons that have designated Old Colorado City as their pick-up location. It will also have many of the same types of items normally available at the Branch.

Patrons can return books via the Branch bookdrops.

All Branch children’s programs, including Family Nights and Storytimes, will be held at West Intergenerational Center on 25 N 20th St. Please enter through the west door at West Middle School.

All Branch Book Discussion Groups will continue to meet the fourth Thursday of the month at Pikes Peak National Bank Public Meeting Room on 2401 W. Colorado Avenue.

Updates about progress will be posted on ppld.org, on the bookmobile, and on a sign outside the branch. Patrons can also call the Old Colorado City Branch phone number, 634-1698 for more information. We appreciate your patience and support during this exciting time for the Old Colorado City Branch!

For more information about the renovation and how to contribute, please click here.

The Shivers concert series presents The Spirituals Project Choir of Denver, performing the sacred songs called “spirituals” created and sung by enslaved African Americans. Admission is free.

When: Satuday, April 21 at 8 p.m.
Where: Shove Chapel, Colorado College, 1010 N. Nevada Ave.

For more information, click here.

Library District reveals Zorro is 2007 All Pikes Peak Reads selection
Community-wide project launches this fall

Readers in El Paso County will enjoy the historic adventure story of Zorro for the 2007 All Pikes Peak Reads.

The project will be built around two books, one for young audiences and one for adults.
Isabel Allende’s Zorro will be used for adult programming; The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley will be used for school curriculum development and children’s programming.

The historic legend of Zorro weaves together Spanish history, California history, mythic folk tales, treasure hunting adventures, Native American lore, and more.

All Pikes Peak Reads, a month-long program that begins this fall, is a community-wide effort to improve literacy and foster dialogue across social, cultural, and generational lines. Book groups, children’s programs, film screenings, and other events based on themes selected from the book will be offered at the PPLD and other community sites.

About APPR
Zorro marks the sixth year of APPR. All Pikes Peak Reads was one of Colorado’s first community-wide reading programs, and sets itself apart from other “one book” programs around the country by incorporating an original adaptation of the book for the stage. Also unique to the program are curriculum guides for local classrooms.

Today has been designated as National Library Workers Day, by the American Library Association. This day is a long overdue (pardon the pun) adjunct to National Library Week that just started a few years ago, to recognize the great employees who staff our great public libraries.

Take a few moments today to show some appreciation for our hard-working staff at the Pikes Peak Library District.

The Colorado State University (CSU) Cooperative Extension Office in El Paso County is offering a class about coffee on Tuesday, April 24 from 6-8 p.m. The class will be held at the extension office, 305 South Union Boulevard, and costs $10. Pre-registration is required.

Recent studies show that more than 50 percent of the population drinks coffee on a daily basis. This class will provide information on the different types of coffee beans, how to roast them and how to brew a great cup of coffee. Coffee samples, as well as the latest information on the nutritional aspects of coffee, will also be offered.

For more information about the class or to sign up, please call 636-8920 or look on the website at www.coopext.colostate.edu/elpaso for the appropriate forms and more information.

It is never too late to learn or update food safety and preservation skills. The Colorado State University (CSU) Cooperative Extension Office in El Paso County is offering a Master Food Safety Advisor (MFSA) program this year. The classes will be held on the following Thursdays in May and June: May 3, 10, 17, 24 and June 7, 14 and 21. The MFSA classes will take place at the CSU Extension Office, 305 South Union Boulevard. The cost for the program is $75 and registration is required.

This program will provide participants with over 30 hours of training on the proper methods of canning, freezing, drying, making jams and jellies, pickling and basic food safety. Participants will be able to put these methods into practice and gain confidence in their abilities to safely preserve. Upon completion, participants will be asked to continue learning and sharing the information with others in their communities through volunteer work. In 2006, volunteers spent 962 hours assisting 1, 490 people with information by answering consumer questions, providing information at local Farmer’s Markets, conducting classes, preparing displays and writing articles for newsletters that reach residents throughout Colorado.

To reserve a spot for the program, please call 719-636-8920 or look on the website at www.coopext.colostate.edu/elpaso for the appropriate forms and more information. In order to ensure that all supplies are available for training, all applications must be in by April 20.

Taxpayers have until Tuesday, April 17, 2007 to file their 2006 Colorado income tax returns and pay any taxes due. This is the same due date for filing 2006 federal income tax returns.

The 2006 Colorado income tax booklets and forms that you may have available in your libraries were finalized, printed and distributed before this change went into effect. The original due date of April 16 is printed on forms and instructions. This extended deadline of April 17 now applies. While Colorado has a six-month extension of time to file returns (the six-month extension deadline is Monday, October 15), any tax owed is also due on or before Tuesday, April 17.

For additional information, visit http://www.revenue.state.co.us/TPS_dir/wrap.asp?incl=April172007Extend

Colorado Department of Revenue Taxation
www.TaxColorado.com

“Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.” If you are like me, those words changed your life when you read Slaughterhouse-five. And if you are like me, hearing that Kurt Vonnegut passed away yesterday was like a knife to the heart. So it goes.

The first book I read by Vonnegut was Breakfast of Champions on a Greyhound ride home from a botched summer adventure my first year in college. I read the whole thing in one sitting and cackled like a crazy person the whole time.

I also had the good fortune of hearing Vonnegut speak at the Tattered Cover in Denver many years later for the publication of Timequake. He was showing his silk-screens and I remember being surprised that not only was he a prolific writer, but a prolific artist as well.

But what is most important about Kurt Vonnegut, is his legacy of great works of American literature, which helped redefine 20th century fiction. That, and his sense of humor.

“Poo-tee-weet?”

Works by and about Kurt Vonnegut in the Catalog.