ICfL staff members have had their eyes out for relevant stories, tools, and tricks so you don’t have to. We hope you find these resources useful and inspiring. Enjoy!

Calendar

February

• Black History Month
• Low Vision Awareness Month
• American Heart Month
• National Library Lovers Month
• World Read Aloud Day is February 7
• Valentine’s Day is February 14

March

• Women’s History Month
• National Nutrition Month
• March 19th is the First Day of Spring

April

• National Deaf History Month
• Jazz Appreciation Month and you can Idaho’s own Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival is a great way to celebrate
• National Poetry Month and some programming ideas form Poetry Out Loud
• National Arab American Heritage Month
• Money Smart Week has retired!
• April 24nd is Earth Day

Programming

• Twin Falls Public Library had an on trend mocktail event, Mocktails and Trivia!
• St. Maries Public Library shared a post where they celebrated the top readers of 2023
• Caldwell Public Library is offering weekly Tai Chi & Qigong classes
• Meridian Library District is offering a monthly Memoir Book Club

Professional Development

• Webinar – How to host a community scanning day from the Northeast Document Conservation Center
• Webinar, 2/14 10am MT – Cultivating and Sustaining the Relationship-Driven Library from Niche Academy
• Webinar – Libraries Foster Social Connection: Responding to the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation from WebJunction

Resources

• Tips for filing your taxes – from AARP and remember, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide provides in-person and remote tax assistance free of charge to anyone, with a special focus on taxpayers who are 50 or older or who have low to moderate income. 
• Apply for Community Challenge Grant through AARP – AARP Idaho is inviting local eligible organizations and governments across the state to apply for the 2024 AARP Community Challenge grant program, now through March 6, 2024. Grants fund quick-action projects that help communities become more livable in the long-term by improving public spaces, transportation, housing, civic engagement, coronavirus recovery, diversity and inclusion, and more. Emmett Public Library was awarded a grant in 2022 for an outdoor locker system to extend access 24/7.
• Article – “5 ageist things people need to stop saying” from Psychology Today