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

September

• Labor Day is September 4
• International Talk Like a Pirate Day is 19 September
• World Peace Day is 21 September
• Deaf Awareness Week is September 18-24
• Yom Kippur begins on September 24
• Library Card Sign-up Month
• National Hispanic Heritage Month through October 15

October

• LGBTQ History Month
• Filipino American History Month
• Cybersecurity Awareness Month
• International Day of Older Persons is October 1
• Let Freedom Read Week is October 1-7
• Indigenous Peoples’ Day is October 9
• National Friends of the Library Week is October 15-21
• Halloween is October 31

November

• NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)
• International Games Month
• National Native American Heritage Month
• Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month
• Dia de los Muertos is November 1
• Thanksgiving Day is November 24

Programming

• Plant Swap Program at Coeur d’Alene Public Library
• Grandparents Day Celebration at Twin Falls Public Library, September 9th
• Death Cafe at Moscow Public library

Professional Development

• The Affordable Connectivity Program Certification program will equip you with the knowledge and resources to support households and patrons to enroll in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and sign up for a high-speed home internet plan. Upon completion of this course, you will be a certified ACP enrollment specialist.
• Webinar – “Are jokes about getting older getting old?” 9/13/2023 from Changing the Narrative. In this workshop, explore how humor can disguise ageism, which impacts our ability to stay employed, the quality of healthcare, and even how long we live. You’ll learn how ageist humor can reinforce prejudices against older people in our society and is harmful.
• The Idaho Library Association Annual Conference is in Twin Falls this year, October 5-6, with preconference sessions on the 4th. Hope to see you there!

Resources

• Article – “8 tips for knitting, crocheting and quilting with arthritis”
• Death Cafes – from Moscow Public Library’s event description – “At a Death Café people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. Our objective is ‘to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives’. A Death Café is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session.”
• Funding – Creative Aging Program – We were joined in a recent adult services LITT by Laura Roghaar from the Idaho Commission on the Arts who shared about Lifetime Art’s upcoming funding and professional development opportunity.
  • recording of the discussion (30 minutes)
  • slides
  • One-sheet summary: Seeking Host Libraries for Advancing Creative Aging in the Western States
  • Host libraries will be chosen by the end of September. If you are interested, contact Laura Roghaar, Arts Learning Services Director, at laura.roghaar@arts.idaho.gov.