In collaboration with Cortico, PBS Frontline and the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC), the Teen Dialogue Accelerator Grant opportunity was posted on the American Library Association website this fall.
Cortico, a nonprofit organization focused on AI technology, was founded in 2016 by an MIT professor and two colleagues “to address this challenge: to build better civic spaces for listening, and to create tools that support more meaningful, inclusive, and direct dialogue. Their belief was simple but powerful: to understand people—what they care about, why they feel what they feel—you have to talk with them, not about or at them.”
The Teen Dialogue Accelerator Grant was offered to 10 public libraries across the U.S to become “hubs of youth-led civic dialogue.”
Ruby Sisson Library has been chosen as an awardee and has graciously accepted this opportunity. The grant awards libraries $14,000 and a stipend for travel.
The grant will require five to seven hours per month by a library staff member and three to five hours per month for a chosen youth fellow, age 16 to 24 years old. The fellow’s position will receive an hourly stipend. We have chosen Reagan Van Atta, a high school junior, library volunteer and honor student.
Cortico’s vision is to: Talk in small groups sharing personal stories. Understand patterns across communication through recordings and AI assisted tools. Share “media outputs that incorporate real voices and data-driven insights to build understanding grounded in listening.”
Their platform “helps communities and organizations engage in real conversations that surface personal stories, uncover shared experiences, and inform more connected, human-centered decisions.”
The small-group talks with youth, ages 16-24 years, will be recorded and focus on topics, chosen by that group, around civic identity, democracy, immigration, AI and the future of work. All underage youth will need permission from their parents to participate.
The grant training is continuous and centers on six hours of online work in November, continuing self-study and a day-long seminar in January at the MIT CCC. A technology team, a youth fellow mentor and a program lead mentor are available throughout the program as questions arise.
The timeline of the grant is January through May 2026, during which time we will hold five or more small group dialogue sessions, and May through July 2026, when we will all share our findings and media outputs locally and nationally.
This opportunity will open up the chance for local and national exposure for the Ruby Sisson Library and, most importantly, offer our young people a venue to voice and explore their thoughts, values, listening and collaboration skills.
Contact judy@pagosalibrary.org with questions.
Next legal clinic Nov. 12
The Ruby Sisson Library provides access to many services you might not know about. We have a notary public on staff, and we offer virtual appointments with attorneys by appointment.
Our next legal clinic is scheduled for Nov. 12 with 20-minute appointments available between 2 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. via phone.
We began taking reservations Nov. 1 for the Nov. 12 appointments. Call the library at (970) 264-2209 to schedule. The next scheduled sessions are on Dec. 10, with sign-up beginning Dec. 1.
New York Times Sunday edition now available in print
Come spread out with the New York Times (NYT) Sunday edition, then indulge in the NYT Magazine and shop your next great read via the NYT Book Review. Weekly editions arrive on Wednesday afternoons through the U.S. mail. Need more time? Check out last week’s paper and enjoy it at home.
Don’t forget, your library card gives you access to the daily edition of the New York Times through our digital library.
Construction update
We have a steel frame that outlines the new entrance on the west side of the library and the library addition that will house two activities rooms and a new children’s room.
If the weather cooperates, we will have a roof on the new addition by Thanksgiving. May the sun shine until then.
Activity locations
Now that we have much less space for our operations and no meeting rooms during construction, several of our regular activities and special events are happening in other locations.
Please check the listings in this column and on your library’s website, https://pagosalibrary.org, for location changes throughout the construction. If no other location is mentioned, the activity will stay at your library.
Activities calendars
Pick up monthly calendars at the library so you don’t miss any of the free programs, events and activities available to you and your family.
Online author talks
Our free online author talks with New York Times bestselling authors continue in November with three talks scheduled for you to watch live on Zoom or via a recording later in the month.
For details and to register, go to https://libraryc.org/pagosalibrary/upcoming.
Novelist Amanda Peters (“The Berry Pickers”), Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Charles Duhagg (“The Power of Habit”) and memoirist Joseph Lee (“Nothing More of This Land”) highlight this month’s offerings.
Conversational Spanish
The Conversational Spanish group will meet Mondays in November from 4 to 5 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church at 225 S. Pagosa Blvd. This is a great opportunity to practice your Spanish in a free group setting. No minimum skill level is needed.
Ruby’s Book Club
Ruby’s Book Club will meet from 2 to 3 p.m. on Nov. 11 to discuss “Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune” by Anderson Cooper. Copies are available at your library.
This free book club for adults is held the second Tuesday of each month, alternating between fiction and nonfiction titles. Anyone is welcome to attend.
During construction, it is taking place at the new Harman Park Transit Center, 83 Harman Park Drive, next to the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office.
Family storytime
Wednesdays from 10 to 11 a.m., join a free educational hour of reading, singing and free play to build early literacy skills.
Elementary school
tutoring
Free after-school tutoring for kids in first through third grade takes place on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Registration is required because of limited space, so call your library now at (970) 264-2209 to enroll your child.
This invaluable tutoring involves one-on-one and small-group help for math, literacy, writing and spelling.
Note that because of construction at the library these sessions will take place at the elementary school.
Writers Guild
Thursdays from 9 to 11 a.m., Ruby’s Writers Guild welcomes writers looking for support, guidance, resources and camaraderie with other writers at this free gathering.
During construction the group will meet at the Pagosa Senior Center, 451 Hot Springs Blvd. Enter through the left side of the building.
Tech Time
Free in-person slots are available from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursdays. Taylor helps with basic questions relating to computers, smartphones and tablets and also provides assistance in accessing the library’s online resources. No appointment is needed, but please bring your device’s charger and passwords with you.
English as a second
language classes
Free in-person evening classes happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m. for students of all levels at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 225 S. Pagosa Blvd. Please help us pass the word about these classes.
Pagosa Adult Learning Services (PALS)
Join Mark or Sally for free individualized PALS sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. to help with high school equivalency, GED, college prep, financial aid, tutoring and more. No appointment is necessary.
New to collection
Readers are invited to place a hold on any of these new titles in advance of their availability. A full list of new titles as well as reading recommendations can be found under the Quick Links section of our website, www.pagosalibrary.org.
New in large print
“My Beloved” by Jan Karon, “End Game” by Jeffrey Archer, “No Roast for the Weary” by Cleo Coyle, “Santa’s Holiday Spectacular” by Fern Michaels and “The Silver Hills Boarding House” by Linda Lael Miller.
New nonfiction
“Writing as a Way of Life” by Brian Morton, “Surviving the Trail: Five Essential Skills to Prepare Every Hiker for Adventure’s Most Common Perils,” biography “John Lewis” by David Greenberg, “Naturally Nourished Kids,” “Ozzy Osbourne: Last Rights,” “Designing the Lush Dry Garden” and “Happy Nordic Knits.”
Other novels
“Fiend” by Alma Katsu, “The Girl from Devil’s Lake” by J.A. Jance, “The Impossible Fortune” by Richard Osman, “Denied Access” by Vince Flynn, “The Wilderness” by Angela Flournoy and “Last Light Over Galveston” by Jennifer Wright.
Website
For more information on library books, services and programs — and to reserve books, e-books, books on CD and DVDs from the comfort of your home — please visit our website at pagosalibrary.org.
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