The Boulder JCC is collaborating with the Louisville Public Library to enhance their Jewish offerings. On June 7th, JCC staff donated 100 PJ Library books and CD’s to the Louisville Library. The purchase of these materials was made possible thanks to a grant from Roots and Branches Foundation, an initiative of Rose Community Foundation. The books and CD’s are aimed at children ages birth through thirteen and will soon be in circulation.

The new collection will be unveiled at a kick-off event for Jewish story times on August 26th at the Louisville Library. PJ Library story times will be held once a month on Sunday afternoons at 4 pm from August through March.

Adrienne Gass, Childrens’ Librarian at the Louisville Library, is excited to work with the Boulder JCC on this project. She shared that,

It is sometimes difficult [for a library] to find good multicultural books because so few are published. To be given all these PJ Library books from the Boulder JCC for our collection is wonderful! Every community benefits from learning about other cultures, and through these books and the Jewish story times that [Boulder JCC librarian] Lisa Webber will run at the Louisville Public Library, the children of Louisville can do just that. Jewish culture is rich with tradition and has some of my favorite funny and interesting folk stories. I can’t wait for the first program!”

The donated books and CD’s and monthly Jewish story times are part of a larger initiative the Boulder JCC is running in Louisville. Also included in this initiative is a presence at the Downtown Louisville Street Faire and a family-friendly Shabbat celebration in early 2013. Last Friday was the first day of the weekly Street Faire and nearly 10 families showed up for a pre-festival Shabbat experience at a local park and close to 100 visitors stopped by the JCC booth. The JCC is increasing its offerings in East Boulder County in advance of opening a new building in 2014 that will be more easily accessible by Louisville and Superior residents.