Adult Services | Learning

Program Spotlight: Teen D&D and Ladies D&D at Lone Cone Library

By Cristy Moran: Published on
Adult Services, Learning

We’ve asked libraries across Colorado to submit program they’ve run in the last year that they’re proud of and they want the rest of us to see and celebrate. Sharing stories in books is great… but what about our stories? The stories of the ways our libraries bring the community together, enrich the lives of our neighbors, and serve the people who live and work in our cities and towns.

Evan Allen, Circulation Staff Supervisor, answered our call and we’re excited to let them tell you about Lone Cone Library’s  Teen D&D and Ladies D&D  in their own words.

 

Library Name: Lone Cone Library District

City/ Town: Norwood, CO

Program Name: Teen D&D, Ladies D&D

Date/ Date Range of Program: Started August 27, 2022

Intended Audience: Teens and women/ ladies 12 and up (and anyone who wants to attend)

Description:

It’s been 2 years since I was given the go-ahead to start the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) program at the LCL. It has grown beyond what I could have imagined! I host it every week, and have two vibrant and wonderful groups that I run games for.

Our teen group brings pot-luck style food for each other every week and we have over a 100 hours of shared adventures, stories, and fun in the last two years. The ladies group is the most recent addition! Patrons requested this program and I was more than happy to oblige (several of my teen players wanted to play, but not with their brothers).

The request was immediately given the go-ahead by our Director and Program Coordinator as our Teen group was incredibly successful. So successful I had to put a limit on our group size and start a waiting list! Both groups convene for a big pot-luck miniature painting and boardgame party where we all share our experiences, stories, and painting techniques in a big D&D themed party whenever one group achieves a storyline milestone.

View Lone Cone Library’s D&D library resources and collection page for more ideas.

How did you come up with the idea for this program?

I have played D&D since I was a young tween, and I am a professional Dungeon Master online. We received a HUGE donation of rulebooks and materials from a gracious patron and I proposed it as a teen program to the Director and it’s been a success ever since!

What partners (if any) did you work with in developing or implementing this program?

Aside from patron donations and some funding from the patron program department, I run both groups weekly myself. The players who hire me to run D&D games from them offer amazing suggestions, and I’m lucky to play with and for some wonderful people.

What about this program did you find successful? How did you measure the success of this program?

Every week I have patrons coming in between game sessions asking about rules, stories, book suggestions, and even recipe suggestions. My players come to every game excited and bring wonderful treats and pot-luck meals to share with the group. I have several teens who are co-writing their own novel about the campaign story they created through our sessions and I can’t wait to read it!

 

Evan has permitted us to share their contact information so that anyone interested in reaching out to them about their program can do so. It is an incredibly generous offer of which you are invited to avail yourself if you’re inspired by their work and want to celebrate them or if you have questions about ways you can follow their lead.

To reach Evan, email them at evan@loneconelibrary.org

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Colorado State Library (and the readers of this point as well, no doubt) understands how time consuming, emotionally draining, costly (in so many ways), and challenging it can be to run a program or project. Sometimes they fail gloriously… sometimes they fail with barely a whisper. It can be hard to recover from that. You’ve worked so hard!… and it just didn’t work out. Be gentle with yourself. Self-reflect. Pick up the pieces. And then get to the next thing. It’ll be worth it.

For all those other times, be sure to celebrate. Brag about it! Feel good about yourself, the team that collaborated on your work, and the community members who participated with it. Celebrate your hard work and the value that you contribute to your community.

Tell us the story of your program just like this library did here. Submit your library’s program for a Program Spotlight featured here and shared as far as Colorado State Library news reaches.

Cristy Moran
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