Red Feather Library prepares for 2018 with positive changes

by Creed Kidd
Red Feather Lakes Community Library

Interested in your Library’s direction and progress? Then, through a well-known phrase, you need to follow the money because money, in tandem with effort, common sense, good sense as to what users such as you want and expect — and volunteerism – charts library direction, emphasis and service.

The library’s annual budget hearing is December, 13, 9:00a.m. for the proposed amended 2017 budget and 9:30a.m. for the proposed 2018 budget. The budget allows us to prioritize the services and efforts made in your behalf, meet obligations and support improvements.

You are welcome and encouraged to attend. If you’d like a copy of either – or both proposed budgets – please let us know by calling 970-881-2664 or emailing [email protected].

Happy to oblige.

Sustainable funding allows us to guarantee that new C.J. Box or Anne Hillerman or James Patterson or Philip Pullman or Sue Grafton title will be in-library and available on or near the date of national release. And, allows us to guarantee that the library will open daily at nine and close at six just about every day of the year.

Sorry, we do close for the Thanksgiving holiday  on Thursday and Friday, Christmas Eve, 2:00p.m., Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, as well as the occasional snow day.

However, we’ll be open and ready to help on Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day as well as other government holidays for your convenience.

But we’re ranging off-topic. Improvements planned for next year include re-carpeting the main floor area of the library, with the assistance of the invaluable and well-needed Friends of the Library. We will also address the low-pressure water issues during high library use.

You’ll see new books, DVDs and books on CD in the library next year and we’ll continue to run a great series of programs, ranging from weekly pre-schooler sessions through adult programming – coordinated history programs with the Red Feather Historical Society, weekly hikes and continued programing for all on Spring Break, Halloween and the Greening of Red Feather.

We anticipate a bang-up Summer Reading Program in 2018.

Sustainable services require sustainable income. That applies at the library as well as home or in business. For those doing estate planning or thinking of local benefit, a great way of both assisting the community as well as leaving an area mark is contributing to the library either through a trust or a direct donation.

The Red Feather Lakes Library Fund is an endowment established thirty years ago by the Stenzel Family and other associated, far-sighted local individuals with the intent of, over time, creating a sufficiently-sized fund that would allow the library to see significant interest income to offset the ups and downs of the day-to-day economy. We’re working on it, but still are a long way from that goal.

The sole purpose of this fund is support of the library. The sole purpose of the library is to support you, as user and resident, and support and sustain our community as a whole.