Libraries in the News

Prisoners in Brazil will be able to shorten their prison sentences by reading and writing essays on what they've read.  To read more, click the link above.

A patron of our Rifle Branch Library has been riding his horse to the library and, on one visit, Facilities Manager Jerry Morris snapped a photo of the horse waiting patiently outside the library. That photo was recently featured in American Libraries magazine, a publication of the American Library Association. Way to go, Jerry!

The Garfield County Libraries recently launched a new app for smartphones and tablets, called GCPLD 2 Go. Learn more about it in this "Library Spotlight" column in the Glenwood Springs Post Independent, or direct your mobile browser to http://gcpld.boopsie.com. The site should recognize the type of device you're using and send you to the appropriate App Store for your operating system. The app is free and is supported on most platforms, including Apple, Android, and BlackBerry.

As the OccupyWallStreet protest movement has held firm and spread since its inception September 17, the northeast corner of Zuccotti Park (renamed Liberty Plaza by the protesters) in lower Manhattan has become the home for the budding revolution's People's Library.

Whether or not you agree with the protesters' message, this story caught our eyes because we believe that one of the cornerstones of public libraries is making information available to everyone.

Did you know that many public libraries lend more than books? This article from the Chicago Tribune outlines a few of the items you may not have realized are available from the library. In fact, the Garfield County Libraries offer e-books, high-speed internet, kilowatt meters, meeting space, live entertainment, entertainment media, online databases (linked from our Research page), instruction, and, of course, friendly librarians!

Tough times are getting tougher. Municipalities and organizations in Garfield County - including the library district - recently learned that an error in tax collection will cost them millions of dollars. Taxes were collected incorrectly on oil and gas "frac'ing" over several years in the mid-2000s; although the error was not made by the recipients of those tax funds, now they must repay the money.

E-readers are a great new way to enjoy reading. The Garfield County Libraries have downloadable ebooks through Overdrive which can be borrowed just like our printed books using your library card. In this article, Kyle Wagner of the Denver Post describes how he discovered e-readers as a way to cut down on travel clutter.

Occasionally the Glenwood Springs Post Independent features a Library Spotlight article about the Garfield County Libraries. In the latest installment, published January 3, Gordon Cooper Branch (Carbondale) librarian Mollie Honan outlines the various ways the library can help you achieve your New Year's resolutions.

Janet Lee, a librarian at Regis University in Denver, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia years ago. She returned in 2010 to establish a children's library with books donated from libraries across Colorado and across the U.S.

Some real-life Da Vinci code recently was discovered in a library in western France, according to this article from the English newspaper, The Telegraph. Who knows what other treasures lie waiting in library collections around the world? See what treasures lie in wait in your local Garfield County Library. And if this story whets your appetite for Dan Brown novels, here's a link to his works in our online catalog.