75 Years of helping Garfield County thrive

 Welcome to the 75th year of Garfield County Libraries! We are so pleased to have made so much progress in the past few years and are proud of our new facilities and growing collections. Whether you are looking for print or digital resources, computer access or wifi, or attending a fifth day program, we know you are finding your local public library to be the “go to” place in town. While we look to our past over the coming year, we believe that it’s essential to keep an eye on our future. That means we will continue to upgrade technology, have cutting edge resources and support for you and your devices. Keep an eye out at your local branch for 75th year challenges, book lists and contests! We’ll be having fun with our anniversary throughout 2013.
The District has been very focused on construction for the past three years, and this trend will continue into late 2013. You should see all six libraries open by October of this year, and with that will come the next phase in our growth and renewal. While new, larger facilities are a big part of our long-range plan, so is making sure that we can operate those facilities into the future. While we are still feeling the effects of a downturned economy, and we are hoping that once this is over, the District can get back on track.
We are still recovering from a state refund of sales tax to the Natural Gas industry that reduced our revenues in 2011 and 2012 by over $700,000. We still expect to see additional withholding of tax revenues up to an additional $500,000, and we are hoping to see some small growth in 2013 as this refund ends. As you may already know, sales tax is only part of the picture. Luckily, the voters gave the District one mill of property tax for 20 years starting in 2007 that we are using as our capital funds, and these funds are also helping bridge the gap between income and expenditures in our new facilities. We believe we can keep the libraries in Garfield County strong thanks to this income stream and build up reserves as the property tax sunsets in 2027.
How can we help you thrive in 2013? Are you looking for work? Are you hoping to learn a new language? Would you like to improve your computer skills? Do your kids need something to do when school is out? We want you to turn to your local public library for help. We offer programs and classes, print and digital resources, and state-of-the-art facilities to each of our communities. Our only job is helping you find what you are looking for and our highly trained staff is here to help.
As always, I value your feedback. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts, whether through our online contact form, suggestion boxes at all six branch locations, or by email at ashelley@gcpld.org.
- Amelia