Dear Editor,

My memories of the early years of the Nederland Community Library usually feature the seven energetic members of the original Library Board who would formally meet twice or more a month to monitor what had been accomplished and what needed to be done next. And who would step forward to do it.

Sally Grahn called us together in the spring of 2000 to plan a campaign to determine if there was sufficient interest in the community to pursue creating a library district. In response to a mail questionnaire, 242 households replied “Yes,” and 12 said “No.” (Each returner used his own stamp!)

We decided to work toward putting a ballot issue before the voters to create a library district, which would give our little library which was operating on a shoestring with volunteer help a steady source of funding.

A call went out for volunteers for one task or another, and we were happily swamped with offers. Sally and I were joined on the original Library Board of Trustees by Sarah Triffleman, David Maslowski, and Pat Upczak. Rick Newman and Dale Porter soon joined. Though I was elected Board president, Sally provided the energy.

The town of Nederland gave us a small grant which gave us some credibility. By-laws were written and working committees were established. Behind the scenes two significant decisions were made: Using a 15¢ classroom compass, the boundaries for the proposed district were determined to be all properties within five miles of Nederland Town Hall (excluding government property and Gilpin County). The Boulder County Assessors office assisted in clarifying any ambiguities in the ballot question. Second, we agreed to name the library the Nederland Community Library. A “Public” library suggested a storehouse of materials ruled over by a few folks for the benefit of “the public.” We chose to view the library as a means to build the community it serves and grow with it.

Of course there were petitions to sign, documents to post, phone calls to make, out of town meetings to attend, weekly news articles to publish, donated materials to fetch, and furniture to make. Board members made several trips not only to the homes of willing book donors, but also to the basement of Boulder Public Library where several tons of metal shelving awaited those willing to lug the shelves and posts to Rick Newman’s underpowered pickup to make the trip up Boulder Canyon to house the books, plus scores of books on tape, and magazines.

Money was raised in various and creative ways (one board member raised $1,500 leaping into the fishing pond during a particularly cold Frozen Dead Guy Days event). At a town Thanksgiving dinner, a member of the community wrote out a check for $1,000 without being asked for a donation.

(How many of you remember the Money Box that sat in the entry to B&F Super Foods? It was large enough to hold at least a million pennies, and big enough for the Pompey sisters to climb in to gather the bills and coins that were donated by shoppers.)

 Finally, there was an election in the fall of 2002, which asked the community (1) to agree to create a library district and (2) to tax themselves a specific annual amount to support the library. A “Yes” vote on both issues was required. The election was not without controversy and contention.

Both ballot issues passed, with more than enough support from voters in the district. At the time, there were only two library districts in the state of Colorado, and libraries were supposed to be funded by city or county taxes. The idea of a separate library taxing district was unknown to the Boulder County Commissioners, and it took more than one meeting with them to convince them that we could legally establish the district.

Of course there were a number of criteria we had to meet in order to be considered a “real” library, starting with hiring a librarian. Marty Dick, a former school librarian, got a lot of the library infrastructure in place: cataloguing the collection, purchasing, training volunteers, etc. We had library cards to distribute: the rule was anyone who could write their name could have a card. Our youngest cardholder in the beginning was a precocious three-year-old.

The Colorado State Department of Education, which oversees libraries in the State, required at least one Internet access for public use. We had donations of dozens of computers, often with different components, platforms, etc. It took a while to sort them all out and find a couple of compatibles that we could link together. We went online with our catalog and partnered with other libraries in interlibrary loans.

We initiated several programs for the community: local authors gave talks; “Dr. Homework” was in residence several days a week to help with tough homework questions and projects. We worked hand in hand with homeschooling parents to see that the library had the resources that supported their different curricula.

We found time to establish The Nederland Community Library Foundation (more paperwork) that still supports fundraising on behalf of the library. We have trained four librarians since Marty Dick left. And we outgrew three library locations—two in the Community Center and one in the shopping center, each requiring moving thousands of books to the new facilities—before landing in the beautiful building across from the RTD ParkNRide.

Looking back, we accomplished more than anyone had a right to expect in the 18 months prior to the election and official establishment of the library. Back then, we celebrated that no longer was Nederland one of the 2% of towns in the country without a library. On January 30, we celebrate the voters and volunteers who enabled that library district.

Note: If you are interested in a detailed account of the first two years of the library, ask a librarian for a collection of newspaper articles in a folder titled ”Historical Record of the Nederland Community Library.”

Hughes Moir
Peak to Peak