Elektra Greer, Nederland Library Director. Shakespearean. Biblical. Apocalyptic. Whatever your frame of reference, 2020 and its aftermath have left few of us unshaken. For me, solace and strength come from meaningful work and for that I must thank all of you for the privilege of serving this wonderful Nederland library community.

As I take time to look back over last year, while absorbing the shock and sadness of this year’s unfolding political events, I’m struck by the synchronicity of our library preparing to celebrate two big milestones at the end of this month. On January 30th, we will be commemorating both the 20 year anniversary of the creation of the Nederland Community Library District and the 10th anniversary of the building of our permanent library home. Over twenty years ago a small group of mountain library lovers had the prescience to galvanize the community to invest in a library, a full-service, locally-governed, tax-supported library. A library truly, of the people for the people. What these great forefathers and foremothers knew was that libraries are not just places of transactional book sharing, they are invaluable places of social infrastructure, learning, and trust. Has there been a time in recent memory when we’ve needed that more?

Ten years after the Nederland mountain community invested in library services, they came together again to invest in a permanent home for their library vision, an architecturally award-winning green building, that provides the necessary stability and communal space for learning and human connections to grow.  

Did it all come together easily? Fractious debates, threatening words, razor slim margins...sound familiar? But come together, it did.

Time has proven the wisdom of Nederland’s first visionary librarians who recognized that public libraries, as benign as they may seem to some, are actually an incredible leap of faith: faith that people and the institutions they create can be trustworthy. That investing in the common good is worthwhile. That solidarity and sacrifice are twins to liberty and freedom.  

This past year, our little mountain library showed its resilience to continue the long tradition of service through hardship. Frozen pipes and a caved-in roof only temporarily slowed down library staff and volunteers of the past, and the same has been true now of a pandemic. Adjustments have had to be made, but the vital infrastructure and work of the library continues: access to computers and the internet; access to reading and learning; and, perhaps most importantly, access to humans who want to help and serve.  

Below are some of the highs and lows we’ve weathered together this year:

2020 had us saying goodbye to several of our beloved patrons, who made our library space truly feel like a community living room. Their spirits will never leave us, and donated books in their honor keep them feeling close.

We’ve missed seeing many staff and volunteer members this year as Covid has kept us all physically distanced, but there have still been many virtual occasions to laugh together and find mutual support.

The suspension of our after-school children’s programs hit us all harder than we could have expected; the rush of energy and inquisitive mischief that breathes new life into the library at the designated 3 p.m. hour is missed, and we can’t wait for its return.  

No annual book sale??!! This felt a tragedy. A bit of perspective told us otherwise, but still, we missed it.  

No Frozen Dead Librarians coffin racing team. Just more time to get in shape and crush it next year! 

Despite many hard losses, there have been some very unexpected moments of joy and accomplishment this past year. And laughter. (Spicy Storytime, anyone?)  

We welcomed two new staff members and two new Board members to our library team; they have added expertise and panache!

Usage of our downloadable and streaming content has (not surprisingly) skyrocketed. Many of us (myself included) had resisted the siren call of digital until Covid, but we’re all learning it’s not an “either/or”.   

#Songsfromthe Stacks! For several years the library had been mulling over a #SongsfromtheStacks “tiny concert series” showcasing local talent and visiting musicians; Covid accelerated its fruition.  

Virtual programming has been more successful than we’d anticipated, and we intend to keep it as part of our regular offerings. Who knew talking food could be so fun on Zoom? Or Take & Make crafts?  

Positive feedback around curbside pick-up and home delivery means it’s here to stay. We all have times when Grab & Go works best in our schedules.  

In case you haven’t heard, NCL received national recognition and support in 2020 from EntreLib @theTable Pitch competition for our videography services (if you’re a small business or nonprofit in the area, contact us!) and the American Library Association, Libraries Transforming Communities Grant program.    

Prospector is coming to Nederland! Huh? If you’re not familiar with Prospector, it is a statewide resource-sharing system that will enable Nederland patrons to access over 3 million items from throughout Colorado and Wyoming, including materials from academic libraries. Pretty exciting stuff for a library community that started with a few hard-working volunteers and some boxes of donated books.

In closing, it’s always fun and insightful to know the top reads and views of the preceding year and so here we go (these items had the most physical circulations):

Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (Fiction)

Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (Nonfiction)

Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (Nonfiction)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (DVD)

Dragons Love Tacos (Picture Book)

Dog Man & Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Junior Fiction)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Junior DVD)

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan (Young Adult Fiction)

If you want a deeper dive into our statistics (circulating materials, library traffic, website traffic, programming numbers, budget), visit our monthly Board meetings, review Board meeting minutes, or simply contact us directly at nederlandlibrary@gmail.com. Nederland Community Library is your library!

(Originally published in the January 14, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)