DENVER — Starting Monday, improved resources and new community spaces will be available in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood as the Pauline Robinson Branch Library reopens at 10 a.m.
Over the past year and a half, work to renovate the location on Holly Street just north of M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard added new study rooms, improved areas for staff, and new spaces for kids and teenagers, according to the Denver Public Library. All of the renovations at this location were made possible through a 2017 voter-approved bond to renovate 11 branch locations.
Denver's City Librarian, Michelle Jeske, tells Denver7 that there will also be added features to recognize Pauline Robinson, Denver Public Library's first Black librarian.
"She was also a civil rights activist who fought for equal educational opportunities for black children. The public will get to see some art that features her, so I'm really excited about that," said Jeske. "The staff loves Pauline Robinson, and so I know they're going to have some sort of exhibit up to make sure that the community, if they don't know who this is, will get to learn about her when they come back."
The library will now have extended hours and will be open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed on Sundays.
Denver Public Library is holding a community celebration on Saturday, March 1, to celebrate the reopening of the branch location. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be family-friendly activities and music.
Monday's reopening comes as DPL releases its new six-year strategy plan, "Denver Here." Denver7 asked Jeske how this plan will better serve the community.
"It's really designed to help the community in all the ways that the Denver Public Library needs them. So we have three strategic themes that align with what we call our core services," she said.
- Be Here (our spaces): The focus is on public spaces and how everyone is welcome to use them.
- Discover Here (our collections and technology): What the community can benefit from the books, the online resources, computers and internet access available.
- Engage Here (our staff): The staff is what makes the library come alive for the community and helps people access other resources.
Denver's City Librarian tells Denver7 the strategy came together by listening to the community and learning what neighborhoods and staff believe libraries need to evolve in the next five to ten years.
"We also sought out voices that are a little bit harder to find, sometimes in normal focus groups. So people experiencing homelessness, for example, immigrants, and Refugees. So all of that input really helped us define what we need to be doing with these unique assets that we have," she said.
DPL says that while this is a six-year strategy, there is a one-year action plan to help the Library stay on track. Through a new dashboard, Jeske says the community can follow the plan's progress.
"I mean, it's a way for us to make sure that we are being the the best library that we can be and that we're being accountable to our taxpayers. We want to be really, really good stewards of both the taxpayer money that we receive, but also of these amazing buildings and these wonderful staff that we have. So it's kind of a guidepost for how we show up every day and what the work is needed to do. It helps teams align and employees align," said Jeske.
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