In my 35 years as a public librarian I can say with confidence that I have never heard anyone complain about funding a public library. Not the people who use a library, not the people who don’t.
Even in Telluride, where it was common to hear the library building jokingly called the Taj Mahal, alluding to a 20,000-square-foot building built for 2,000 people, I would hear the same people claim with pride that it was their vote that broke the tie to build a new library. (The library ballot question won by two votes.)
In 2007, a county in rural Oregon voted to close down their library when timber revenue plummeted. Yet several years later the library district was reformed and refunded.
That’s because libraries, like schools, symbolize hope. Is there any more democratic institution? No matter what your circumstances, no matter whether you struggled in school or dropped out entirely, whether you came from money or barely got by, you can learn anything and become anything with a free library card. That’s hope. That’s promise. That’s freedom.
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg studied neighborhoods in Chicago and New York City with high rates of survival during crises like blackouts or floods, and found that, where there was a cohesion created by social institutions, there was much greater resilience.
“Investing in social infrastructure—physical places like libraries, parks, and community centers,” says Klinenberg in his 2019 bestseller, “Palaces for the People,” “is crucial for combating inequality, polarization, and social isolation.”
Klinenberg’s study verifies what we all know: Investment in the public good is an investment worth making.
Investment in your Ruby Sisson Library is an investment worth making. As we prepare to open a newly expanded library building in August, we need your investment. Investment in a makerspace where teens will learn the technology they need to compete in a tech-driven job market. Investment in a children’s garden where children will learn to grow their own food and care for the earth. Investment in a community room where we can all come together to learn from each other.
Investment in the library is investment in the future of Pagosa Springs. Won’t you join our capital campaign and build a future we can all believe in?
Contact Katie Dobbins at (970) 264-2102 or Barb Brattin at (970) 264-9360 to get started.
Thank you.
Construction update
Insulation and drywall will continue for the next several weeks. You’ll see more exterior activity as winter transitions to spring.
The building should be ready sometime in August, and our grand opening is tentatively set for Labor Day weekend.
Follow us on Facebook for periodic pictures of progress.
Collecting for local food banks
If you have an extra can or two of food you can share, or some dried food in sturdy packaging, please bring it to the library. Our local agencies will pick up and distribute the food to where it’s needed.
Tax forms and booklets available
Pick up Colorado tax forms and booklets, as well as federal 1040 and 1040A forms and instructions.
GED by appointment only
As we gear up for the grand opening of our new library space, we’re taking a break from regular GED hours. If you are working toward your general education degree or a high school equivalency exam, or if you could use a tutoring session to help you with your educational goals, give the library a call at (970) 264-2209 and we’ll connect you with our instructor.
Colorado Parks Passes for checkout
It may seem like the wrong time of year to visit Colorado state parks, but with our mild winter, why not get outside and enjoy the parks’ off-season?
The Ruby Sisson Library has free Colorado Parks passes for checkout that include a backpack with nature guides, binoculars and fun activities. Reserve yours today.
New Tumblemath for kids
Ask AI if good readers are good at math, and here’s the answer you get: “Yes, good readers are often good at math because reading skills like comprehension, vocabulary, and logical reasoning are crucial for understanding word problems, mathematical language, and complex concepts, with strong early reading ability being a key predictor of later math success. Both subjects rely on creating mental images, using context, and persevering through challenges, and brain areas used for reading are also involved in math tasks like multiplication, showing a deep connection.”
That’s the idea behind the library’s brand new online offering for kids, Tumblemath. Kids can learn math concepts through fun picture books that tell the story of why math works.
Concepts range from basic addition all the way through geometry for older readers. You can find Tumblemath in our digital library on the alphabetical list or in the homework section.
Meet us out in the community
Now that we have much less space for our operations and no meeting rooms during construction, several of our regular activities and special events are happening in other locations.
Please check the listings in this column and on your library’s website, pagosalibrary.org, for location changes throughout the construction. If no other location is mentioned, the activity will stay at your library.
Activities calendars
Pick up monthly calendars at the library or check the website, https://www.pagosalibrary.org/events-calendar, so you don’t miss any of the free programs, events and activities available to you and your family.
Online author talks
Our free online author talks with New York Times bestselling authors continue in March with new authors.
On March 12 at 5 p.m., join for “Book Portals and Journeys of Literary Magic” with Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of “The Alice Network” and “The Rose Code.”
On March 24 at noon will be “America’s Failed Response to the Opioid Crisis” with author Shoshana Walter and special guest host Barbara Kingsolver.
Watch live on Zoom or via a recording later this month.
For details and to register, go to https://libraryc.org/pagosalibrary/upcoming.
Conversational Spanish
The Conversational Spanish group continues on Mondays from 4 to 5 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church at 225 S. Pagosa Blvd. This is a great opportunity to practice your Spanish in a free, friendly group setting. No minimum skill level is needed.
Ruby’s Book Club
Ruby’s Book Club is held the second Tuesday of each month, alternating between fiction and nonfiction titles.
Our March title is “Educated,” a bestselling 2018 memoir by Tara Westover about her journey from a survivalist family in rural Idaho, where she received no formal education, to earning a Ph.D. from Cambridge University.
Anyone is welcome to attend.
During construction, it takes place at the new Harman Park Transit Center, 83 Harman Park Drive, next to the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office.
Family storytime
Wednesdays from 10 to 11 a.m., join a free educational hour of reading, singing and free play to build early literacy skills.
Elementary school tutoring
Free after-school tutoring for first through third grades takes place on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Registration is required because of limited space, so call your library now at (970) 264-2209 to enroll your child.
This invaluable tutoring involves one-on-one and small-group help for math, literacy, writing and spelling.
Note that because of construction at the library these sessions will take place at the elementary school.
Writers Guild
Thursdays from 9 to 11 a.m., Ruby’s Writers Guild welcomes writers looking for support, guidance, resources and camaraderie with other writers at this free gathering.
During construction the group will meet at the Pagosa Senior Center, 451 Hot Springs Blvd. Enter through the left side of the building.
Tech Time
Free in-person slots are available from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursdays. Taylor helps with basic questions relating to computers, smartphones and tablets and also provides assistance in accessing the library’s online resources. No appointment is needed, but please bring your device’s charger and passwords with you.
English as a second language classes
Free in-person classes happen on Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays from 3 to 5 p.m. and Thursdays, from 4 to 6 p.m. for students of all levels at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 225 S. Pagosa Street. Please help us pass the word about these classes.
New books collections brimming with interesting titles
For a full list of new titles and to reserve your copy, go to www.pagosalibrary.org and choose New Items under the Quicklinks menu.
New nonfiction
• “What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs” by Sharman Apt Russell.
• “The Journey of Desire: Searching for the Life You’ve Always Dreamed Of” by John Eldridge.
• “Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Gate of Expansion” by Elliott West. (Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history.)
• “Dollars and Dominion: US Bankers and the Making of a Superpower” by Mary Bridges.
New fiction
• “The Land in Winter” by Andrew Miller, winner of the Booker Prize in 2025.
• Robert B. Parker’s “Big Shot.” Policeman Jesse Stone becomes the main suspect in an investigation into the death of a nemesis.
• “The Promise” by Damon Galnut. The story of three siblings in a changing South Africa.
New audiobook westerns
• “Wind Walker” by prolific western writer Terry C. Johnston, book nine in The Titus Bass Series.
• “The Missing” by Thomas Eidson. A novel of the American West, about a young woman raising her two daughters in “an isolated and lawless wilderness.”
• “Rowdy,” book one in the Wild and Mean, Sharp and Keen series from Chris Mullen, follows 13-year-old Rowdy as he journeys alone from his home on the Mississippi toward Lincoln, N.M.
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