Looking over my 2026 property tax bill, I was surprised to see that I pay a whole $43 per year as my contribution to my Ruby Sisson Library. In return for this meager fee, the equivalent costs of two lunches in a local restaurant, I check out hundreds of books per year, download endless ebooks and audiobooks, and use the fastest internet in town.
This is the library where I will continue to enjoy outstanding public programming, bring my grandchildren for storytimes and summer reading events, get personal help with my confusing technology devices, notarize my last will and testament, and continue to learn anything I want to know until I take my last breath with the help of smart, caring library staff.
There’s a reason we call the library the best bargain in town. It is.
Ruby Sisson Library is a special district library. We tax local property to fund our library at a rate of 1.5 mills, the lowest tax rate of any library district in the state of Colorado. That tax provides basic library service and little more. Yet with the help of generous community members and herculean efforts to secure grant funding, we have made terrific strides.
Over the past 18 months we’ve completely overhauled our collections, weeding out torn and worn out copies and replacing them with fresh new materials. We’ve invested in more large print and classic literature. Our bookshelves are brimming every month with new selections. With help from a collections grant from the Colorado State Library, we added Overdrive ebooks and eaudiobooks and retained CloudLibrary collections. A local benefactor helped us replace our dying staff computers and another grant helped us grow our after-school tutoring program for elementary school students.
As we get closer to opening the new wing on our library, I am reminded about just how much this community loves its library. To everyone who has contributed to our building campaign, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. With your help, we have avoided asking our taxpayers to fund the library expansion. But we’re still short, and time is running out. If you’ve been considering a gift, now is the time to reach out to us. Any gift, large or small, is welcomed with grateful hearts.
For more information, please contact Katie Dobbins, Ruby Sisson Memorial Library Foundation, at (970) 264-2102 or foundation@pagosalibrary.org, or Barb Brattin, library director, at (970) 264-9360 or director@pagosalibrary.org.
Thank you.
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.
Construction update
Electrical, plumbing and mechanical elements of the building are finished and have passed inspection. Our storefront is installed and the clerestory windows are going in. Insulation and drywall began this week. Follow us on Facebook for periodic pictures of progress.
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.
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.
Online author talks
Our free online author talks with New York Times bestselling authors continue in February with new authors.
On Feb. 24, join us for “Smithson’s Gamble: The Incredible History Behind the World’s Largest Museum” with Smithsonian curator emeritus Tom Crouch.
Watch live on Zoom or via a recording later this month.
For details and to register, go to https://libraryc.org/pagosalibrary/upcoming.
Ruby’s Book Club
Ruby’s Book Club is held the second Tuesday of each month, alternating between fiction and nonfiction titles. 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.
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.
English as a second language classes expand
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 fiction
• “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” by Shehan Karunatilaka, described as “a satire set amid the murderous mayhem of the Sri Lankan civil war.”
• “Orbital” by Samantha Harvey, a novel about a day in the lives of six people hurtling through space, described by Anthony Doerr as a “remarkable, gorgeous novel.”
• “Ice to Water,” a novel by M. Jackson, a geographer and glaciologist, about a woman who discovers a rare ice cave on her property in Alaska.
• “That Kind of Girl” by Jacey Bici. Cover blurb: “She’s moving up and wants it all. He wants the unthinkable in return.”
Notable nonfiction
• “Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World” by Julia Rothman.
• “In the Lateness of the World,” poems by Pulitzer Prize finalist Carolyn Forche
• “5-Ingredient Mediterranean Cookbook: Amazingly Healthy Quick-Fix Meals.”
• “Neptune’s Fortune: The Billion-Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish Empire” by Julian Sancton.
New in large print
• “Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck,” listed as one of the best books of the year by NPR.
• Alice Feeney’s “My Husband’s Wife,” a new thriller from the prolific writer.
• Colleen Hoover’s “Woman Down,” a novel based on Hoover’s short story “Saint.”
• Freida McFadden’s “Dear Debbie,” starring a vengeful advice columnist.
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