The Poudre River Public Library District was established in 2006 by citizen vote, with the established Fort Collins Public Library as its foundation. It serves more than 177,000 people across northern Larimer County,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

including

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and Timnath. The district is governed by an all-volunteer board of trustees appointed by city and county officials. The current board, composed of seven experienced community leaders, began its work immediately after being appointed in March, 2007. The board is responsible for guiding the transition from a city library system to a broader library district; for overseeing library operations; and for developing a long-range vision for the district.

History

The Poudre River Public Library District was formerly known as both the Fort Collins Public Library and the Fort Collins Regional Library District. The library as an institution dates from the late 19th century when a collection was housed on South College Avenue in downtown. In 1903, the library acquired its first dedicated structure by a donation from philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. It was the sixth public library in the state. The Carnegie Library building, located in Library Park (formerly Lincoln Park) was used to house the library collection until 1974, when the current Old Town Library (formerly Main Library) was constructed on the east side of Library Park. The former Carnegie Library now houses the Fort Collins Museum. In 1998 a second branch, Harmony Library, was constructed on Harmony Road in southwest

. Harmony Library is a joint-use facility operated by

Front Range Community College Front Range Community College (FRCC) is a public community college with multiple campuses in Colorado. It has campuses in Westminster, Longmont, and Fort Collins, as well as centers in Brighton and Loveland. It is the largest community college ...

and the library district. In 2009 the district opened a third branch, Council Tree Library, in southeast Fort Collins at Front Range Village Shopping Center. The district has an extensive collection on the history of Fort Collins and Larimer County. The library holds about 270,000 items; its special local history archive moved to the nearby Fort Collins Museum of Discovery on April 1, 2007. Library use in Fort Collins climbed 30% between 2008 and 2013. In January, 2013, patrons of the district's libraries checked out 78,200 video and audio items. During 2013, 3.13 million items were checked out by the 140,912 cardholders, and foot traffic totaled 1.14 million across the three libraries. There were 15,328 new cardholders in 2013. In 2014, The Poudre River Public Library District partnered with Colorado State University to allow faculty, staff, and students access to the District's libraries using CSU-issued ID cards. In 2020, the district stopped assessing fines on overdue materials. Since 2016, the district has hosted the annual Fort Collins Book Fest with themes like Beer, Science, and Food.

Library branches and administrative buildings

* Old Town Library * Harmony Library * Council Tree Library * Webster House Administrative Center

Awards and recognition

* Urban Libraries Council Top Innovators in 2013 *Library Journal 3 Star Library 2020

References

External links

Poudre River Public Library DistrictBoard of Trustees
{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1903 Education in Fort Collins, Colorado Public libraries in Colorado Carnegie libraries in Colorado Education in Larimer County, Colorado