Vision
A strong community where everyone thrives.
Mission
Together, we create welcoming spaces where all are free to explore and connect.
Values
- WELCOMING We make our resources, services and expertise accessible for all, recognize the inherent dignity in each person, and provide safe places where everyone can be themselves.
- CURIOSITY We foster a culture of exploration, innovation and forward thinking by creating environments that support learning and growth.
- CONNECTION We are neighbors. We foster relationships, listen and act to build and strengthen our community. We bring people together to share information, ideas and experiences.
- EQUITY We work to change inequitable practices, structures and policies, and attitudes that drive them, to provide opportunities for every person in our community to thrive. As we do so, we actively examine our roles in perpetuating oppressive systems.
- STEWARDSHIP We are accountable to our community, using our resources responsibly. We lead with honesty and integrity, protect privacy and preserve and share the full history of our Denver community.
Strategic Roadmap
In 2021 DPL introduced its Strategic Roadmap. The Roadmap came together through a collaborative process which included extensive staff and community engagement dating back to 2019. The Roadmap lays out three Strategic Themes with aligned objectives to guide the library to meet the needs of our evolving community.
Over the last three years, we have made significant progress toward meeting the objectives in the Roadmap. We’ve allocated resources to key initiatives via our annual Action Plans and have accomplished a lot over the last few years.
While we’ve made significant progress, we recognize we have more work to do to meet the ambitious objectives laid out in the Roadmap. Because of this, we have renewed our commitment to the Roadmap and have extended our existing Roadmap through 2024. This is a positive step forward that allows us to keep our momentum going on the key initiatives that will ensure we can continue to meet the needs of our evolving community.
How are we doing?
We’re pleased to share that you can now see the progress we’ve made in meeting the goals laid out in our Strategic Roadmap through our new interactive dashboard. This dashboard provides information on how we are doing on key indicators in the Roadmap. It will also be updated quarterly with information on how projects funded to meet the goals in the Roadmap are progressing.
A Strong Library Creates a Strong Community
The Denver Public Library completed a strategic planning process in 2021 to refresh its vision and mission and established a bold plan for how to best support Denver’s dynamic community. Equity is an important and necessary part of the agenda for the City and County of Denver and it is a key part of the library’s core values. As one of the few places in the city where all people, from all backgrounds and life circumstances are welcome to come free of charge, the library is a vital community resource and an important part of how we can create and grow opportunity for all Denver residents.
Denver voters passed measure 2i in November 2022 providing DPL with additional funding. Learn more on the Strong Library, Strong Denver page. As an independent agency of the City – neither fully a part of the City, nor fully independent – DPL is facing a unique set of governance challenges that hinder its ability to deliver on its mission. Last fall, DPL Friends Foundation convened a community task force to assess the financial resources and governance model DPL needs to fulfill this new mission and meet the demands of a changing Denver. Please read this memo to see the task force recommendations.
About the Library
The History of DPL
Organizational Structure
Annual Report and Budget
2023 Action Plan (pdf)
2021-24 Strategic Roadmap
2022 Youth Services 3 Year Outlook (pdf)
2018 Our Denver Report (pdf)
Facilities Master Plan (pdf)