Dear Community Friends and Partners,
In March, we made the tough decision to close Denver Public Library to keep our staff and customers safe and healthy. Since then, we’ve launched a variety of virtual programs and services to keep our community engaged during the pandemic. We are learning, growing and adjusting to serve you virtually and are excited to continue to find new ways to connect with our community. We’ve also maintained the majority of our behind the scenes work that is necessary to keep our library system going.
As the City of Denver begins to reopen, we know you are anxious about when Denver Public Library will reopen. At this time, we do not have an opening date.
We have been working with our internal teams to develop a phased approach to reopen and will continue to work with the Mayor’s Office and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment to ensure our approach is safe for staff and customers. We must continue to exercise precaution and will take the lead from the City and public health experts. Our priority is and will continue to be the safety and health of our staff and customers.
Reopening in a safe way is complex. Our libraries are community hubs that attract over 4.1 million visits a year. At the Central Library alone, we welcome approximately 2,500 customers daily. Social distancing and limiting the number of individuals in our locations will be challenging. This pandemic will change the way we do business and the library will look different once we reopen. What won’t change is our mission to create welcoming spaces where all are free to explore and connect. We believe in a strong community where everyone thrives and we will continue to work to create that kind of community in Denver.
We know people need us and we are looking for ways to continue to be present for our community. For example, we are working on the logistics for curbside pick up and other ways to give you access to our resources. We miss seeing you and look forward to seeing you back in our locations soon. We’ll provide an update in the next several weeks about how we plan to reopen.
In the meantime, I encourage you to visit us online to continue taking advantage of all of the services you can access while our buildings are closed. We also invite you to follow us on social media for the latest updates and promotional announcements regarding the library. You can also sign up to receive one of our newsletters for highlights about upcoming programming, services and library news.
In partnership,
Michelle Jeske
City Librarian, Denver Public Library
We will update this site with information as it comes. For more information please visit the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.