November 8th, 2017 - A Statement from the Clearview Library District Board of Directors
Last night, voters rejected ballot measure 5A which, if it had been approved, would have funded a new 35,000-square-foot Clearview Library District facility to serve the growing communities of Windsor, Severance, and West Greeley.
"We are disappointed," said Board President Joann Perko. "The new facility would have allowed the library to provide more resources and programs. Now, instead of expanding programs and resources to meet the demands of our community, we have to seriously consider how the limitations of our space will limit our services moving forward."
On Tuesday, voters rejected a mill levy increase to pay for the $25 million library district facility that, in addition to serving its current 23,000 residents, would have been designed to serve the community well for many years to come.
"We know that there is a community desire for the library to have more technology, a multipurpose community meeting room, a dedicated quiet space, collaboration spaces, and a more robust children’s area," Perko said. "As a Board we will be assessing where we go from here. What’s certain is that our community has outgrown our 3rd St. building and we must plan for how to provide outstanding library services into the future."
The Clearview Library District Board would like to thank the voters in our community for their thoughtful consideration of issue 5A. We also thank the Yes 2 Our Library campaign committee for their hard work to educate voters in the community. Our gratitude goes out to the library staff who volunteered countless hours outside of their work schedule to advocate for the new library; that includes our dedicated leader and director, Ann Kling.
In 2018, the Clearview Library District will publish a new strategic plan and decide how to proceed with the land it owns at the intersection of Greenspire Drive and East Main Street, near Main Street and Hollister Lake Road. You can keep up with library news and events at clearviewlibrary.org.
September 18, 2017 – Public Meeting Announcement
Join us on Monday, September 18, 2017 at 5:30 pm at the Windsor-Severance Library, 720 Third St., Windsor for the fourth meeting on the design of the new library.
The Clearview Library District and the Design Team have worked together to refine the exterior building & site design to meet the goals of the project and reflect the inspiration of the area. We are excited to update you on how the interior architecture will look & feel, and how it may help to serve the needs of the community.
Join us for light refreshments and an opportunity to further explore together!
Take a sneak peek at several of the new library interiors - links below are best viewed on a mobile device:
August 10, 2017 – Library Board Votes to Refer Funding for New Library to November Ballot
The Clearview Library District Board of Directors voted on Thursday, August 10, to refer a question to the November 2017 ballot asking voters for a mill levy increase to pay for the construction and operation of a larger, more central Clearview Library District facility. If funded by voters, a new $25 million, 37,000-square-foot facility will be built at the intersection of Greenspire Drive and East Main Street, near Main Street and Hollister Lake Road. This is the geographic heart of the Clearview Library District.
“There has been an influx of residents into Windsor, Severance, and West Greeley,” said Board President Joann Perko. “Today the library serves 23,000 residents and circulates twice as many items as it did just 10 years ago. In those same 10 years, the library has experienced a 770% increase in attendance at children’s library programs.”
The library has held three community meetings to obtain input from the community about the components and design of a new library. The public has been clear about its desire for more technology, a multipurpose community meeting room, a dedicated quiet space, collaboration spaces, a more robust children’s area, and outdoor spaces for everyone.
“We are proud of how many people we serve on a regular basis in our community. Over 25,000 people interact with the library every month,” said Perko. Perko also shared that more than 45,000 people attended library programs in 2016. “A new library will allow Clearview Library District to provide patrons with access to more resources, popular materials, and programs.”
A campaign committee in support of the new library has been formed, Yes 2 Our Library, and will begin its efforts to persuade voters about the need for a new library this fall. Community members interested in volunteering with the campaign should contact Joyce Johnson, 970-686-7836.
If voters approve the funding in November 2017, the library will open in 2019.
July 10, 2017 – Public Meeting Announcement
Join us on Monday, July 10, 2017 at 5:30 pm at the Windsor-Severance Library, 720 Third St., Windsor for the third meeting on the design of the new library.
The Library District and the Design Team have taken your feedback of the design options and have worked together to come up with a design direction for the floor plan and exterior for the new library. We are excited to share how the spaces have formed, how they interact with the outdoor spaces, and how the team has collaborated on a design direction as we move forwrd into the upcoming design phases.
Light refreshements will be served. Child care will be provided.
June 27, 2017 – Message from the Director
There is a lot of buzz about growth in our community, and there has been for many years now. The library, like other services in our area, is planning for how to best serve the influx of residents into Windsor, Severance, and West Greeley. We are grappling with how to serve 23,000 residents in a facility originally built to serve 10,000; how to keep up with the demands of circulating 386,932 items, more than twice the number of items we circulated just 10 years ago; and how to accommodate the 770% increase in attendance at children’s programs in that same timeframe.
As you may know, the Clearview Library District is considering a mill levy increase to pay for the construction and operation of a larger, more central library facility that will better serve the growing communities of Windsor, Severance, and West Greeley. A new 35,000-square-foot library facility would house state-of-the-art technology, a multipurpose community meeting room, a dedicated quiet space, collaboration spaces, a phenomenal children’s area, and outdoor spaces for everyone. It would also provide patrons with access to more resources, popular materials, and programs. Click here to read answers to frequently asked questions about the new library project.
The library has held two community meetings this year to get input from the community about the components and design of the new library. An additional meeting will take place at the library on July 10 at 5:30 P.M. The library board will decide in August whether to refer a question to the ballot this November. If voters approve the funding in November 2017, the library will open in 2019.
Current construction estimates put the cost of a new 35,000-square-foot facility at around $25 million. The cost to homeowners is estimated to be $5 a month for a $300,000 residential property. That $5 investment will go a long way. As public library champion Laura Bush said, “Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open.”
The Clearview Library District has a remarkable reach in the community. Over 25,000 people interact with the library every month. We offer an average of seven programs a day, 220 programs a month, and 2,600 programs a year. More than 45,000 people attended our programs in 2016. We have 85,000 items available for checkout, including books, magazines, graphic novels, music CDs, film and TV series DVDs, video games, tech toys, a guitar, explore kits, and more.
As other public services in our area expand to meet the local building boom and record enrollment in our schools, we believe it is just as important for our community’s library facility to be a comfortable and inviting place for people of all ages. We are proud to look to the future and create opportunities that will spark the diverse interests of our patrons. We offer both expected and unexpected ways for our patrons to explore, learn, and discover far into the future.
Adding to the excitement of the new library is its new location. The Clearview Library District purchased a property located at the intersection of Greenspire Drive and East Main Street, near Main Street and Hollister Lake Road (the geographic heart of our district). The space is large enough to accommodate a 35,000-square-foot facility and serve Windsor, Severance, and West Greeley. It will give the library more visibility in the community and provide patrons with convenient access and parking. We expect that by the time the new library is built, the area will be much more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly than it is today. The Town of Windsor’s strategic plan details its commitment to a thoughtful framework and supportive infrastructure, which includes a traffic and roadways initiative that will positively impact all of Main Street, including the future library site.
We intend to add the greatest value for the greatest number of citizens and community organizations in our area, which is why we have invited you to be a part of the design and construction process and will continue to do so. This will be your library, and we want to ensure that it meets your needs and expectations. Please join us for the next community meeting on July 10 at 5:30 P.M., or reach out to us to share your perspective at connect@clearviewlibrary.org.
Ann Kling
Director
Clearview Library District
May 17, 2017
“I'm encouraged and happy to see the Clearview Library keeping an eye on the future and looking for ways to better serve the community.” – Clearview Library District Patron, February 2017
Last month, we invited our community to imagine with us, what a 35,000-square-foot library facility would add to our community. You gave us a lot of great ideas! On May 17—5:30-7:30pm at the Windsor-Severance Library—we invite you back to look at concepts for inside spaces and outdoor areas. We’ll share our ideas, and ask for yours, to make the new library a useful, exciting and sustainable community destination. This is your opportunity to weigh in on a future library for our community. We need your help in putting forth a plan that will offer the biggest value for the money invested, and provide unique amenities and services in our area. We have the unique opportunity here to create a physical gateway to our community and usher in a new era of library services.
April 4, 2017
While other public services in our area build for the future, the Clearview Library District is also considering expansion options that will allow us to keep pace with our growing community. Join us on April 4, from 5:30-7pm, at the Windsor-Severance Library to weigh in on a future library for our community.
This meeting will be an opportunity to give your feedback on the amenities and resources you would want a new library to provide. We have hired an architecture firm to draw plans for a library to be located on property we own at Greenspire Drive and East Main Street, near Main Street and Hollister Lake Road. During the April 4 meeting, the architects will share information about the design process as well as the timeline. The Clearview Library District may ask voters to fund a new library through a ballot initiative this November.
February, 24, 2017
Update on a New Library for Windsor, Severance and West Greeley
Barker, Rinker, Seacat was approved as the Design Firm for the new library at the Feb. 23rd meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Clearview Library District. Library Staff and the Board’s Library Design Committee along with Dan Spykstra of Wember Associates will hold a kick-off meeting to discuss a plan of action and timeline for the design of the building on Monday, Mar. 6th. For more information on Barker, Rinker, Seacat, visit their website.
A Message from Clearview Library District Director, Ann Kling: December 21, 2016
The Clearview Library District has served its community for nearly a century. During this time, we have evolved from simply a place where people access popular materials and meet to discuss them, to a place that brings popular materials to the community online and via a bookmobile, and provides a space for children and adults alike to explore, learn, and discover through books and so much more.
If it has been a while since you visited the Library, I encourage you to stop by. You will find that, similar to other public amenities in our area, the demand for our services has grown and continues to grow by the day. Over the course of a month, 25,000 people visit the Library and we are quickly running out of space.
We are running out of shelf-space for resources our library patrons expect, as well as floor-space for the technology they want to utilize. We are running out of space to host popular programs, such as children’s storytimes and adult cooking and crafting events. We are running out of space that meets the diverse needs of our children and senior citizens and everyone in between.
We are not alone in this challenge and are taking our lead from other public services in our area that are building for the future. From a new Rec Center to a new high school in Severance, and the Innovation Center coming to Windsor High School―these projects show just how invested our community is in providing exemplary and modern public services and facilities that benefit citizens and add to our community’s exceptional reputation. These projects have inspired our Clearview Library District Board, staff, and Foundation to imagine what a 30,000-square-foot facility with, for example, state-of-the-art technology, a multi-purpose community meeting room, dedicated quiet space, and a phenomenal children’s area would add to our community.
One of the challenges we face in envisioning a new library is that land was not offered nor donated for the project. Instead, on December 15, 2016, the Library purchased a property located at Greenspire Drive and East Main Street, near Main Street and Hollister Lake Road. We have designated this area as a future library site, large enough to serve Windsor, Severance, and West Greeley and save us the overhead and maintenance costs that would come with multiple facilities.
We have taken to heart the town and school district’s extensive efforts in recent years to seek community input for their projects, and similarly, in the new year, we will invite all Clearview Library District citizens to weigh in. We will take feedback on what amenities and resources you want the new library to provide through a survey on our website and in-person community meetings. We will also be reaching out to our partners in the community (community clubs and organizations, the town and the school district, the faith community, and others) for suggestions on how a new library can serve their needs and for a discussion on future options for the library’s current facility (720 3rd Street), so it can continue to serve the community once we have relocated.
We know that our community values fiscal responsibility just as much as it values exemplary services. We are committed to putting forth a plan to the voters next November that offers the biggest value for the money invested, as well as amenities and services that cannot be found anywhere else in our community. We are intent on adding the greatest value to the greatest number of citizens and community organizations, public entities, and businesses in our area.
We look forward to hearing from you in the new year. In the meantime, please check our website for updates, and if you have comments and questions, send them to connect@clearviewlibrary.org.
Mindbreaking: February 24, 2016
Check out this article in the Windsor Now on our Mindbreaking event.
COMMUNITY ROOM:
http://panorama.enscape3d.com/view/9bmblhrw/
CHILDRENS LIBRARY
http://panorama.enscape3d.com/view/dnouv7cp/
ENTRY ATRIUM
http://panorama.enscape3d.com/view/t03uop0g/
Request for Quotation: October 31, 2016
You can read the Request for Quotation here.
Mindbreaking: February 24, 2016
Check out this article in the Windsor Now on our Mindbreaking event.
News as of Nov. 24, 2015
The Library Board, the Downtown Development Agency and the Town of Windsor have received a matching grant from the Colorado Dept. of Local Affairs which will fund a study of several areas in the Downtown Windsor area and immediately outside the downtown area as potential sites for a new building. Nine architectural firms responded to the Request for Proposal. 3 final candidates have been called for interviews. Once a firm is chosen, the study will begin in Jan. 2016. A decision on purchasing property is expected by mid 2016.
If you have questions about the new building for the Clearview Library District, please contact one of the following people:
Ann Kling, Library Director
director@clearviewlibrary.org
970.686.9955
Joann Perko, Library Board President
perko1144@msn.com
970.686.9921
Ian Whittington, Library Board Treasurer
ijwhitt@hotmail.com
970.686.9820
You are also invited to attend the Library Board’s monthly meetings which are held at the Windsor Severance Library on the last Thursday of the month starting at 5:30.
Key components of a 21st century library for the Clearview Library District
A Building That Is:
Indoor Space for Children That:
Indoor Space for Teens That:
Indoor Space for Adults That Has:
Indoor Space for Everyone That Has:
Makerspace (or flexible space that can be used for a variety of purposes as library services evolve):
Community Meeting Spaces:
An Outdoor Space That Has: