Becoming Boulder Public Library District

As 2023 winds to a close, the Boulder Public Library District Board of Trustees is reflecting on a whirlwind year spent preparing to transition to a library district and is looking ahead to the transition in early 2024.

“The library staff and the trustees have been working rigorously to fulfill the campaign promises,” said Trustee Douglas Hamilton. “I am truly excited about what will come next.”

“The Board of Trustees is so unbelievably proud of the work we and library staff have done this year to transition to the library district,” echoed Trustee Cara O’Brien. “We all cannot wait to see the effects of that work come to life in 2024, including restored library hours, the hiring of new library staff, and expanded library programs.”

As of Jan. 2, 2024, the Boulder Public Library – and its assets and employees – will legally and operationally switch over to the Boulder Public Library District.  Approved by Boulder County voters in 2022 and funded through a dedicated mill levy, the library district will operate separately from the City of Boulder.

“We are looking forward to re-opening the George Reynolds [Table Mesa] Library seven days a week in January, launching our literacy and outreach program, opening the new North Boulder Library and re-opening the Cafe, Canyon Theater and the Carnegie Library for Local History later in 2024. And, in early 2025, we are excited to begin work on a Gunbarrel library. The next 12 – 18 months promise to offer a transformation of library services,” said Library Director David Farnan. “We are humbled by the community’s trust in us to make a great library even better.”

All Boulder Public Library locations will be closed December 19 – 25 for the transition of IT systems to the Boulder Public Library District and then for the holidays. During that window, Boulder Public Library cards will work to check out items at the following libraries if patrons wish to visit them: Broomfield, Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville and Loveland.