Remembering Marcelee Gralapp

A Message from Library & Arts Director, David Farnan

The plaque in the Arts Office at the Boulder Library reads simply; “Marcelee Gralapp brought the arts to this place.” Most who knew her say, “She was a force.”  Many of her friends attest that she was one of the most generous and caring people they ever knew. At BPL, she is legendary. She did so much to make the library what it is today.

Marcelee passed away on Jan. 17, 2019. In the nearly 40 years she served as library director, she was pivotal in opening many of the public libraries and cultural facilities that exist in Boulder today: Main Library, Reynolds, Meadows, the Dairy, BMoCA, Dushanbe Teahouse, the list goes on. She expanded services to children, experimented with cultural programming and new media, pioneered new technologies, and became known nationwide as a staunch defender of the public’s right to free and open access to information. But perhaps more than anything, she was committed to the community of Boulder and to an idea it has of itself; a place free and open to all. A place committed to informed learning and diverse cultural experiences. A place constantly becoming new again.  A place where everyone has the opportunity to create.  It is the legacy of that idea that Boulder Public Library continues to uphold.

View Marcelee’s obituary.