Mesa County Libraries - Executive Director Michelle Boisvenue-Fox - Full Circle Podcast with The Christi Reece Group

Libraries are essential to the vitality of our community. Christi sits down with Mesa County Libraries Executive Director, Michelle Boisvenue-Fox, to hear about all the programs and resources the library provides, threats to funding, the upcoming 125th anniversary of the library, and more on this month's Full Circle Podcast!

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Transcript

Christi: 0:00

Hi everyone and welcome back to the Full Circle Podcast. I'm your host Christi Reece. We're here in beautiful Grand Junction, Colorado today and I'm honored to have as our guest Michelle Boisvenue-Fox, the Executive Director of Mesa County Libraries. Welcome Michelle.

Michelle: 0:39

Thank you for having me. It's wonderful to be here.

Christi: 0:41

So there's a lot to talk about. I was just mentioning to you that we do research on our guests before they come on and I've got lots of pages and links to articles which I've read through and there's a lot going on with live I asked you, is there a national trend in libraries? Is usage going up or down? And you said it's changing.

Michelle: 1:03

It is changing. How is it changing? One of the things that we see in libraries is there are more and more gathering spaces. So communities need that connection. They want to be connected with their neighbors and meet new people and have friends and see people from other walks of their life at the library and meet others that have similar interests to them. So that's really kind of the trend that we're seeing change is the library as a community center. space, a community gathering location. But we did do a community needs assessment yesterday, and our community both used the library and did not use the library. The number one requirement is still books and reading that people still love and still lean on the library for.

Christi: 1:39

But does it change when you have people that want to use it as a community space? Does it change the the physical nature of your spaces in the library? Do you need more meeting rooms and conference rooms and things like that for people?

Michelle: 1:53

Yeah, absolutely. So we just opened the Clifton Library. And that's one of the things that we were looking at when we were expanding the square footage is it's going to be people space that we're going to be expanding. Of course, the community wanted more collection too. So we were we were doing that as well. But yes, meeting rooms, study rooms, even conference size rooms for 10 to 12 people for HOAs and those kinds of size groups to meet in addition to the community rooms. Our community rooms at the Central Library are very popular. So people can reserve them for free use for nonprofits in the community. And now they can do that at the Clifton Library as well.

Christi: 2:29

That Clifton branch is such a success, isn't it? It is. Can you talk a little bit about how that came to fruition and what it took to get a brand new library branch?

Michelle: 2:40

Yeah, absolutely. So the library in 2017 purchased land along Patterson and F Road there too. And that's where we thought we were going to be. When I came to the library six years ago, I did a community needs assessment. And the size that we needed was not going to fit on that land. So we were going to be challenged with it. It was very much in a neighborhood and I was reluctant to go two floors with the second floor people looking in whoever's backyards and that kind of thing. It just wasn't feeling really great. And the parking lot very far away from the library. But we were figuring it out. We were working on it and the county was working on the county campus at Clifton and said, hey, would you like some space here? We'd love to have a library there. And so we pivoted pretty fast. One of the requirements, though, was that we were on a timeline and we were ahead of where the county was in planning their property. So we needed to know that we had their support and getting out of the ground pretty fast. So that's what we did. The library board over the years since 2017, set money aside year over year, they were debruised years ago, about 30 years ago. So they had been saving up for the Clifton Library. And that meant that we had three and a half million dollars to raise through the library foundation, which did happen. But that meant that the library community, our community members didn't have an increased tax So we were very proud of that story.

Christi: 4:02

And how do those kind of projects get funded? I mean, you talked about the foundation, but that's a lot of money. That is a lot of money. Where else do funds come from? And how do you raise funds within the community? Sure. So

Michelle: 4:16

we also kind of expanded our breadth to the Colorado community. So we had several private foundations that were into literacy or some aspect of what we were covering in the Clifton Library that our project qualified for. We had some local family foundations as well that were We're happy to support the Clifton Library. And then our donors as well were stepping up and helping us out with that. So it wasn't all one answer. It was a multitude of actual things that came into play. We got some government funds through the Department of Land Affairs as well. We got a grant through them. So it was definitely multidimensional, I guess, is what I'll say.

Christi: 4:54

And

Michelle: 4:54

I

Christi: 4:55

think everybody would count it as a great success story. What's next on the horizon as far as... Yeah, absolutely.

Michelle: 5:09

So this past summer, because I can't be bored at all, the Central Library, we found some adjacent property that the library had been interested in for several years. Downtown. Downtown. So it's across from the Central Library. It will be a bit of an annex there, but it'll give us more parking for the library because it's very busy now and we just don't have the space. I could give up parking spots and build a bigger library or expand on the Central Library. library, but that would not help people trying to use the library. So we have an annex property that we've just combined all the lots into one. And we're planning to move the Friends of the Library there eventually and possibly have another community room available across the street with the parking.

Christi: 5:48

So Friends of the Library is a fundraising and how would you describe that group? And they have an office inside the Central Library?

Michelle: 5:58

So they are a fundraising part of the library found So they're a subcommittee of them and they largely manage book donations and help fund some library projects and also the capital projects. Right now they're located at the First Congregational Church across from Grand Junction High School in a bit of a temporary location. And I say temporary, I think they've been there 10 years. And they need to find a new space. That building is having the same issues that the high school had. They're both on the same kinds of land. So they're having some of the same issues. But we're hoping to move them a little bit closer to central as well.

Christi: 6:35

Well, that sounds wonderful. So expansion maybe of the physical square footage of the building at some point? Do you feel like that central location needs more space?

Michelle: 6:46

Probably. One thought that I had is there's a reading patio on the Grand Avenue side of the library that doesn't see a lot of usage, and it has a lot of traffic noise in it. So it might in the future be able to enclose that to make an additional community room. Do you see my trend here on community room, community where I'm in the space for the community.

Christi: 7:07

Is that, that patio is surrounded by that beautiful metal wall with the books in it, right? Yes. I hope that can be somewhere else. I'm

Michelle: 7:14

hoping to keep that in there because that's lovely. Yeah, we replicated at the Clifton Library, so we'll definitely want to reuse that. I

Christi: 7:20

haven't been to the Clifton Library and I really need to go. Yeah, you do. Check it out. You do. And honestly, I don't get to this one as much as I used to now that my kids are older. When they were going to events there and puppet shows and all kinds of Sure. Yeah.

Michelle: 7:41

There is another project that we're working on too. So our Orchard Mesa location has seen some low usage and it had a rental increase last year after we got a new landlord. And so we're looking for a new option for that location. I had about a month's worth of listening sessions with the community and patrons that use that location. And they still want something out there. They don't need it to be big, nor does the library board have an appetite to build something larger there when Central is pretty nearby. So we're looking for a other partnership possibly like we did with the Clifton campus like we have with the Fruita and the Fruita Rec Center and and or something temporary even I'm not sure what that timeline looks like because the other part of this is that we're looking at possibly getting reduced revenues in 2026 so that's the other part of this conversation is funding let's jump into that talk about funding

Christi: 8:32

yeah I mean how are libraries funded in general for their just their daily

Michelle: 8:38

operations sure so there is not a one-size-fits-all, unfortunately. That answer is a little bit more complicated than that because it depends on if you're a municipal library or if you're a county library. Mesa County Libraries is a district library. So back in the 90s, the voters voted for the library to become its own entity, its own district. That means we're not affiliated or tied with the city. We're also not tied or affiliated with the county. And it also gave us an opportunity to add our other seven locations into the mix so that we do serve the entire county in that way. Eight total locations. Downtown plus And then the library is funded through property taxes. That's for the largest part of its revenue. I mean, as high as 99% of it comes through there. The rest of it comes through the foundation and grants and donors that help us out and support us. And so the nice thing about that is local. And then we have... have the same mill levy that we did back in 1997. So this is 30 years and going that this library administration has done this. Some of our leaders back in the day did, you know, de-bruced and de-gallerized and did all the things that really helped us be where we are today, and able to build this wonderful, strong library. But the state legislature did pass a property tax rate reduction that will begin effect in 2026. So we'll find out in August, If there's been enough building and people moving into Mesa County to offset that or if we will be be looking at reduced reduction revenue

Christi: 10:10

reductions. What's going on at the federal level? I mean, lots of questions about funding for all kinds of organizations. What kind of federal funding does our library in particular get these days?

Michelle: 10:24

So the federal level, there's the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This is an agency that gets federal funds, and it funnels it down to all the state libraries in the country. And then the state libraries turn around and give it to all of their libraries locally. So it's kind of an upside down funnel. That's kind of how I how I look at it so we don't get direct funding through the Institute of Museum and Library Services but Mesa County Libraries does have an adult learning center and the adult learning center which has been going for 36 years amazing isn't that awesome they were involved in literacy and then more recently in about 2018 they started GED prep for our local communities so all those adult people that did not finish high school have an opportunity to go back and complete their education which helps all of us in the community especially our business owners have people that can go extra have better living wages and also one of the things that i learn a lot is they do it for their kids when they have kids and they're telling their kids to do good in school and don't do like me right right so they kind of want to put their money where their where words are in that regard so

Christi: 11:32

and as a an adult learner can be intimidating or embarrassing and to have that support system in a place like a library that's so community focused is really great

Michelle: 11:42

absolutely and And not everybody had a great school experience. There's reasons why they stopped school. So there is that. But the Adult Learning Center, the instructors there are funded through the Adult Education Literacy Act, which is a federal act and it pays for instructors. So we have eight instructors in that department. Those funds come out of the Department of Education. So you can see where our concerns are there. What happens if that goes away? Where is the funding? We were and are approved for a four-year grant cycle, but we also have gotten frozen letters that were unfrozen and refrozen, and I'm not sure where they're at at this point or what's going to happen to the library and the Adult Learning Center and the instructors that are there. But it's to the tune of $400,000, so that's not just something that the library has in its back pocket, that it can just shift its budget priorities.

Christi: 12:36

So eight instructors, and they're instructing how many days a week, and is it a couple-month-long program? that people can attend, how does that work? And what would it look like if that funding was eliminated? Those classes would go away completely for the foreseeable future?

Michelle: 12:52

Right. We would go back to our old volunteer model, which is just a once a week with an instructor. So whether you're learning English language acquisition or another way, the instructors that we have allow for students to have a more accelerated class learning experience so they can get through and achieve their GED faster and easier that way. The instructors are trained to teach. They're certified. They have ways to set up lesson plans. They know how to Are there any other

Christi: 13:34

programs or things that you're concerned about at the federal level with the funding, possibly interruptions?

Michelle: 13:41

We are not. We do get some money from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the state library. It's about $40,000. It helps us pay for some databases. But that is a small amount of our budget. So it's not as critical for us. I will say across the state, we just had a meeting with Colorado library directors across the state. And we have nine libraries that are in jeopardy of closing if they lose that IMLS funding. So they're in very rural locations. They're very small libraries. And the money they get from the federal government through the Institute of Museum and Library Services is like their collection budget, the entire amount of it. So if you don't have a collection to offer the community, then are you a library? Yeah,

Christi: 14:26

then you're just a meeting space, right? Right. You mentioned volunteers in the GED program. What kind of staff do you have among eight locations, paid staff and volunteer staff? I assume there are lots of volunteer opportunities for people.

Michelle: 14:43

There really are. So we have 105 library staff. So people are often surprised by that. But when you're spread out across eight locations, it definitely adds up. And we have over 200 volunteers. So they outpace, outnumber our paid library staff. And there are so many opportunities and options for them. We have volunteers that work on our Words on Wheels delivery service. So they pack up little bags and things for patrons who can't come visit the library. And then we deliver that to their homes. We also have volunteers, like in the summer, we have teens that help with summer reading program. It's a wonderful way to grow baby librarians, as I found out. So get them hooked in early, get them loving, serving community and help others is a great recruitment tactic. We also have a discovery garden. We just had our library fundraiser there on Saturday. And that is that space is completely grant funded to the point where it's at this year. For the first time, we actually have a seasonal library staff that's working there with volunteers and the different volunteer projects. But otherwise, that's all volunteers.

Christi: 15:52

That's the garden back behind the central library. Yeah.

Unknown: 15:56

Yeah. Yeah.

Michelle: 15:57

Studio. Is studio part of the library? to use for galleries and things like that around the country. We've had whole gospel albums recorded there. We have a professor at CMU that does stopgap animation and he overlays the sound there in the studio and records the stopgap part of it. So that happens there. We also have an artist in residence program and that person there, we have three artists in residence a year that are paid for by the library foundation and they offer programs to the community that And the community can come to them and visit them and what they're doing in the studio and the artwork and that kind of thing. So whose brainchild

Christi: 17:05

was that? And is that something that a lot of communities have? Is it was it modeled after another community? Because I think it's just a brilliant thing. And I've heard so many artists talk about what a great resource

Michelle: 17:16

it is. Thank you so much. This is the emerging artist space, the emerging creative space that you go there when you don't have the money to pay for a professional studio to do that work for you. You learn to do it yourself, you figure it out, you build up your career, and then you go to the pay for studios and have them do it. That's great.

Christi: 18:13

One of the themes that we talk about a lot on the podcast when talking a lot of organizations is the collaboration between different organizations. Who would you say you collaborate with most? What kind of relationships do you have with other organizations? Do you do things with CMU, the school district? What goes on with all of these other great groups in town?

Michelle: 18:33

So that's one of the beautiful things about being Western Slope is there is a lot of collaboration here. And sort of the way I've figured out since I've been new to the community six years ago is that a lot of attention goes to the front range. A lot of resources go to the front range. And I think a lot of Western Slope communities have had to figure stuff out on their own in our rural places. And that's what's happened here in Mesa County. We work with arts and culture. We work with education groups. We work with nonprofits. We're just all over. We have opportunities at the libraries at all of our locations. for communities tables so information tables from different organizations to come into the library they can use our community rooms and have meetings and programs of their own there's space for them to do that very efficiently and economically we also have a relationship with Grand Valley Connects through the health department so this is a new partnership that's probably a year and a half old now and they co-locate at the central library they're resource navigators so people can walk into the central library and walk over to them if they have a need or having an issue with a resource. One of the things that I've learned is that trying to unravel how we get benefits and how you get resources is a real challenge. And that's one of the things the public health department figured out too, is that there's a lot of people that qualify for these resources in our community that were not getting it. So what were those barriers? And those resource navigators, they will make phone calls, they will go to appointments, they will do a lot to remove those barriers for community members because the hard part sometimes is just where do I start I don't even know who to call first absolutely and some people just don't have the ability to make phone calls and stay on hold or be able to communicate with someone on what they need so there are a lot of challenges that people have and we've just expanded the partnership to the Clifton Library so they're Tuesday afternoons now as well

Christi: 20:25

when when we sat down together we talked a little bit about the different demographics of people that use the library and it's from you said birth to death, really. I mean, you're serving every age, every

Michelle: 20:40

generation. For the record, we have not had anybody die in the library.

Christi: 20:42

Okay, good. Or born? No, no, I can't say I've had

Michelle: 20:47

that. I've had a lot happen in my library career, but not that.

Christi: 20:51

Try to stay away from that. Right, yeah. But it's phenomenal all the different generations of people that you are trying to attract, entertain in a way, keep engaged. How do you do that with different programs and how do you identify the most vulnerable populations that really need the library?

Michelle: 21:13

Yeah, so we do focus a lot and we get a lot of access to parts of our community through our partners as well. I want to acknowledge that. And not only because we come into the library, you're not self-identifying, hey, I need a house or whatnot. So it's a little bit, there's some anonymous qualities to it that help make it equal for a lot of people in our community. But we do work with a lot of different groups. We do work with other nonprofit groups to figure that out. The community, we love to engage with them and get their feed So they can suggest a program idea for us. They can suggest material for the library to purchase for them. We've done surveys in the past on our Library of Things collection. We know people love our culture passes to check them out and use those at all the different community spaces that charge admission. And so including the Colorado National Monument, just in case you need a pass for a group visiting or some friends. So yeah, those are all ways that we help And another way that I explain this and the way that I see this happen at the library is, you know, connections happen a lot. We see caregivers meeting at story time and suddenly they're going out to coffee or they're spending a little bit extra time after story time to talk and compare notes about their little ones and what they're doing. But we also see it, and this has been a challenge in our community, our houseless population also uses the library. They need access to public restrooms. They need access to refill water. bottles, charge devices, use the public internet and the public computers at the library, and sometimes just a place to get out of the elements, whether it's heat or cold. And so some people love that about the library, that everybody's there, and other people, it's a real challenge to see that. And the way that I think about this is, you know, people, they choose where you work and where you live and where you shop and where you worship, but when you go to the library, everybody's there. And so there's this amazing crossroads that doesn't happen other places in our community. And that's what happens at libraries. And it's very unique and it's very special.

Christi: 23:19

Wow. I love that. Yeah. I mean, obviously, there are some organizations near the library that serve our unhoused population. And so they are a lot of the folks that are in the downtown area. Yeah, are looking for places to get out of the elements and things like that. And is public open to everyone? What are the hours of the downtown library?

Michelle: 23:44

So the downtown library is open 9 to 8 Monday through Thursday, 9 to 6 on Friday, 9 to 5 on Saturday, and 1 to 5 on Sundays during the school year. Okay. You're testing me.

Christi: 23:58

That was good. You know your stuff. You know from the back to the front. Amazing. I try. Not always, but I try. So what are the groups that you think... uh, maybe thinking that the library is not for them, that there's, there's not a space for them or there's no resources for them or, or kids in there. I'm not very good at knowing the ages of like the Gen Z, Gen X and all that. But, um, are there certain groups of young people that think, yeah, that's not my, my jam? Or do you see wide usage from all ages? I

Michelle: 24:34

do see wide usage. We do community research every year at the library, just to try and keep up on what's going on in our community. And one of the things that we've learned is our Spanish speaking community doesn't understand that the library is free, for example. And that's something that like, when we do our publicity, we don't put free on everything. Like it's a little bit of an assumed thing. Like you need to have an understanding of library tradition but on the other hand should we be assuming that everybody knows what if you didn't take your kids to the library when they were little what if you yourself didn't go you wouldn't understand the library ecosystem as it were so kind of making that assumption is something that we're challenging ourselves with with now as well um Anybody else that doesn't use the library? You know, I think a lot of what I hear word of mouth to a lot of neighbors and people like you can get that at the library, you should go to the library. So it really is our huge community of supporters that help get the word out and help encourage people to use the resource.

Christi: 25:38

Awesome. Thank you so much for joining

Michelle: 26:07

us. And at the time, it was the top library school in the country. And I remember I applied, and I learned that. And then I was like, Oh, no, I wasted my money. But they told me, they're like, Don't worry, you'll be really happy with the outcome. So that's what I did. I was actually the second cohort to go through a distance program. I was living in Oregon at the time when I got my master's degree. So it was very early on when those were happening. They're more common now and more available to people wherever they live, which is a really good thing.

Christi: 26:49

So do you love books for from a very young age and was that something that your parents really instilled in you?

Michelle: 26:57

Definitely. My mom was a teacher. So she always thought I would grow up and be a teacher. But really, she became a librarian. And I said, she grew up to become a librarian like me. It's kind of our family joke. But one of the things I was just telling our staff at our last staff development day that when I was a child, I wanted to be so many things. I wanted to be a librarian and a teacher. I wanted to be a bus driver. I wanted to be Wonder Woman. I wanted to be interior designer. And I got to be all of those things as a really brave things for my staff in the past. I've checked in and out on an awful lot of books. I used to teach computer classes when I was a baby librarian, and I've built six libraries. Clifton Library was my sixth one, the project that I had, so I got to even do a little bit of interior design. That's

Christi: 27:44

wonderful. Well, we feel very lucky to have you here in the Grand Valley. Have you enjoyed the transition here? Very

Michelle: 27:51

much so. This is a very dynamic and diverse community, and I really enjoy it. It fits me really well. I Yes, I love the outdoors. That's become my mental health here. Not just because COVID happened, but it's just been been wonderful to hike and do those things. I lived in Oregon previously. So hiking is a great place.

Christi: 28:08

So if somebody else that was listening or watching is interested in library science, have advice for them?

Michelle: 28:19

So there's a few conversations that I have with people. If you're an introvert, it's okay. It's a great profession. One of the things that I find is that when you find your passion, it doesn't matter how introverted you are. The passion will show. It will draw you through and you will be perfect. Don't worry about that. But also, you don't really get to read a lot of books on the job. I'm just going to be really transparent. That really is not part of the work. So kind of be careful. If you really love reading and books and maybe look publishing maybe looking at becoming a writer or a teacher from from that standpoint because

Christi: 28:54

you're really running a big organization right yeah absolutely not a lot of time for just sitting down and reading a fiction book and writing a review you know for the library like i read this book absolutely

Michelle: 29:05

yeah and our librarians they work a lot on connecting people to resources and accessing different information for them and and less so on reading of course we do recommend books too and we're rather good at that but how many librarians do you have at each location So it depends on how large or small. Some of our really small rural location have a library assistant in them. And so we have librarians basically at the central library. Okay. And that covers children's and teens and adults.

Christi: 29:36

Do you want to talk about the free speech issue that came up in the paper this week? Sure. Okay. It's been in the paper and talked about in the community about some artwork that's hanging in the Central Library, correct?

Michelle: 29:50

Correct. So we have a recycled art book show up right now, and that show had an open call for art from our community. You could submit artwork if you were 16 and older. The submission went to the Library Art Committee, which is a group of staff there, about eight of them, that vote on the items individually. And so that's how it gets a green light or a If we're going to accept it into the exhibit. This one came up, it passed the call for art, and it was given to me to make sure that it passed the art exhibit policy that the library has in the criteria. It is political commentary, I guess is kind of how I will categorize it. And the library does not make judgment on religious or political fronts, because when you serve the whole community, there is everybody in that spectrum all along the way there. And that also means that there's a lot of diversity of perspective in our community. So it is not expected that everybody loves all art equally. Well, that doesn't happen ever. We all have opinions on what we like and don't like. And so that is coming up with this piece as well.

Christi: 30:59

It's a tough time for libraries with this issue because books are art. Yes, just as the paintings are. And there are a lot of perspectives. How do you... How do you navigate what is... What is not allowed? What is free speech? I mean, to you, it's a free speech issue. And all the members of the community should be able to check out the books they want. They should be available to people, should be able to see this art. But are there things that aren't allowed? Right.

Michelle: 31:33

So one of the things that we look at as like building our collection as an example is we really look at the data and what is used in our community so that we can really tailor that to our community. I also talked about the recommended purchase as well that the community can do to get what they want in the library from that standpoint. What I find interesting now that I see happening is people really want a very personal experience at the library. They want their books in the library, the things that they want to see in the library. And fortunately, we all have that mindset. So what happens at the library? There's going to be things that you don't want to see or that don't match your values. And it's one of the things that we say that we really depend on parents to help drive the values of their family and have those conversations with their kids and to monitor what they're using because it is a community library. There is something for everybody there, but it doesn't mean everybody is for everybody.

Christi: 32:32

There have been some books banned from some federal organizations over the last few months. Talk about how that Makes you feel banning books. I mean, that's something I think is an anathema to our way of life in this country. But

Michelle: 32:53

I mean, it's the First Amendment. And there's a reason it's the First Amendment. That's how important it was to the people that created and founded our country. That wasn't something they'd had before. So access to information, no matter what. And ability to have opinions, your own opinions, differing opinions than your neighbor. It is still a beautiful thing. It is still worthwhile. It is still worth protecting. And I think that's one of the things that we're hearing from our community right now. Overwhelmingly, our community is calling and telling us, thank you. We appreciate you. This is important to us. We want this in our community. We want diverse perspectives in our community. And they're not even talking about the artwork if they like it or don't like it. They're just saying that This tenant is really important to them personally. And maybe that's just because it's become more important and they've found their voice and want to make sure that they let us know. And there are people that don't like that piece and are sharing that with us

Christi: 33:51

too. But that opinion matters also. You want to hear from everyone. Everyone's welcome at the library. All opinions are welcome at the library.

Michelle: 34:01

Absolutely. That's part of what makes us a community. Yeah. And I don't think it needs to be divisive. It's okay to not like the art piece.

Christi: 34:09

How long is that particular art show running if people want to check it out? So it's

Michelle: 34:14

going to be taken down May 15th. So get to the library. You've got two more weeks. Okay. So if this is going to be posted next week, then we got one week. Maybe I should alter that and say you've got one week. You got till May 15th.

Christi: 34:26

You brought a sign with you today that I would love to highlight. Let's take a look. Love Your Library 125. Mesa County Libraries was founded in 1901. 1901. Amazing. That's how long a

Michelle: 34:42

legacy that this library has in this community. Do you know where the first location was? It is near where the Central Library is currently. It's kind of one street over and one street. It was a Carnegie Library. There was a women's group that got together. I'm guessing, I'm kind of reading in between the lines that they convinced their mover and shaker husbands to fund the rest of the Carnegie promise. But Carnegie gave money as long as the community provided the land and the maintaining that Library. Unfortunately, it doesn't stand today. So there isn't a building to drive by and say, oh, that Carnegie Library, which is hard because they're really beloved and special. They're really interesting buildings around the country.

Christi: 35:20

So what are you doing to help celebrate this milestone?

Michelle: 35:23

So right now, the 125th anniversary technically starts in 2026, but we're obviously getting an early start. We're going to get some celebration out of this one for a full year. One of the things that we are working on right now is a 125th library video and we're going into the community and interviewing community members about why they love the library and to share their library memories if they happen to live in this community from back in the day so we are doing that we have these signs that will be available to the community I don't know the details yet we just literally got them so you can have this yard sign to put in front of the Christine Reese crew we'll put it in front of our book box there you go yes awesome and then we're also going to be doing another art exhibit that celebrates libraries. So kind of something art that's inspired by libraries. Next year, we also are going to be doing We used to have library wine. I don't know. Do you, do you know of library wine? No. Okay. So we have the grape Gatsby and well-read and it was through a local winery that since sold. So we don't have library wine anymore, but we're hoping to find a partner to have library wine again next year to help celebrate the library. And would that be a fundraiser also? That would be a fundraiser. Yeah, definitely. I'm trying to think what other things we're going to have a special edition library card available. We're going to have some history programs available. We in, the administrative hallway where my office is located at the central, there are some very overly large historic photos of all the libraries in our community, including a bookmobile. And so we'll hope to get those out in the, in the public areas as well. Yeah.

Christi: 36:58

Well, I just, I love your attitude and I love your energy and I love everything that you're doing at Mesa County libraries, just being so inclusive and welcoming to everybody. And I think for those people that are watching that, um, don't know all the things that the library has to offer, um, We talked about there's resource people, right? When you come in, walk in and check it out. Roam around. Look at all the lists of things that are going on and happening from small kid programs to senior programs. And just a ton of resources for people.

Michelle: 37:32

Yeah, absolutely. So one of the things that I am getting a lot of questions on lately is how people can support the library. That's become very important to our community. And I think generally, you know, how do you protect the things that you care most about? So one of the things that I tell people is to get a library card. It actually does matter for the library. It helps our community. statistics and our grant writing and things like that. But it also shows community support. If you if you get a library card, and it's pretty easy, and you're already paying taxes. So it's pretty, pretty easy to do. Sign up for the library's e-newsletter, which you do automatically get signed up when you get your library card. So that's something that really can stay connected with what's going on at the library. We do have a board opening right now we have. So if you want to serve the community and be on the library board, it is very impactful in this day and age to be a library trustee and to have that protective factor for the library, but also to make sure the library is serving the community and meeting its needs as well. So it's kind of a dual role. But you get to be my boss, and there are seven trustees total. And so that application is available on the county website. The county commissioners do appoint those people for the library per the library district law. You can also donate to the Library Foundation. I mentioned that a few times. They're also 30 years old, so the Library Foundation is not new. And while they've largely helped with capital projects, they're also working on other things too. They support summer reading program. They support Culture Fest and Comic-Con as well. So those are big signature events. Comic-Con, right? So great. And then volunteering at the library. That's one of the things that I mentioned. Doing a 125 anniversary video is another one. So you can call the library and find out how to sign up for that and to get a spot there. Send an email to county commissioners and talk about how you use the library and how you love the library. I just mentioned that they appoint our library trustees, so they like to hear how people appreciate the library and that it's important to them. Share your library stories with your neighbors, with your coworkers. Just help spread the word. And don't assume people don't know or do use the library like you do. Don't make that go there. Read a banned book. Find out what's going on. We do annual displays at the library, and that's one of the things when we interact with people is they're surprised by what books have been removed because they may have read them when they were younger. And they're curious, like, wait a minute, I read that book. And they don't remember anything specific that would have been alarming to them. So it's a good conversation. And then of course, bring our staff treats and show them

Christi: 40:09

love.

Michelle: 40:10

Seriously, being on the front lines of libraries right now is really hard. Let me be really honest.

Christi: 40:14

Thank you for sharing that list. It made me think too, because we have the little library out here in front of our office. If people have books they want to donate, is that something you take regularly? I mean, you have a lot of books. How do you handle people coming in with boxes and boxes of books? Because we see it a lot in our industry. We have... folks that pass away or move into assisted living and their family is looking to rehome some of these books.

Michelle: 40:42

Yes. So the Friends of the Library, the ones that take the book donations, because they do the used book sales as a fundraiser for the library, and they're located at First Congregational Church across from Grand Junction High School. And there is a cabinet there, so you can drop off books there. If you do have loads and loads of books, then there is a number on our website for a volunteer to coordinate that delivery with so that you're not just piling up, I don't know, how many books, 20 boxes of books or something. like that. So some people have a lot.

Christi: 41:11

What are you looking forward to the most in the next year with your libraries, Michelle?

Michelle: 41:16

So the 125th birthday is a really big deal. I go back to that and I think about what it's taken all of our library predecessors, our staff and our administration and our board of trustees to get the library where it's at today. Last year, Mesa County Libraries was a finalist for the National Medal. That is a congressional medal that is awarded to libraries and museums across our country. We were one of 13. That's amazing. in rural Colorado were one of those libraries that were honored. That's something you should be so proud of. Thank you. And we didn't get the award ultimately, but being a finalist was such a shock to so many people. Yeah. I remember telling my staff the morning before the national announcement came out, I had been on embargoed for several weeks, so I kind of knew and they didn't know, and I was just bursting to tell them. And that was a career moment to be able to tell staff that they were so amazing, that they were being honored nationally. Well, thank

Christi: 42:21

you so much for being our guest today. Is there anything else you'd like to share before we go?

Michelle: 42:25

Oh. There's just so much. I just love the community. And talking about libraries is one of my favorite things. So thanks for having me today.

Christi: 42:34

Yeah, really excited to have you here. So encourage you, our listeners and viewers, to get to one of the branches of the Mesa County Library. Check it out. See all the programs they have going on. Use the public spaces. Use the community spaces. It's there for you. This is your library. Thank you, Michelle. Thank you. All right, everyone. We'll see you next time on the Full Circle Podcast. Have a great day. Thanks for listening. This is Christi Reece signing out from the Full Circle Podcast.