
Help a Library Worker Out
Due to COVID-19, Boulder's beloved libraries are closed and many of our dedicated library staff are out of work.
In conjunction with the Boulder Library Foundation, we've started a fund to raise money to support library staff during this time of crises.
If you can, please support our library workers by donating to Help a Library Worker Out.
Thanks you for your support during this challenging time.

In the News
A number of news outlets have covered our library's funding needs and efforts to form the Boulder Public Library District. Know of one we're missing? Contact us!
- 10/03/20 Opinion: Claudia Hanson Thiem: Yes, we ought to talk about race https://www.dailycamera.com/2020/10/03/opinion-claudia-hanson-thiem-yes-we-ought-to-talk-about-race/
- 09/08/20 Boulder city staff members propose ‘conservative’ 2021 budget; Library branches, police annex could be cut https://www.dailycamera.com/2020/09/08/boulder-city-staff-members-propose-conservative-2021-budget/
- 08/06/20 Main Boulder Public Library reopens, offering limited services https://www.dailycamera.com/2020/08/06/main-boulder-public-library-reopens-offering-limited-services/
- 07/15/20 Boulder launches One Book, One Boulder reading program https://www.dailycamera.com/2020/07/15/boulder-launches-one-book-one-boulder-reading-program/
- 05/06/20 Boulder announces phased reopening of some city facilities https://www.dailycamera.com/2020/05/06/boulder-announces-phased-reopening-of-some-city-facilities/
- 05/05/20 Boulder library community workshop develops personal protective equipment for hospitals, city https://www.dailycamera.com/2020/05/05/boulder-library-community-workshop-develops-personal-protective-equipment-for-hospitals-city/
- 04/30/20 Boulder Library Foundation launches fund to aid furloughed librarians https://www.dailycamera.com/2020/04/30/boulder-library-foundation-launches-fund-to-aid-furloughed-librarians/
- 04/28/20 Library WiFi Hotspots: https://vimeo.com/411533337?ref=em-share
- 04/28/20 [Opinion] Elevate libraries in austere times
- 04/14/20 Boulder furloughing 737 city employees beginning Monday
- 04/06/20 Potential Boulder County minimum wage, tax hikes lose steam as focus turns to coronavirus response and recovery
- 03/07/20 - [Opinion] Council should support the library Boulder deserves (Sam Fuqua in the Boulder Daily Camera)
- 02/15/20 - Skeptical council questions library district, with eye on Boulder control (Shay Castle for The Boulder Beat)
- 02/14/20 - [Opinion] From the Editorial Advisory Board: Library district (The Boulder Daily Camera Editorial Advisory Board)
- 02/11/20 - Boulder City Council growing closer to action on library taxing district (Sam Lounsberry for The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 02/06/20 - Boulder Public Library funding model returns to Council ahead of final signal on property tax district (Sam Lounsberry for The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 01/29/20 - Boulder Library Champions announces 2020 plans (Jocelyn Rowley for The Left Hand Valley Courier)
- 01/01/20 - Boulder City Council will reconsider library district proposal (Jocelyn Rowley for The Left Hand Valley Courier)
- 08/07/19 - Supporters of Boulder library district aim for 2020 (Jocelyn Rowley for The Left Hand Valley Courier)
- 07/16/19 - [Opinion] Library Champions developing 2020 strategies (Boulder Library Champions in The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 05/09/19 - Poll: Boulder residents’ affinity for library is strong, view of tax increase favorable (Cassa Niedringhaus for The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 05/04/19 - Poll shows tepid support for library tax, but consultants insist victory at the ballot is possible (Shay Castle for The Boulder Beat)
- 05/03/19 - ‘Boulder Library Champions’ organize petition for library district (Cassa Niedringhaus for The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 04/25/19 - Library district could bring new services to Gunbarrel and Niwot (Jocelyn Rowley for The Left Hand Valley Courier)
- 04/30/19 - [Opinion] Boulder can have the library it deserves through creation of a district (Juana Gómez in The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 04/19/19 - [Opinion] Create a district for Boulder Public Library (The Boulder Daily Camera Editorial Board)
- 02/04/19 - Boulder library officials tout tax district as possible solution to funding woes (Anthony Hahn for The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 11/28/18 - Boulder will ask residents to weigh library district (Shay Castle for The Denver Post)
- 09/06/18 - [Opinion] Budget already stretched as far as it will go (Boulder LIbrary Commission Members in The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 07/24/18 - Facing funding woes, Boulder library pushes for special tax district as council pushes back (Shay Castle for The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 01/24/18 - Boulder Public Library ‘stretched to our capacity,’ facing uncertain future (Alex Burness for The Boulder Daily Camera)
- 11/28/17 - Boulder ponders difficult choices as it attempts to free up library funding (Alex Burness for The Boulder Daily Camera)

Become a volunteer
Will you join our team of volunteers and help secure our community library's future? Where you can help:
- Reach out to your friends, neighbors, and network to ask them to support sustainable funding for our Boulder Public Library.
- Host a house party to help spread the word and raise funds for the election campaign.
- Become part of our communications team: develop messaging and outreach plans, spread the word through social media, be a point person for news outlets.
Enter your info here to be added to our volunteer list for one or more roles. You can also email us at volunteer@boulderlibrarychampions.org with questions or other ideas for how you might help.
BECAUSE IT'S THE LIBRARY BOULDER DESERVES
Become a volunteer
Our Supporters
Thank you to all of our supporters, especially the Boulder Library Foundation for its generous contribution to this campaign and for its role as champion and supporter of our library for over 45 years.
Join us to show your support for our library!
Endorse
Why support a Library District?
We are the Boulder Library Champions!
The Boulder Library Champions is a grassroots group of community volunteers who have come together in support of our Boulder Public Library and our community's vision for its future.
We are working to secure sustainable funding for our library.
Our Boulder Public Library is beloved for its excellent service, innovative offerings and commitment to the Boulder community. With over 1 million visitors in 2018, our Boulder Public Library's popularity continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
Unfortunately, funding and staff have not grown to meet the demand for existing and new library services.
By creating a library district, our Boulder Public Library would be funded through a dedicated property tax rather than competing with other city departments every single year. This would provide reliable, predictable funding and the ability to confidently plan for the future to create even better library programs and services for our community. Library districts are now the most common form of governance and funding for Colorado libraries.
View a fact sheet developed by our library at Funding Our Library Future
Why we are advocating for creation of the Boulder Public Library District.
Analysis shows that while most households in Boulder have library cards, nearly 40,000 cardholders live outside the Boulder city limits. No other library system of Boulder’s size has a similar, disproportionate number of cardholders living outside the library’s boundaries.
With a library district, we can better match the patron base to the funding base, offering the most equitable, reliable and accountable approach to funding. Every other library in Colorado similar to Boulder in size and patron base is now a library district.
A single purpose library district enhances taxpayer accountability because its leadership is focused solely on the library. The library’s community assets remain in service to the community, directly maintained and invested in by the district at the direction of the library Board of Trustees. The Trustees would be appointed by City Council and the County Commissioners, providing a degree of ongoing control over library decision making by our elected officials.
The Boulder Daily Camera's editorial board explains why a library district makes sense for Boulder in its endorsement: Create a district for Boulder Public Library
View a panel discussion about Fort Collins' experience with its library district, and the experience of other Colorado library districts at Funding Our Library Future: Panel Discussion
For Boulder Library Champions' detailed explanation of our library's funding needs and why a district is the best solution, see Our Library's Funding Needs.
Forming a library district can help address looming shortfalls in the Boulder City budget.
The City budget is overstretched. Costs to deliver programs and services have been rising faster than revenue growth for more than 15 years. Every two years, a new Council is elected and new priorities are set, resulting in additional initiatives and new programs that add to the budget stress. The City now has a long list of unfunded needs, many in core programs - basic services and programs that citizens rely on and which are at the heart of Boulder’s quality of life.
Forming a library district would free up at least $7.5M/year in General Fund revenues that can be used for other priority needs - like fire/emergency response, transportation, housing and arts. If the library district contracts with the city for administrative services, the city would receive up to $3.4M/year in additional revenue.
Get the Scoop on Boulder's Budget and
the Scoop on Sustainable Funding for Our Library
BECAUSE IT'S THE LIBRARY BOULDER DESERVES
City Council is now considering whether to form a library district, with a public hearing scheduled for March 17. Please tell Council that we want them to form a library district so we can vote on funding this fall!
Boulder Library Champions are campaigning now to add this issue to the 2020 election ballot.
- Endorse! List your name on this website as a supporter of our efforts.
- Subscribe! Provide us your contact information to stay informed about our campaign.
- Volunteer! Be a part of the campaign to help us achieve sustainable funding for our library.
- Donate!

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