This article is from our 2025 Summer District Discovery, see the full publication
As the late-afternoon sun dipped below the tree-lined horizon above Manitou Springs on Fri., Feb. 7, 2025, several hundred people braved a brisk but powerful breeze to witness the grand reopening of Manitou Springs Library.
"Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) is excited to be coming home," PPLD CEO Teona Shainidze-Krebs told the crowd gathered outside the historic Carnegie Library, which first opened in 1911.
"Make it last well into the next century. Let it serve generations," Manitou Springs Mayor John Graham declared from the lectern. "Let it stimulate our learning and our pleasure. Let it help develop our critical thinking and our citizenship. Let those who come after us sit in the shade of the trees that we have planted.”
After Manitou Springs Library Manager Taryn Malila cut the ribbon, throngs poured into the renovated building to see the culmination of years of work by motivated citizens, the City of Manitou Springs, and PPLD.
Since its move back into its historic home, Manitou Springs Library has added almost 1,000 books to its collection and has plans to continue building the collection. Staff have also had the pleasure of hosting weekly events in its newly renovated event space upstairs, many of which involved the nearby elementary school. The flexibility of the space with its movable furniture has allowed the Library to host events with 30 or more students at a time. When it is not in use as an event space, the upstairs room is available for community members to use as a co-working space and reading room.
Renovations also expanded the Children’s area and added a Teen space and Study Room which the Library did not previously have. With the expanded Children’s area, Manitou Springs Library has expanded its Children’s program offerings with a weekly Toddler Time in addition to the weekly Storytime.
"Back in 2020, I read that the Library here was going to close (due to ADA accessibility issues)," recalls Manitou Springs resident Rob Danin, who created the Preserve and Renew Our Carnegie Library Task Force.
"We had four community forums over Zoom, and with that feedback we worked with the architect on the design," says Danin. The group was also persistent in drumming up support for the project in the community.
In December 2023, Manitou Springs City Council named Fransen Pittman as general contractor for the project, which consisted of adding 2,950 square feet and addressing all accessibility issues. The building is now accessible for everyone with the addition of two ADA compliant restrooms and a lift so that patrons of all abilities can visit both the upstairs and downstairs areas.
The city raised about $4.5 million for the remodel and expansion, garnering many donations from individuals and organizations. PPLD contributed $1.5 million in advance rent on a 25-year lease.
As work neared completion in November 2024, PPLD moved out of the Manitou Art Center, which had been its Manitou Springs home since 2021.
Manitou Springs Library staff “packed everything up in half a day, and then [our] facilities, IT, and security [teams] came in and disassembled everything,” recalls Malila.
Library materials, shelving, tech equipment, and more were moved into an expanded building that includes a larger children’s area, a teen center, and even a rooftop patio.
“The patio will have a great view of our free lawn concert series, which is coming back this summer,” says Malila.
Despite all of the changes, the facility maintains its historic charm.
"We're a town of history, and the Library maintains its original integrity and mission," says Danin. Since its reopening, Manitou Springs Library has averaged about 200 more checkouts per week than its weekly average in the past three years.
Among the spectators in the grand reopening crowd was 93-year-old Joanne Garrison, who first went to Manitou Springs Library as a first grader in 1937. Sitting on her walker amidst a bundled-up crowd, Garrison was excited to enter the Library 87 years after her initial visit. "It's finally ADA compliant. Hooray!"