History of Ruth Holley Library
The story of Ruth Holley Library begins in the postwar years, when Colorado Springs was expanding so quickly that the existing city library could no longer meet the region’s needs. Growth surged as new military installations came to the area, bringing thousands of residents and pushing development outward in every direction. When Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) officially formed in 1964, one of its first priorities was extending service to these rapidly growing neighborhoods. That same year, the District launched a bookmobile stop at the Rustic Hills Shopping Center on North Academy Boulevard. It quickly became one of the busiest in the system, so much so that by 1969 the District added a second weekly stop—an unusual measure at the time.
By the early 1970s, it was clear that eastern Colorado Springs needed more than bookmobile service. In 1973, PPLD opened a storefront library at 1905 North Academy Boulevard. Its supervisor, Ruth Holley, became the first Black supervisor in the District’s history, and under her leadership the Library saw steady and significant growth in usage. As the surrounding neighborhoods continued to expand, the Library moved frequently to keep pace: first in 1976 to a small shopping center at 1606 North Academy later demolished in 2025 to make way for a QuikTrip gas station, and again in 1979 to the Rustic Hills Shopping Center at 1749 North Academy—the same area where the bookmobile stop had begun fifteen years earlier.
To respond to continued growth, PPLD commissioned a facilities study in 1983 to evaluate how best to serve the changing community. It found that usage at the Academy Boulevard location exceeded that of any other PPLD facility and recommended a two-part solution: building a second main library—referred to in the study as the East Library and Information Center—to serve northeastern Colorado Springs, and relocating the smaller neighborhood facility to a new site. The study identified two intersections: Vickers and Union for the proposed East Library and Information Center, and Murray and Galley for the relocated facility. Both ultimately opened at those exact locations.
Construction of the East Library and Information Center began after voters approved a bond issue in 1983, but by 1986 the District faced a significant funding shortfall. Without a mill levy increase, several operations—including the East Branch on Academy Boulevard—would have to shut down. Because its lease expired at the end of November of that year, its future depended entirely on the results of the November 1986 election. Voters approved the increase, ensuring that PPLD could reopen the smaller neighborhood Library after East Library opened in January 1987.
At that point, the name “East” could no longer be used for both facilities, and community members, including the NAACP, urged PPLD to rename the neighborhood Library in honor of Ruth Holley, who had retired and passed away in 1985. In March 1987, the Board of Trustees approved the name and a new lease at 921–923 North Murray Boulevard. The newly named Ruth Holley Library opened later that year.
The Library moved once more in 2004 to its current home at 685 North Murray Boulevard, a more modern and accommodating space that finally provided long-term stability. After five different locations—from the original 1964 bookmobile stop to its present building—the Library named for Ruth Holley has moved more than any other in PPLD’s system, yet today it is firmly rooted in the community it serves.
In 2025, PPLD’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to purchase the Ruth Holley and Ute Pass Library properties, a step made possible through a combination of support from the PPLD Foundation, private donations, District reserves, and capital funds. With this purchase, Ruth Holley Library now stands on property owned by the District for the first time in its history, securing its place in the neighborhood for years to come.