From a small reading room established 136 years ago, PPLD continues to evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of our sprawling community. Our service area covers 2,070 square miles of El Paso County with a population of nearly 700,000 – people of all ages and backgrounds with varying views and interests.
Thanks to taxpayer funding, we can continue to provide residents with access to 16 facilities, three mobile library services, and a large online hub of resources and services, all of which are inclusive and welcoming to everyone. The Library team strives to make its physical and digital spaces safe and respectful for diverse voices, perspectives, and pursuits; to foster community dialogue and connections; and to help people achieve their goals and dreams in life.
Overview and Process
In the winter and spring of 2022, our Board of Trustees and staff revisited PPLD’s mission statement and developed a vision statement and organizational values that best reflect our public library system and growing community in El Paso County.
This became our starting point to develop our new strategic plan for 2023 - 2025. After months of input from the public through surveys and in-person meetings, PPLD staff, Library patrons, and other community members and government officials, PPLD used the rich qualitative data it received from more than 1,600 responses to develop a new strategic plan for 2023 - 2025. Below are the six areas of focus the team identified that became the foundation of the plan.
Strategic Plan: Areas of Focus
PPLD publicly released this plan in detail on Dec. 6, 2022, so everyone could see where, why, and how PPLD will reinvest taxpayer dollars back into the community through 2025. We look forward to using our new strategic plan to fulfill our mission, uphold our values, and aim to achieve our vision for this great community.
View the complete plan here:
The results are in! The Betty Field Youth Memorial Writing Contest, sponsored by the Friends of Pikes Peak Library District, is writing contest for youth in grades 6-12 that focuses on mystery stories. This year, 90 students submitted stories to the contest. These submissions were judged anonymously by volunteers from the Friends of the Library and Pikes Peak Library District staff, who entered over 400 scores for the stories!
6th Grade:
- 1st place: "Pluto Found Missing" by Madalynn Moorhead
- 2nd place: "Friend or Foe?" by Tristan Kumar
- 3rd place: "The Girl Erased from Time" by Hudson Sheperd
7th Grade:
- 1st place: "Scootered" by Jace Baehman
- 2nd place: "The Dissociative Killer" by Raina Seybert
- 3rd place: "The Case of the Cullinan Diamond" Daniel Bloomfield
8th Grade:
- 1st place: "Buried Memories" by Isabelle McNett
- 2nd place: "A Walk in the Woods" by Marian Griffiths
- 3rd place: "A Hole in the Roof" by Cannon Lockburner
9th and 10th Grade:
- 1st place: "Provocation" by Elaine Zou
- 2nd place: "Blue Girls and Zombie Kits" by Riley Ferl
- 3rd place: "The Ridge" by Angel Jimenez
11th and 12th Grade:
- 1st place: "The Puppetmaster" by Sierra Montgomery
- 2nd place: "Mystery of the Missing Happiness" by Evelyn Peake
- 3rd place: "An Odious Case" by Christian Alvis
Winners will be contacted via email with information about their prizes.
The Teen Art Contest is for teens and by teens. Teens create the art, and teens determine the winners.
The theme for our 2019 Teen Art Contest was "Opposites Attract! "
All of the artwork will be displayed at either Penrose Library, East Library, or Library 21c during the month of April.
Here are this years winners, which you can also view below!
Best In Show
“Poseidon’s Goldfish” by Cole R.
High School - First Place
“Opposites Attract” by Isaiah R.
High School - Second Place
“A Spectrum” by Preston S.
Middle School - First Place
“Steamy” by Teddy K.
Middle School - Second Place
“Concrete Jungle” by Ava K.
Coordinator’s Choice - High School
“Calm Before the Storm” by Lydia M.
Coordinator’s Choice - Middle School
“Strong and Courageous” by Chloe H.
You can view the winners here:
