PPLD is teaming up with Muse Comics + Games to offer Free Comic Book Day comic issues for teens on Sat., May 3. This annual nationwide initiative strives to put comics into the hands of both long-time and new comic fans alike. Comics are available at all PPLD locations during this one-day event while supplies last.
Free Comic Book Day is an excellent way for teens to discover new comic series to fall in love with. Comic stores across the U.S. celebrate by giving out special Free Comic Book Day issues of comics, which can range from being the first issue of a comic series or short one-off stories of larger series. As a public library, we know that not all teens have a nearby comic store that they can visit for free comics. We are happy to connect teens in our community with free comic issues to add to their personal libraries.
The Library supports homeschoolers and homeschool families throughout El Paso County in a variety of ways. We offer homeschool programs for enriched learning, provide access to books and research materials, and create spaces for homeschoolers to have time (or experiences) outside of their in-home classroom. Right now, we’re preparing for one of our biggest events for families new to homeschooling or considering homeschooling: the Homeschool Resource Fair.
Our annual Homeschool Resource Fair connects both current and interested homeschool families with resources and information. This event features a wide variety of local exhibitors offering educational and extracurricular opportunities for homeschooling families. Stop by and chat with representatives from organizations and businesses that offer homeschooling services and support, including arts and science activities, sports groups, enrichment programs, tutoring, support groups, and more.
There will also be fun, hands-on activities for kids to enjoy in the atrium. Everyone is welcome!
Tue., April 1 is the seventh annual Library Giving Day! On that date, people across the country — including in El Paso County — come together as part of a movement to strengthen and support our local libraries. Libraries support and enrich people’s lives and have been an integral part of communities throughout the U.S. since shortly after its founding.
Where else but Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) can you find unlimited access to information, lifelong learning, programs, and resources that transcend physical ability, geographic barriers, background, age, and education? In just one trip, you might find books to keep you entertained, make custom gifts in our makerspaces, and enjoy Storytime with your child. We provide essential resources for our community such as tax prep information and services, programs that support Homeschoolers, language learning and job prep classes and resources, eLibrary materials, research and regional history databases, homework help, programs and activities that enrich our community, and more!
With you by our side, the PPLD Foundation can continue to fuel life-changing spaces, programs, and resources. This means fewer barriers to success and increased opportunities of all kinds for members of our community. Your gift today will make a difference in our ability to serve everyone in 2025 and beyond.
Volunteer experience looks good on college applications and can make a job application stand out to potential employers as well. Pikes Peak region teens (ages 13 – 18) looking for volunteer hours won’t want to miss out on one of the most fun volunteer experiences of the year: Summer Adventure!
Our 2025 PPLD Summer Adventure presented by Friends of Pikes Peak Library District is our annual summer reading program where participants complete reading and activities to earn prizes. The program is packed with a wide variety of special summer events and programs for participants to enjoy as well.
Teen volunteers are an essential part of our summer program. They help people register for the program, pass out prizes, support programs, and complete other volunteer duties as needed. And yes, volunteers can register for the program as well!
Announcing the Library Card Design Contest Unveiling Ceremony! Join us in kicking off National Library Week with a ceremony to unveil the winning designs at East Library on Sat., April 5 from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Refreshments will be provided, and new library cards will be available at the end of the ceremony. If you already have a library card, switching your existing card will cost $1 and you will exchange your existing number for a new one. The new library cards will officially be available at all Library locations starting on Mon., April 7.
The contest in January had tremendous participation from our community. We received 814 entries, including paintings, collages, photographs, pen and marker illustrations, colored pencil art, digital art, mixed media, and other art forms. Our Communications team loved receiving your submissions and seeing the outstanding creativity of the people living in El Paso County. Narrowing it down to select winners proved to be a difficult task, and we expanded our target from four to six new cards. The six winners were notified in February.
Centennial Elementary School submitted 53 of the designs after running the Design Contest as a school-wide contest (which received over 300 submissions not included in the 814 received by the Library). The school's student body voted on their top favorites to send to the Library. People of all ages living in El Paso County (except for Security-Widefield, which has a different library system) submitted designs inspired by the Library, the community, or the Pikes Peak region.
Voting is both a right and a responsibility, and democracy works best when everyone participates. Learn more about making your voice heard with the Library’s nonpartisan Voting & Elections Guide for information about:
How to register to vote or update your voter registration, as well as useful information for first-time voters
How you can vote, including when to expect to receive your ballot via mail, when and how to return your completed ballot, and where you can return your mail-in ballot on or before Election Day
What will be on the ballot, including candidates running for elected office as well as local ballot measures
This nonpartisan resource guide, compiled and maintained by PPLD librarians, also includes other useful information like finding news sources, fact checking, and identifying fake news. You can also find information on your current legislators and see how political campaigns are financed.
Here are other ways that PPLD can help you prepare and participate in upcoming elections:
There are secure, 24-hour ballot drop boxes outside of East Library and Library 21c. They are accessible by vehicle, bicycle, or on foot. (Fun facts: These are two of 39 total ballot drop boxes across El Paso County. Plus, East Library has the LARGEST ballot box in the state! It had to be specially built and installed due to high use by local voters.)
Political literature may be available inside your local library as the general election date gets closer. If space allows, at Library locations, there’s usually a table dedicated to this purpose with clearly marked signage, and anyone can display political information in this spot only. (PPLD does not endorse any political campaigns.)
For anyone interested in petitioning, hosting a voter registration drive, or conducting other civic engagement activities on any PPLD property, please review our Solicitation Policy.
Who can vote in Colorado?
U.S. Citizens.
Individuals who are 17 years old if they will be 18 years old by election day (but 15 to 17-year-olds can preregister!).
People who have lived in Colorado for 22 days or more before election day.
People who are not in detention in a correctional facility, jail, or other facility for a felony conviction.
People who have finished their sentence for a felony conviction are eligible to vote.
People who are currently on parole, on probation, or serving a sentence for a misdemeanor, are eligible to vote.
Pikes Peak Library District’s (PPLD) Mobile Library Services has added a new weekly stop in the Rockrimmon area starting Fri., Feb. 21. Every Friday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., the bookmobile will stop at Wilson Ranch Park located at 2335 Allegheny Drive. This is one of three parks our Mobile Libraries visit in Colorado Springs.
Three PPLD staff members will be at the bookmobile weekly to provide Library resources, services, and seasonal programming. It is just a short distance from the shopping center that previously housed the District’s Rockrimmon Library location.
“This is an incredible neighborhood park that is very busy and has a lot of space,” said PPLD Director of Branches Janina Karoub. “The vehicles we will be using are able to transport a large quantity of Library materials, so we anticipate being busy. We are also extremely excited to have secured this location and cannot wait to start hosting Rockrimmon patrons in their community.”
Wilson Ranch Park is easily accessible for people who need additional support to use the bookmobile; vehicles can easily enter and exit the parking lot safely. Additionally, the park offers a seasonal pool, tennis courts, a playground, and portable restrooms, making it an appealing destination for the bookmobile services.
We considered four other locations while looking for an ideal spot for the new mobile stop. The other locations didn’t meet our standards for a quality bookmobile experience for our patrons due to factors like fees, safety concerns, and limited hours of availability.
Library users who want to start using this mobile stop as their primary location to pick up their holds should contact our Mobile Library Services team by calling (719) 531-6333, x7702 or emailing bookmobile@ppld.org.
Thanks to you, our amazing community, 2024 was another excellent year for Library use across the District. Libraries are a vital lifeline for the whole community. We offer resources for education at all ages, financial planning, regional history, homeschooling, genealogy, small business, hobbies, homework help, early literacy, and so much more. Thank you for being Library users!
Our community made outstanding use of our eLibrary resources across the board. For the second year in a row, we reached over 3 million checkouts in a single year on OverDrive and Libby. You also checked out 52,944 items on Hoopla.
Registration increased for many of our annual programs this year as well. We had 5,070 people register for our Winter Adult Reading Program (a 25% increase from 2023). Our 2024 Summer Adventure, presented by Children’s Hospital Colorado, opened to adults for the first time and had 18,302 people register (a 27% increase from 2023).
In July, we started reading Go As a River with our community and had the pleasure of hearing from its Colorado-local author, Shelley Read during our All Pikes Peak Reads author presentation. Due to the high interest, we had to add a second author presentation! We welcomed 28,308 new library cardholders in 2024, and every month nearly 60 thousand people in our community used their PPLD library card. We had 1,905,097 people visit PPLD locations to check out 2,175,331 physical materials, use our meeting and study rooms (32,630 reservations), and use computers (224,751 users). More than 132,912 people attended our 4,120 programs, and 3,588 people checked out Culture Passes to visit nearby museums and attractions. We also answered 98,861 of your burning questions. We look forward to seeing how our community continues to use the Library in 2025!
Here are the top book checkouts of 2024:
Top 10 Juvenile checkouts
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling
City of Spies by James Ponti
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer by Jeff Kinney
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor
Time of the Turtle King by Mary Pope Osborne
Top 10 Young Adult checkouts
The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Top 10 Adult checkouts
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Go As a River by Shelley Read (our 2024 All Pikes Peak Reads title)
The much-anticipated Grand Reopening for Manitou Springs Library will take place on Fri., Feb. 7 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) staff have been hard at work preparing to move back into the historic Carnegie Library building that had been their original PPLD home since January 2013. Thanks to a colocation agreement, for the past three years the Library resided in the Manitou Arts Center due to accessibility limitations at its original location. A recent renovation project made the building more accessible and ADA compliant so now everyone can visit and enjoy the Library.
Join us for opening remarks starting at 4:30 p.m. followed by an open house with live music, refreshments, and activities from 5 – 6:30 p.m. where you can come in and see the updates.
Manitou Springs Library temporarily closing to prepare for move to newly renovated Carnegie Library building
Published on Fri., Oct. 18, 2024
In preparation for its early 2025 move back to its original location, Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) will close Manitou Springs Library on Fri., Nov. 1.
Manitou Springs Library moved to its current location in March 2021, after vacating the Carnegie Library building it inhabited due to ADA compliance issues with the historic building. Since then, the Library has been colocated with the Manitou Art Center (MAC).
Over the last three years the City of Manitou Springs and a dedicated local task force have worked diligently to raise the money needed to update the Carnegie Library to comply with today’s accessibility requirements. Funding included support from the Library District and led to the city breaking ground on the renovation project in January 2024. The project is currently expected to be completed in November 2024.
Library users with items checked out at Manitou Springs Library can check for extended due dates through My Account or by calling (719) 531-6333 and selecting 0 for staff assistance.
The book drop will be closed at 5 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 1 and Library users will not be able to return materials to Manitou Springs Library during the closure.
All holds designated for pickup at Manitou Springs Library will be suspended beginning Wed., Oct. 23 and will remain suspended until the Library reopens. Library users can select a different pick-up location and unsuspend holds through My Account or by calling (719) 531-6333 and selecting 0 for staff assistance.
Makerspace equipment will no longer be available at Manitou Springs Library after Thu., Oct. 31. Equipment is available for reservation at our three makerspace locations.
Library users will have access to the Manitou Art Center with their PPLD library card until Fri., Nov. 15.
PPLD will vacate the shared space with the MAC in mid-November. While the Library District’s partnership with the MAC is ending, PPLD is grateful the partnership allowed us to continue to serve the community while the Carnegie building was being renovated to be accessible to all.
The Library District and the City of Manitou Springs are working closely together to organize grand opening activities in early 2025 to celebrate its return to the Library’s historic home in the community.
Library users are encouraged to use this opportunity to visit and explore other Library locations while this relocation is completed.
Manitou Springs Library has Relocated
Published on Sun., Feb. 21, 2021
Uniting Manitou Springs’ library and art center to enrich community
The community of Manitou Springs now can find art, literature, creative studios, meeting spaces, and the vast resources and services of the public library all one place! Thanks to a new co-location partnership, Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) has relocated Manitou Springs Library to the Manitou Art Center (MAC). Building upon a decade of trust and cooperation, PPLD and the MAC transformed the historic building at 515 Manitou Avenue to become a shared space that extends more benefits to local artists, Library cardholders, and the greater community. PPLD can offer more than traditional library resources and services – and in a way that’s accessible – to all in Manitou Springs. The MAC will join us in welcoming more residents to learn, connect, create, and tinker with their already extensive offering of equipment and creative spaces. Manitou Springs Library officially opened inside of the MAC on Fri., March 5, 2021. Patrons can now safely browse the collection, speak with a librarian, book a computer session, or use the fax, scan, and copier machine. Curbside services are also available at the new co-location.
Get your limited-edition library card while supplies last!
Congratulations to artist Susan Odiam of Manitou Springs! Her original creation will be featured on our limited-edition card to celebrate the relocation of Manitou Springs Library to the MAC.
“We’re thrilled to pair our physical collection and other library services with an organization so focused on serving residents of Manitou Springs,” said PPLD Chief Librarian and CEO John Spears. “Their facilities will immeasurably enhance what we can provide to the local community.” As the shared spaces expand in the future, Manitou Springs Library and the MAC will offer broader access to on-site meeting rooms, computer labs, makerspaces, art studios, and workforce development opportunities. The new co-location partners look forward to a future with more synergy, right in the heart of Manitou Springs, to support people’s aspirations, foster creativity and innovation, and boost prosperity. “We’re excited to see what other long-term benefits arise from this venture, like increasing access to the MAC and expanding PPLD opportunities in Manitou Springs,” said MAC Executive Director Natalie Johnson. “We will leverage each other’s strengths of service.” PPLD’s departure from the historic Carnegie building provides the City of Manitou Springs with necessary time to plan for its future, while still allowing the Library to adequately serve the public right now. PPLD’s leadership welcomes the opportunity to work with the City and return to the historic Carnegie building – if an expansion or facility improvements allow the Library to serve residents of all abilities, and everyone also has the opportunity to take advantage of other common services across El Paso County like access to meeting and study rooms, makerspaces, and more. In the meantime, PPLD and the MAC looks forward to a strong co-location partnership so both can best serve the community now and into the foreseeable future. It’s beneficial for PPLD cardholders, MAC members, local artists, community partners, taxpayers, and the local economy. “This is what can happen when we unite to find ways to better serve our community regardless of the circumstances,” shared Andy Vick, Executive Director for the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region. “I applaud Pikes Peak Library District and the Manitou Art Center for their collaboration, and I hope other organizations are inspired to move beyond traditional community partnerships and consider embracing the shared-space model that capitalizes on existing resources and plays to each other’s strengths.” “Such alliances can lead to more people and businesses flourishing, which is what we need to strengthen the fabric of our communities for years to come.”
Your library card gives you access to a world of possibilities at Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD). In addition to a wide selection of physical and digital items you can check out, you also have access to a variety of online resources and databases. This month, take a closer look at CultureGrams and Peterson’s Test Prep.
You will need a library card that starts with a 4 to access some of the resources on this page outside of a Library location.
CultureGrams Online
What holidays do people celebrate in Nigeria? What recipes are very Colorado? What famous person came from Saskatchewan? Satisfy your cultural curiosity or explore the world from home with CultureGrams Online. This colorful database includes in-depth information about states, provinces, and countries. The database is user-friendly and laid out in a way that makes it easy to enjoy on your own or with any curious young people in your life.
On the map, click the place you want to learn about, and off you go! Each entry includes basic information such as climate, wildlife, geography, and economics, or you can read up on famous people, significant history, and other interesting cultural notes.
Country pages include infographics and audio clips of national anthems or other cultural sounds. You will also find helpful information on cultural gestures, basic greetings (which you can listen to), and other details.
As a fun bonus, U.S. state and Canadian province entries include recipes!
Did we mention that there is a kids’ section? Kids will enjoy additional information about schools, holidays, what games and sports people play, what life is like for children, and other details they can relate to.
Peterson’s Test Prep
You might be aware that Peterson’s Test Prep supports students, but do you know about its uses outside of academics? This resource helps you achieve both your academic and career goals.
Learn key skills in bookkeeping and cosmetology, or find the study guides you need for vocational tests in postal work, teaching, real estate, the food industry, emergency services, law enforcement, and other careers. Additionally, there are courses where you can brush up on your foundational computer, science, math, reading, and writing skills for work. If your employer uses ACT Workkeys tests, you can also find study guides for those here.
English language learners and people preparing for the U.S. Citizenship test will also find helpful study guides.
If you are on a job hunt, check out the career advice, online resume, and job searching tools
For students, Peterson’s Test Prep offers study guides for a variety of school subjects (including Advanced Placement), college test prep guides, and graduate school test guides (GRE, LSAT, GMAT, and others). Other handy tools include school search, scholarship search, and financial aid information.
