• 1914 – 1922: Members of the Woman’s Club
raised funds to purchase two lots on Davis Hill (currently on the corner
opposite the Donut Haus) in 1914. The first library had a collection of 262
books housed in one room of the Estes Park School, which was located at the
corner of Park Lane and MacGregor Avenue. Open two afternoons a week, the
library was run by Florence Bond. Her salary was $1.50 per week. By 1920, the
library was forced to find other space in the Hupp Hotel and in other retail
establishments.
• 1922 - 1963: The Woman's Club raised $5,000 to build and furnish a small
stone and stucco building in Bond Park, which opened in September, 1922. The
name was officially changed to Estes Park Public Library and it was open five
days a week. Through the generosity of Mrs. Eleanor E. Hondius and her son
Pieter Hondius, Jr., an addition was added in 1935. It more than doubled the
size of the library. Miss Bond retired in 1941. Ora Carr, who had been the
assistant since 1938, took over and stayed for a total of 24 years.
• 1963 – 1970: Mrs. E.L. Lacey was appointed librarian in 1963. The
library was open six days a week from 10-12, 2-5, 7:30-9. In 1968, Mrs. Phyllis
Hurt became the librarian. The Library Board (which was still comprised of
members of the Woman’s Club) voted to join the new High Plains Library System,
which offered workshops and help in “modernizing” library operations. The
library was expanded and remodeled and the new building was dedicated in
October, 1969. Phyllis Hurt retired in 1970.
• 1970 – 1980: Ruth Deffenbaugh was hired as the librarian in 1970. She
and Lennie Bemiss started the Colorado collection and organized the volunteer
effort which produced the newspaper index and the beginnings of the oral history
program. By this time, the Town of Estes Park was providing a substantial amount
of annual funding for salaries, utilities, insurance, etc. An addition of 900
square feet was added to the west side of the building in 1978. A Friends of the
Library group was established in 1978 to “promote the use and awareness of the
library’s resources and facilities and to provide and promote financial
support.”
• 1980 – 1985: Ruth Deffenbaugh retired in 1980 and was replaced by Ted
Schmidt. He was the first library director who was not a member of the Woman’s
Club and also the first to have an MLS degree. When Ted added Sunday hours in
1984, staff increased to 6 full time in 1984. Thirty active volunteers
contributed 2,100 hours of service. Ted served as director until his family
moved to Missoula, Montana in 1985.
• 1985 – 1990: Judy Hoxsey was hired in 1985 to build a new library. In
addition, The Library Foundation was incorporated in 1985 “for the purpose of
promoting and advancing the welfare” of the Library. Judy organized a committee
to pursue a site study for the new library in 1986; the southwest corner of the
Municipal Parking Lot was chosen. In addition, Judy conducted a campaign to
establish permanent funding for the Library by offering a separate taxing
district in 1988. The district would be funded by 2.5 mills on property tax
within boundaries the same as the Hospital District. The Estes Valley Public
Library District was approved by voters on November 8, 1988. In 1990, seven full
time and three part time staff members started inputting library holdings
records into CARL (online database). More than 12,000 records were inputted by
the end of the year.
• 1990 – 1998: In 1990 the library added a FAX machine, IBM typewriter,
three CARL terminals with a multiplexer and modem. Staff also started
re-registration of 9,000 plus library card holders for conversion to the CARL
System in March, 1991. During this time the new library was built, books were
moved with forklifts, and the current library building was opened in June, 1991.
The Library offered the first public access internet station in 1991. By 1997,
4,615 users were lining up for four internet terminals. Judy retired in May
1998.
• 1998 – 2005: Ed Volz arrived September 1998. The Library Board asked
for a bond issue for $735,000 in bonds for library expansion in 1999. This issue
failed but voters passed a separate issue approving an override of the TABOR
amendment. This allowed the library to collect, retain, and expend all revenues
that the current 2.39 mill levy would generate. This was also known as de-Brucing.
The construction bond issue passed on its second try in 2000 to fund the second
story addition, which opened in 2002. The Library migrated its online database
from CARL to TLC in September 2001. At the suggestion of Volz, the Board asked
for a mill levy increase in November 2004 to fund improved staff salaries and
maintain current hours of operation. This was successful in large part due to
the volunteer work of Don Widrig and Lee Lasson, who organized the YFTL “Yes for
the Library” campaign.
• 2005 – 2007: In 2005, the staff consisted of 9 full time employees with
8 part time or substitute workers. The collection contained approximately 45,710
volumes, 200 magazine subscriptions, 15 newspaper subscriptions and 5,886 books
on tape or CD, music CDs, videos, DVDs, and CD-ROMS. Volz resigned on May 13, 2005.
New director Claudine Perrault arrived at the end of September 2005. In April and May of 2007, the downstairs was remodeled and the computer commons was created on the second floor.
• 2008: In 2008 the library’s focus was turned more than ever towards providing resources for our children. Children’s programs were expanded and attendance at these programs totaled over 12,000. Due to generous grants from both the Library Foundation and Friends of the Library, a renovation was undertaken and the children’s room was completely remodeled for 21st Century use. The now year old Computer Commons area saw approximately 30,400 hours of patron usage and items in the collection circulated over 181,000 times.
