{"id":258,"date":"2025-07-11T11:01:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T11:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sleepystork.com\/?p=258"},"modified":"2025-07-17T10:19:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T10:19:21","slug":"denver-spent-60-million-on-its-library-and-still-closes-every-friday-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sleepystork.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/denver-spent-60-million-on-its-library-and-still-closes-every-friday-opinion\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver spent $60 million on its library \u2014 and still closes every Friday (Opinion)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denver just poured $60 million and four years of construction into a gleaming makeover of its Central Library, funded largely by the 2017 Elevate Denver bond. City leaders cut the ribbon last November, calling it a \u201cworld-class downtown living room.\u201d The building is a 21st-century public space built for all.<\/p>\n

But eight months later, that living room still pulls the shades every Friday.<\/p>\n

Starting July 6, the city\u2019s flagship library will operate Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will remain completely closed on Fridays. Evening hours? Still none. That leaves the public with just 44 hours of access per week — far fewer than what\u2019s typical in similarly sized U.S. cities.<\/p>\n

Denver residents have paid not once, but twice for better access. The 2017 bond covered the renovation. Then, in 2022, voters approved Referred Question 2I<\/a>, a property-tax increase pitched specifically as the key to expanding library hours — especially on nights and weekends.<\/p>\n

Despite that promise, Central continues to close before dinner every day and remains dark on a weekday that working families, students, and unhoused residents rely on for internet access, research help, and basic community services.<\/p>\n

Other cities don\u2019t treat their central libraries like optional luxuries. Seattle\u2019s Central Library is open seven days a week, including evenings. So is Minneapolis. Austin and Kansas City also offer full-week service, with multiple nights open past 6 p.m. These peer cities provide between 58 and 65 hours of weekly public access at their main branches. Denver offers just 44.<\/p>\n

What makes that shortfall even harder to understand is the budget behind it. Denver Public Library\u2019s annual operating budget now stands at $95 million — nearly identical to Seattle\u2019s. The City of Denver\u2019s general fund will grow to $1.76 billion in 2025. And yet, no new full-time library positions have been added.<\/p>\n

Insiders estimate that keeping Central open on Fridays and adding just two evenings per week would cost around $1 million a year — roughly 1% of the dedicated mill levy voters approved in 2022. The money exists. What\u2019s missing is the will to spend it where it was promised.<\/p>\n

The library may cite staffing shortages or safety concerns near Civic Center Park. But other cities face the same pressures — and still prioritize keeping their civic institutions open when people need them most.<\/p>\n

City leaders like to call the Central Library a model of 21st-century public space — a cornerstone of civic life. But a public institution that closes every Friday and never stays open past dinner doesn\u2019t anchor anything. It isolates. What Denver needs isn\u2019t more ribbon-cuttings \u2014 it needs consistent, reliable access to the spaces people rely on most.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear: this isn\u2019t about logistics. It\u2019s about broken promises. The 2017 bond was marketed as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize core public infrastructure. The 2022 tax was sold as a way to restore library hours and reestablish libraries as true community anchors.<\/p>\n