Patricia Burk suggested I write a column about the Mancos Public Library. I'll write what I know personally and then revert to a concise history from current librarian Lee Hallberg.
The library was housed in a building west of the old two-story grade-school building, which was built in 1888 on 5 acres donated by George Bauer. The building west of the grade school was called the Sloyd building and housed the library for a number of years. The Sloyd building was originally at the east end of what is now the school grounds and housed the grade school for two years. In 1951, a new grade school was erected at the east of the school grounds, and the two-story building west of the high school was dismantled. In 1967, A new junior high was completed, and the Sloyd building was sold and moved to the Don Jordan ranch some 3 miles northwest of town and was used for storage.
The library was housed in the old town hall for a few years before finding a home in the basement of the high school. Students first used the high school building in January 1910.
I remember when the museum was housed in an area right next to the present VFW building. My wife's mother helped convert part of it into a library.
The library was kept open by volunteers until the mid-1960s. In the late '60s, a grant allowed the library to hire a librarian. The Mancos Library District came into being in 1987. In 1989, the Mancos Friends of the Library purchased a building on Main Street and began a multiyear renovation effort completed in 1992.
Patsy Smith was the librarian when the size of the library was way too small to house the materials, and with her encouragement, supporters launched a campaign in 2005 to raise the mill Levy to 6.0. That provided funds for the construction of a new and larger library.
Multiyear campaigns generated support from private foundations, governmental grants and corporate and individual donations to design and build the new library. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 30, 2009, marked the opening of the new library.
The spacious library building has computers for the use of patrons and a large children's section. The spaciousness of the library, however, came with a cost, and a number of things have been done to keep the library out of the red. Next spring, the library will begin work to have a critically needed two-mill levy passed in November 2014.