In my thirty-five years as a public librarian I can say with confidence that I have never heard anyone complain about funding a public library. Not the people who use a library, not the people who don’t. Even in Telluride, where it was common to hear the library building jokingly called the Taj Mahal, alluding to a 20,000 square foot building built for 2,000 people, I would hear the same people claim with pride that it was their vote that broke the tie to build a new library. (The library ballot question won by 2 votes.)
In 2007, a county in rural Oregon voted to close down their library when timber revenue plummeted. Yet several years later the library district was reformed and refunded. That’s because libraries, like schools, symbolize hope. Is there any more democratic institution? No matter what your circumstances, no matter whether you struggled in school or dropped out entirely, whether you came from money or barely got by, you can learn anything and become anything with a free library card. That’s hope. That’s promise. That’s freedom.
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg studied neighborhoods in Chicago and New York City with high rates of survival during crises like blackouts or floods, and found that where there was a cohesion created by social institutions, there was much greater resilience.
“Investing in social infrastructure — physical places like libraries, parks, and community centers,” says Klinenberg in his 2019 bestseller, Palaces for the People, “is crucial for combating inequality, polarization, and social isolation.”
Klinenberg’s study verifies what we all know. Investment in the public good is an investment worth making. Investment in your Ruby Sisson Library is an investment worth making. As we prepare to open a newly expanded library building in August, we need your investment. Investment in a makerspace where teens will learn the technology they need to compete in a tech-driven job market. Investment in a children’s garden where children will learn to grow their own food and care for the earth. Investment in a community room where we can all come together to learn from each other.
Investment in the library is investment in the future of Pagosa. Won’t you join our capital campaign and build a future we can all believe in?
Contact Katie Dobbins at 970-264-2102 or Barb Brattin at 970-264-9360 to get started. Thank you!
Construction Update
Insulation and drywall continues for the next several weeks. You’ll see more exterior activity as winter transitions to spring. The building should be ready sometime in August and our grand opening is tentatively set for Labor Day weekend!
ESL Classes Expanded!
Free in-person evening classes happen on Mondays from 10am-noon, Tuesdays 3-5pm, and Thursdays, from 4-6 pm for students of all levels at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 225 S. Pagosa Street. Please help us pass the word about these classes.
Clases de inglés
Clases gratis de inglés cada lunes 10am-12, martes 3-5pm y Jueves de 4-6 p.m. Ayudenos a informar a todos quienes necesitan aprender inglés. Durante el plazo de la nueva construcción en la biblioteca, las clases se llevarán a cabo en St. Patrick ‘s Episcopal Church, 225 S. Pagosa Street.
Collecting for Local Food Banks
If you have an extra can or two of food you can share, or some dried food in sturdy packaging, please bring it to the library. Our local agencies will pick up and distribute the food to where it’s needed.
Tax Forms and Booklets Available
Pick up Colorado tax forms and booklets as well as federal 1040 and 1040A forms and instructions. Tax help is still available by appointment. Contact Kathy at 970-553-9150 or kathy.taxhelp@gmail.com to make an appointment.
GED by Appointment Only
As we gear up for the grand opening of our new library space, we’re taking a break from regular GED hours. If you are working toward your General Education Degree or a high school equivalency exam, or if you could use a tutoring session to help you with your educational goals, give the library a call at 970-264-2209 and we’ll connect you with our instructor.
New 2026 Colorado Parks Passes for Checkout
It may seem like the wrong time of year to visit Colorado state parks, but with our mild winter, why not get outside and enjoy the parks’ off-season? The Ruby Sisson Library has free Colorado Parks passes for checkout that include a backpack with nature guides, binoculars, and fun activities. Reserve yours today.
Activities calendars
Pick up monthly calendars at the library or check the website at https://www.pagosalibrary.org/events-calendar so you don’t miss any of the free programs, events and activities available to you and your family.
Conversational Spanish
Our popular Conversational Spanish group continues on Mondays from 4-5pm at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church at 225 South Pagosa. This is a great opportunity to practice your Spanish in a free group setting. No minimum skill level needed.
Adult book club
Join us for Ruby’s Book Club is held the second Tuesday of each month, alternating between fiction and nonfiction titles. Our March title is Educated, a bestselling 2018 memoir by Tara Westover about her journey from a survivalist family in rural Idaho, where she received no formal education, to earning a PhD from Cambridge University. Anyone is welcome to attend. During construction it takes place at the new Harman Park Transit Center, 83 Harman Park Drive, next to the Sheriff’s Office.
Family storytime
Wednesdays from 10-11 a.m. join a free educational hour of reading, singing and free play to build early literacy skills.
Writers Guild
Thursdays from 9-11 a.m. the Ruby’s Writers Guild welcomes writers looking for support, guidance, resources and camaraderie with other writers at this free gathering. During construction the group will meet at the Senior Center, 451 Hot Springs Blvd. Enter through the left side of the building.
Tech Time
Free in-person slots are available from 2-4 p.m. on Thursdays. Taylor helps with basic questions relating to computers, smartphones and tablets and also provides assistance in accessing the library’s online resources. No appointment is needed, but please bring your device’s charger and passwords with you.
Our New Books Collections are Brimming with Interesting Titles!
For a full list of new titles and to reserve your copy, go to www.pagosalibrary.org and
choose New Items under the Quicklinks menu.
New Nonfiction
What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs, by Sharman Apt Russell.
The Journey of Desire: Searching for the Life You’ve Always Dreamed Of, by John Eldridge.
Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Gate of Expansion, by Elliott West. (Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History)
Dollars and Dominion: US Bankers and the Making of a Superpower, by Mary Bridges
New Fiction
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, winner of the Booker Prize in 2025.
Robert B. Parker’s Big Shot. Policeman Jesse Stone becomes the main suspect in an investigation into the death of a nemesis.
The Promise by Damon Galnut. The story of three siblings in a changing South Africa.
New Audiobook Westerns
Wind Walker by prolific western writer Terry C. Johnston, book 9 in The Titus Bass Series.
The Missing, by Thomas Eidson. A novel of the American West, about a young woman raising her two daughters in “an isolated and lawless wilderness.”
Rowdy, book one in the Wild and Mean, Sharp and Keen series from Chris Mullen, follows 13 year old Rowdy as he journeys alone from his home on the Mississippi toward Lincoln, New Mexico.
Barbara Brattin is honored to lead the Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library through this exciting time in its history. When she's not at the library, she's hiking with her Anatolian Shepherd Gigi and Rez dog Vic, traveling the world, visiting her grandchildren, or... you guessed it... reading !