During the first nine months of this year, the Denver Public Library (DPL) has been able to fulfill many of the commitments made to the community thanks to funding from Strong Library, Strong Denver, supported by the Denver Public Library Fund. Some highlights include reduced wait times for very popular titles, the addition of several new resources for cardholders, staff pay adjustments, and extended hours at several branch locations.
Denver voters passed measure 2i in November 2022, which established the DPL Fund, providing the library with an additional $32 million a year. The additional funding is allowing the library to more fully meet the evolving needs of the community. The first year of funding is an implementation year and the library is taking a phased approach as it invests the funding.
One of the main goals for the DPL Fund was to address staff pay. DPL staff received a bonus in March while DPL completed a pay analysis. In August, DPL was able to provide pay increases for 76 percent of eligible employees thanks to Strong Library, Strong Denver, supported by the DPL Fund.
The library was also able to begin delivering on several other community priorities including:
• Extending hours at six branch locations with more to come.
• Reducing wait times for extremely popular eBooks.
• Introducing new resources for cardholders including Freegal Music+, Statista, Craftsy, Craftsy en Español, Tutor.com, and TheShelf TV. All are available at denverlibrary.org.
DPL was also able to hire additional staff, fund the new Teen Library space at Central Library, provide LaunchPads (tablets geared towards children ages 3-7), and make facility improvements at the Westwood Branch Library.
The work continues during the year one implementation year. Still to come, the public can look forward to more open job opportunities at the library, additional expanded hours at branch libraries, refreshed spaces at more branch locations, and more available resources for cardholders. Regular updates on Strong Library, Strong Denver, supported by the DPL Fund are available at denlib.org/stronglibrary.