James LaRue - myliblog

A famous Wyoming bumper sticker reads: “Lord, Please Give Me One More Boom — This Time I Promise Not To P*ss It Away.” Boom and bust defines the West. Some of us get caught on the wrong side of each end of the cycle. The smarter ones learn from it. They hedge their bets. They invest their money in things they can sustain. I’ve been a library administrator for almost 45 years. This is the first time I’ve worked in a district that got 50% or more of its revenue from the natural gas sector. It makes you cautious. It encourages you to save. In 2026, library revenues fell by over $830,000, all due to a decrease in natural gas valuation. In 2006, Garfield County voters approved a 1.0 mill levy for libraries. Its purpose was to build or renovate branches in each of the county’s six municipalities. The money also provided some operational support. That’s why we have six beautiful libraries, one in every town in the county. We keep them up, too. In 2027, those bonds (basically mortgages for pub...

I forgot to record this when it happened. Back in April. the Post Independent posted their winners of the 2025 Locals' Choice Awards. Garfield County Public Library District won twice: I edged out New Castle Branch Manager Ana Gaytan for the #1 Librarian; she came in at #2. They even gave us a plaque, on display at our HQ. Thank you, Garfield County!

In the last two months of 2023, 63 library staff (and 3 of our board members) interviewed some 90 “movers and shakers” in the community. These were people representing many sectors of our community: business, civic (as in civic clubs like Kiwanis, Lions, Optimists and Rotarians), education, elected, faith-based, government (non-elected), news/media, and not-for-profit. The preliminary list was generated by our own staff. Then we sent out our people to meet with them at their own place of business. We asked them five questions: What’s your story? That is, how did you come to be here at this time in your life? What motivates you? What drives you in your life or work? As you think about your constituents (the people you represent or serve), what do you think will be their key issues over the next 18-24 months? What are your aspirations for the community? Who else should we talk to? The intent of the questions was twofold. First, we wanted to have some sense of the backstory of community l...