Garfield County Libraries: Looking Forward in 2025

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:

1. What’s your story? That is, how did you come to be here at this time in your life?
2. What motivates you? What drives you in your life or work?
3. 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?
4. What are your aspirations for the community?
5. 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 leaders. Learning that story was fascinating to staff and helped to give context to their observations.

Second, we wanted to work up some kind of map of shared concerns. Not everyone always mentioned the same things. But after we did about seven of the interviews, there did get to be a clear convergence of topics.

You probably have a couple of questions of your own.

You may wonder, “What makes a ‘mover and shaker?'” My working definition: someone who talks with a lot of people and after a while detects or invents patterns to make sense of what they hear. That pattern recognition is the same thing as making meaning. It is the beginning of wisdom.

But leadership is more than just noticing things. It’s working to make them better. It’s the ability to make positive change.

You may wonder, too, why on earth would the library undertake such an effort? Answer: because we want to understand the environment in which we operate and we want to find ways to add value. The library is a social asset, with resources that range from human to material to digital. Once we had some grasp of the community agenda, we could deploy those resources to help.

In the end, in order of repeated mention, the community expressed six distinct categories of issues.

1. Housing. The availability of affordable living space affects almost everything.
2. Mental health. If there is one word that captures the 21st century so far, that word is “anxiety.” Another strong finding was the prevalence of loneliness, brought on by isolation for seniors, and social media for almost everyone else, but especially teens.
3. Building community. I was struck by the fact that despite the broad diversity of the people we talked to, no one suggested rounding up either liberals or conservatives and running them out of town. People wanted to see evidence of cooperation, of local engagement, of celebrating and including everyone. They valued public art and local history.
4. Economy. Businesses wanted more support from chambers and towns. A surprising percentage of our community struggles with the markers of poverty.
5. Quality of life. Many people mentioned climate change as an issue. But once again, it really wasn’t political. Coloradans tend to be active and outdoorsy. Garfield County residents were keenly interested in education about natural resources, about the effect of too much traffic and too little water.
6. Education. This was in the midst of RE-2’s controversy about curriculum. Many respondents bemoaned the lack of civility and courtesy at public meetings. They also expressed concern about post-COVID gaps in education, and the performance gap between English and Spanish-speaking students.

Of course, these issues will change over time. But they remain not only a good snapshot of important topics, they also give focus to library planning.

I’ll write more about our initiatives in future columns. But one of the first results of the interviews was the shift in our staff. People who work in libraries are helpers. They find their reward in giving people just the thing they were looking for, seeing them solve problems and find new potential.

To a person, staff felt more engaged with and educated about their community. They also felt more confident in their own skills and treasured their new relationships. They got more interested in being movers and shakers themselves.

Here’s looking forward to a more connected and coordinated new year.

[This column was originally published in the January 24, 2025 issue of the Post Independent.]