Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) completed our initial community engagement efforts for the Wheat Ridge Library Services project in June. We had incredible participation from the Wheat Ridge Community, including 706 survey responses, 313 conversations across five local gathering places and 15 interviews with community leaders.
We set out to determine how well the current Wheat Ridge Library location and services meet community needs, who is using the Library and who’s not, what does the community think of the library’s current location and what other library services or amenities the community would like.
Framed as creating the “recipe to my local library,” these efforts revealed four key findings about library services in Wheat Ridge:
- Awareness Gap – Lack of awareness, not satisfaction, is a notable barrier to library access.
- Constraints vs. Comfort – Space was the single most-cited barrier in the survey. Yet even as they’re asking the library to do more, a small footprint provides an atmosphere some patrons value.
- No Clear Priority in Library Features – When asked what would bring them back more often, residents spread their feedback across a wide menu of selections, rather than rallying around one or two.
- Staff is the Special Sauce – People return to Wheat Ridge Library because of the connection and environment cultivated by the staff.
Read the Wheat Ridge Library Services Community Engagement Report (PDF), opens a new window for a full summary of our methodology and findings.
Recommendation to Relocate Library Services
In each step of the project so far, two things became apparent. While current library services in Wheat Ridge are well-loved and convenient for nearby residents, there are also gaps in access that cannot be addressed by the current space, such as:
- Current location has geographic, space and visibility limitations
- Inability to create a fully accessible building for staff and patrons
- Lack of opportunity to meet growing demand for programming for all ages
- Lack of opportunity to provide community spaces
Based on these findings, JCPL recommended moving Wheat Ridge Library services to a location that will better meet the needs of the community. On August 20, the Board of Trustees directed staff to move forward with this recommendation.
Our next step is to develop a Program of Service – a document that outlines the vision of future library services in Wheat Ridge. We will also be developing criteria for a site search in the coming months.
There will be more opportunities for community involvement in the future, which we will share as the project progresses. In the meantime, Wheat Ridge Library remains open and ready to make your next visit an exceptional one.
For more information, visit our Wheat Ridge Library Services Project page, or sign up for the project e-newsletter to get updates delivered straight to your inbox.