While the Northwest College student center construction nears the final stretch, fans of large building projects (such as my children when they were really young and loved excavators) will still be entertained for years to come. 

That’s because the Powell Library staff is preparing for its own building to be demolished and rebuilt. It’s an exciting time for the library, but maybe a little bittersweet as well, with all the memories made in the current building. 

Park County Library Director Karen Horner understands, and said they’re planning on some kind of open house before demolition, but after the books are moved, to allow residents to go in the building to both reminisce and see some of the problem areas such as water leaks that have made a new building such a priority. (The break room, she said, is nicknamed the “dungeon” for good reason.) The current building is expected to close for good the week of April 22.

The best news from all this change for library fans in the short term, is that the library will only be closed for a couple of weeks before it opens again with nearly full services at Homesteader Hall in the Park County Fairgrounds. Horner is hoping for a May 6 open. Thanks to the Park County commissioners, the county is giving over one of its prime rental buildings to the library for use throughout the long process to first demolish and then build a new building, which is planned to take roughly two years or more to complete. 

Horner told me last week that before they heard about the possibility of Homesteader Hall, library staff was surmising ways to provide services while fully remote, such as holding pop up events. While they may still do some more outreach than usual due to working with less space, Horner said they’ll be able to hold most of the events they usually do, even Summer Reading. 

It’s good to see the county step up to ensure Powell is not without a library, as a library is a vital piece of a community. As my middle schooler can attest, the library is a fantastic after school spot, especially in the winter when going home would require a 12 mile slog past Ralston. 

So a thank you to the county for making the space available, and thank you to the library staff members for being willing to upend their lives for a while to allow for the creation of a brand new library that Powell residents certainly deserve.