(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Pikes Peak Library Board of Trustees voted on Wednesday, Aug. 20 to spend millions of dollars on buying two existing library branch locations.
The two locations–Ruth Holley Library in Colorado Springs and Ute Valley Library in Cascade–were previously under a rental agreement. Ruth Holley had once been listed alongside the now-shuttered Rockrimmon Library as potentially needing to close in order to save the funds that were being allocated for rent.
Rockrimmon was ultimately closed in December 2024 for that reason.
Now, the Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) has elected to purchase Ruth Holley and Ute Valley. In a unanimous vote on Wednesday, the Board of Trustees agreed to purchase Ruth Holley for $2,248,000 and Ute Valley for $400,000.
This vote has left some wondering why the same effort wasn’t made to save the Rockrimmon Library. The community has been vocal about its disagreement with the branch closing, especially since the reasoning was tight budgets and lack of funding.