Community gathers in front of the Rockrimmon Library on it’s last scheduled day open
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- Patrons of the Rockrimmon Library held another peaceful protest on the last day the library will be open to the public.
They had posters that read "Save the Rockrimmon Library" and "Keep it open for the Kids."
Throughout the day we saw patrons returning books, many of them were sad to know this could be the last time they'd get to walk through those doors.
For the past 28 years, every Saturday Joe Pelka has been sitting at the same table inside the Rockrimmon Library. This place holds lots of memories for him and his family.
"Bringing my granddaughter here on the same day I brought my father-in-law here. So we had three generations at once in here, on a few occasions," said Pelka.
Once he found out that the Rockrimmon Library was closing its doors, he decided to do something about it.
"I started attending the meetings. Speaking at the meetings via Zoom, expressing my objection, along with lots of other people. And, we've put up quite an effort to stop that," said Pelka.
This afternoon many patrons gathered in front of Rockrimmon Library, on its last day of operation.
"This was a very bittersweet day for us. We love our community so much and our community loves our library. It's like the heart of our community," said Karla Powers Organizational Director of Save Rockrimmon Library.
In October the Pikes Peak Library District board voted 5-2 not to renew the building's lease.
Then in November, three city council members signed and sent a letter to the library board of trustees. They requested in part to reverse or suspend their decision.
The group 'Save Rockrimmon Library' has been doing everything it can to keep the library open and they're not giving up that easily.
"We feel like we're just at the very beginning of the road. We're trying to do this not just for Rockrimmon Library, but for all of the community libraries in this area. It's not just our problem, it's the whole community's larger community's problem," said Powers.
Community members are hopeful the library board will change their minds during the December 4 meeting.
