3 months after closure, Rockrimmon Interim Library is set to open

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - You may recall that just a few months back, the Rockrimmon Library branch was shuttered in what the library board described as a cost cutting move; after 35 years of service.

Typically folks enter through the doors of Christ the King Lutheran Church for Sunday church service, but soon Rockrimmon community members will go trough to enjoy a new space that's been dubbed, "Reading at the Rock: Rockrimmon Interim Library".

"It's kind of surprising that how much money it actually takes to even open just an interim library," Robin
Karasopoulos said, who is a volunteer for COS Reads; the nonprofit organization behind the push to keep Rockrimmon library.

"It was born out of the Save the Rockrimmon Library organization that is trying to fill a gap that our community has now from people abruptly closing...seniors who were going to the library and mothers with small children who were going to the library have nowhere to go," Karasopoulos said.

Community response from the closure has now helped raise over $45,000 from the community, in addition to several thousand books that have been donated.

Even then, Karasopoulos says, the finances have been tough to work out, "We have to do a lot of things that cost money like or background checks for our volunteers...we went around trying to find space to put an interim library in until we can get a permanent solution."

Then comes: Christ the King Lutheran Church.

"Most of us live here. So, we were all part of being bummed out that the library was going away and if we could offer a space here and work together on it, that was our goal," Diane Zand said.

Church council president Diane Zand says there aren't many vacant and affordable spots to go around in Rockrimmon, so opening their doors was a no-brainer. 

"I will be honest and say there's a tiny bit of, it is a little scary because we're a very small church...everyone is like, let's try it, let's see what we can do, because we are very, very service oriented and so we had a lot of people like, we can do this," Zand said.

While they're grateful for the temporary fix, advocates have not given up hope on a permanent solution, "What we really, really want is another library. That's all we want. But for now? This is wonderful," Karasopoulos said.

An opening date has not yet been set for the interim library. For now, volunteers are sorting and stacking books so that reading at the rock can open its doors soon.

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