At first glance, it appeared to be a typical Saturday afternoon at the Pikes Peak Library District’s Rockrimmon branch in northwest Colorado Springs.

Patrons roamed the shelves, checked out materials, and chatted with staff members. Children bustled about as their parents tried to corral them. A few regulars sat in the reading section, perusing periodicals.

But any materials checked out from the Rockrimmon branch on Saturday would have to be returned at another location, as the library would close its doors for the final time at 6 p.m.

At the library system’s Oct. 16 meeting, the district’s board of trustees voted 5-2 not to renew the lease on the building — located in a strip mall at 832 Village Center Drive — effectively closing a branch that has been open for 35 years.

The news has been met with shock, anger and opposition from regular patrons, current and former residents, and a handful of Colorado Springs City Council members. On Saturday afternoon, dozens of people gathered outside the building in a final, impassioned protest.

Later, during the library’s last hours of operation, staff members and longtime patrons remembered the times they shared at Rockrimmon, the relationships they’ve enjoyed, and the branch’s decades-long standing as a community social hub and information resource.

“This library feels like a part of our family,” said Chris Nichols, who estimated that he and his family visited the branch an average of three times a week.

“This place has been a huge memory maker for us. It’s going to be weird, not having it here.”

Ginger Nichols, Chris’ wife, said the couple and their four children probably will use Library 21c, but not as often, because it’s no longer convenient.

“(Library 21c) is a good library, but it’s newer, and bigger, so it doesn’t have the same personal feel,” Ginger said. “This branch felt more like a community, a regular place where we and our kids usually run into people we know.”

Siblings Annalisa Young and Joie Young-Broin were ages 6 and 4, respectively, when their family moved to Colorado Springs in 1991.

“It’s been our library ever since,” Young said. “I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that we grew up in this library.”

The siblings vacillated between laughter and tears as they shared decades of reminiscences, writing many of them down on index cards for an album that the staff put out for that purpose.

“I think we were the reason they put a limit on how many books you could put on hold,” Young-Broin said.

“It might have been those 52 books you checked out that one time,” Young teased.

For Young-Broin, who is nonbinary, the Rockrimmon library was where they began the quest for identity.

“Searching for myself, in books … I couldn’t have done that if I hadn’t had a safe place to come, a place where I could find my own narrative,” said Young-Broin. “This is where we learned what we like to read, and who we are.”

“Every time a library closes, the world gets a little smaller,” Young lamented.

Pat Webb, board member and “director emeritus” of Friends of the Pikes Peak Library District, was present for the branch’s grand opening in 1989.

“I was in disbelief when I heard (about the closing),” Webb said. “I can’t believe it. It hasn’t hit me yet. I think it’s very, very wrong.”

Gabrielle Pantano, who has worked at the west-side branch since 2021, said she values the personal and professional relationships she has built there.

“The people I’ve gotten to work with, whether they be co-workers or patrons, have been amazing,” she said. “I’ve developed a lot of good relationships here that hopefully will last for a long time.”

While Pantano is saddened by the closing, she said she is grateful for her time at Rockrimmon.

“It’s been a hard few months,” she said. “I’m very sad, but I’m also very thankful for the time I did get to spend here, and for the relationships I’ve developed. Today has been bittersweet.”

Teen services associate Amanda Franke said getting to know the local middle- and high school patrons has been “the greatest gift.”

“They were such amazing kids, and they were always so excited, whether it was to come in for Anime Club, or to learn how to knit a hat,” Franke said. “I will miss seeing them.”

As the security officer announced that the library would close in 30 minutes, Judy Darcy moved quietly among the remaining patrons, handing out yellow flyers and whispering words of encouragement.

“We’re not giving up,” said Darcy, of Save Rockrimmon Library, a grassroots group that has raised about $70,000 in pledged donations in an effort to keep the building open.

“Libraries are too important. We’ll be at every board meeting until they reopen this branch.”

About 15 patrons stayed until closing, still not quite willing to bid farewell to their favorite branch.

PPLD’s Board of Trustees assured Rockrimmon staff members that they would not lose their jobs; they will soon begin working at other branches. But as the last customers reluctantly walked out at 6 p.m., some of the employees wiped away tears.

“I hope that our patrons here at Rockrimmon know that they were valued,” Pantano said. “I know that everyone here has cared a lot about helping them, and seeing them every day, and being a part of their lives.”

A month after Rockrimmon closure decision, library district facing public backlash