Aurora residents prepare to lose two library branches
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AURORA, Colo. — Bao Tran watched his two daughters stack toy blocks in the back corner of the Chambers Plaza Library, located on Chambers Road and East Colfax Avenue in Aurora. Since the building reopened in the fall of 2022, Tran and his two daughters, 14 and 13, have been regulars..
Tran owns a nail salon in the plaza, and his daughters often walk across the parking lot to use computers, read and do homework at the library.
“Since the library has opened, we’ve been here. We were the first people in this library,” Tran said.
Now, they’ll have to look elsewhere. Aurora is closing two library branches — Chambers Plaza and Iliff Square — October 24, leaving loyal patrons to find different libraries.
The two locations were the only branches in the library system the city was renting. The decision not to extend the leases at Chambers Plaza and Iliff Square frees up about $120,000 of the city’s budget that will fund services at the city-owned branches.
“I was sad to hear they’re going to shut down,” said Tran of the Chambers Plaza branch. “I don’t know where to take [my kids] because this library is the closest and most convenient for us.”
Linda Moses, a patron of the Chambers Plaza Library, walks 10 minutes daily to the location because she doesn’t own a car. Moses uses the computers at the library and is an avid reader. After learning about the impending closures, she’s trying to figure out how to get to Hoffman Heights Library, which is a little over two miles west of the Chambers Plaza branch.
“What used to be 10 minutes will now be 30 to 45 minutes, depending on whether I take the bus or walk,” Moses said.
The Chambers Plaza branch received 32,098 visits in 2024, while the Illif Square branch — located on Peoria Street and Iliff Avenue — received 33,915 visits. Of the seven branches in the Aurora Public Library division, these were the two least-visited branches.
Tallyn’s Reach Library and Central Library received the most visits, each serving more than 100,000 patrons annually.
Jennifer Rodger, who’s been the library branch supervisor of the Iliff Square and Mission Viejo branches for four years, says that the number of daily patrons at these two locations is a big factor in the city’s decision to shut down the libraries. Rodger says the Iliff Square branch served about a hundred people a day, if that.
System-wide, the Aurora Public Library saw 561,000 visits in 2024.
The Iliff Square location serves two primary demographics: after-school students and adults using technology like computers, Rodger said.
“Computers, printing, faxing, scanning are huge here. [Patrons] do a lot of that, a lot of people don’t have access to computers or have a printer anymore,” Rodger said.
The closures were announced concurrently with the news that the Martin Luther King Jr. Library is expanding. Thanks to a $2.5 million federal grant, the MLK Jr. branch is expanding from 7,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet.
The renovated MLK Jr. Library will open November 3.
Funding for the two closing branches will funnel directly into the other branches.
Tessy Walker, the library supervisor at the Hoffman Heights and Chambers Plaza branches, said the two shuttering branches are the only two branches that the city is leasing.
“There will definitely be an impact for both communities that frequent the locations,” said Walker. “We’ve been talking to our patrons, and most of them are sad.”
Current staff at the two locations will move to other branches, with many going to the MLK Jr. Library as it doubles in size. Books and technology will also move to other branches. Walker said the city is not planning on firing any staff.
Both Walker and Rodger currently have to stretch their staff across two locations. At the Iliff Square location, there isn’t enough space for staff offices or a break room.
“Instead of having two fully staffed branches, we have half-staffed branches, so we’re really hoping to reallocate our staff to larger spaces where we can do more programming and full services,” Rodger said.
Aurora Public Library’s Bookmobile will continue to make stops in neighborhoods that lack libraries. The Central Library is up next for renovation.
“Aurora really loves their libraries and Aurora’s growing,” Walker said, “so even if we might not have a library here in this exact spot again, I hope we’ll have more libraries to come.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.