"After years of conversations, planning, partnership and persistence, we can finally say it: We have a library." Mayor Colleen Whitlow said that at the Oct. 3 ribbon-cutting, as reported by the Greeley Tribune. A month later, the Mead Library has its first full season of programs on the calendar. Almost all of them fall Monday through Thursday.
That timing matters because Mead's biggest holiday dates fall at the end of the week. The Parade of Lights is a Friday night and Merry Mead Christmas is the next day. For a town whose public calendar has leaned on Saturdays at the Community Center and evenings on Main Street, the building on Chaparral Street adds a regular weekday schedule.
Twenty Years of Bookmobile, Then 13,500 Square Feet
Town leaders and the High Plains Library District started talking about a Mead branch nearly two decades ago. Until this fall, the district served the town with its bookmobile and a children's librarian who came in for preschool story hour, according to the Greeley Tribune. The permanent version is a $14 million, 13,500-square-foot building at 13815 Chaparral St. The Town donated the 3-acre site for it.
The Tribune reported that library manager Kristen Bodine counted 689 people at the grand opening and more than 120 new library cards. Those cards work at every branch in the district and on the bookmobile. The building has:
- A children's activities room
- A teen pod for ages 12 to 19
- A gaming pod
- A makerspace crafts room
- A community room with a kitchenette that seats up to 50
Location helped decide the site. High Plains Executive Director Matt Hortt told the Tribune that Liberty Ranch Park, on the library's west side, made the spot attractive. On opening day, visitors ate on the west patio while youth soccer games went on in the park. The library is the first building to open on the Liberty Ranch Municipal Facilities Campus near Highway 66 and WCR 7. Mountain View Fire Rescue Station #14, next to the library, is expected to be finished by the end of the year, according to the Mayor's October report. The Town is also designing a pedestrian and bicycle underpass beneath Highway 66 to connect the WCR 7 trail to the Liberty Ranch subdivision, according to the October Mead Messenger.
Regular hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, per the district's hours page. The longest days are the four weekdays, and the calendar follows the same pattern.
The 9:30 Slot, Four Mornings a Week
Every weekday morning from Monday through Thursday, the library runs a 30-minute program for young children at 9:30. Each day is aimed at a different age:
| Day | Program | Ages | Remaining dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Twinkle Babies | Birth to about 18 months | Nov. 9, 16, 23, 30; Dec. 7 |
| Tuesday | Tales for Tots | 18 months to 3 years, with caregivers | Nov. 10, 17, 24; Dec. 1, 8 |
| Wednesday | Music and Movement | Ages 3 to 5, with caregivers | Nov. 18, 25; Dec. 2, 9 |
| Thursday | Family Storytime | Ages 2 to 5, all welcome | Nov. 5, 12, 19; Dec. 3, 10 |
There are gaps in the Wednesday and Thursday runs. The district closes every branch on Nov. 11 for Veterans Day and on Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving, so Music and Movement skips that Wednesday and Family Storytime skips that Thursday. Twinkle Babies works differently. The listing describes it as an eight-week session that families register for as a whole, so a family can't simply show up on a Monday the way they can for Thursday storytime.
At 4 p.m., the Programs Shift to Older Kids
At 4 p.m. the programs move up an age bracket. Tweens and teens get themed afternoons, starting with Tweens & Teens: Marvel Mini-Mania on Thursday, Nov. 5, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. It's open to ages 8 to 19 while supplies last. On Thursday, Nov. 19, at 4 p.m., the branch hosts "Could You Survive Freerunner? A Sci-Fi Survival Challenge." December brings "Tweens & Teens: Winter at Hogwarts" on Dec. 17 and "Let's Draw!" on Dec. 22, both at 4 p.m.
The Mead Teen Advisory Board meets on the second Thursday of each month at 4 p.m. for students in grades 6 through 12. The next meetings are Nov. 12 and Dec. 10. Elementary-age kids have the Mead International Snack Club. Each month it features food, activities and music from a different culture. The next one is Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 4 to 4:45 p.m.
Adult Programs Fill Fast
The adult calendar is smaller, and seats go quickly. "Library learning for all: paper wreaths" on Tuesday, Nov. 10, is capped at 15 people and was already full by the end of October. It's designed especially for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their care partners. The next class in that series, "button trees," is Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. Anyone hoping for a seat should register when it opens.
The Coffee and conversation book discussion meets Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 10 to 11 a.m. to talk about Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, with an optional beginner-friendly craft. The group meets again Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. Bodine told the Tribune that the community room will also host birthday parties, Scout meetings and "a lot of things planned for seniors."
The Town's Big Dates Fall on Fridays and Saturdays
The Town's calendar for the same weeks looks different. Coffee with the Mayor is held on the first Saturday of each month. The next one is Saturday, Nov. 7, from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Mead Community Center, 401 Third St. Coffee and snacks are free. The adult 3v3 basketball leagues play Sundays through Dec. 6 at the same building.
December's two big events fall on back-to-back days:
- Friday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m. Parade of Lights, followed by the annual tree lighting at Mead Town Park. Parade entry registration closes Nov. 15. Mead Elementary students who won the snowplow-naming contest are invited to ride in their named plows.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Merry Mead Christmas at the Community Center, with Santa, a holiday market, the Chamber's tree drawing, a bounce house, a human snow globe, face painting, balloon twisting and the Sugar Shack food truck.
The library is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. that Saturday, but its December program calendar is full on weekdays and has little on that weekend. Between the two schedules, Mead now has something going on most days of the week. Before October, the weekday-morning programs depended on a visiting bookmobile.
What a Mead Card Borrows Besides Books
Mead's opening also gives cardholders a pickup point for the district's specialty items, which are often more useful than the books in winter. Mead is on the list of branches where cardholders can reserve:
- Colorado State Park passes, which can be picked up at Mead
- Telescopes, GoPros and projectors
- Laptops, mobile hotspots and portable DVD players
The rules are on the district's specialty checkout page. Borrowers need to be 18 or older with a resident card, a valid email and less than $7.50 in fines. Reservations have to be made at least four days ahead, and items go out for seven days. Each cardholder can have two active reservations and 12 per calendar year. Returning an item late brings a $20 charge.
Experience Passes cover winter outings around the region. They can be reserved up to 90 days ahead for places including Butterfly Pavilion, the Colorado Model Railroad Museum, the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, The Gardens on Spring Creek, the Global Village Museum, the Greeley History Museum and WOW! Children's Museum. The limit is two passes per year per museum, and one per year for WOW! The district's Stamp Rally passport also counts Mead as a stamp location, and it doesn't require registration or an app.
Local groups have new places to meet. Mead's 50-person meeting room comes with 10 tables, 50 chairs and A/V, and a separate six-person collaboration room has a dry-erase board. District meeting rooms carry no use fee. At check-in, a $50 deposit goes on the account, and it comes off once staff confirm the room was left in order. Rooms can be booked up to 45 days ahead, and an adult 18 or older has to be present while a room is in use. Counting from Nov. 5, that window reaches Dec. 20, so most December dates can already be booked.
Days the Library Is Closed This Season
The High Plains Library District holiday schedule covers every branch, Mead included:
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: closed for Veterans Day
- Wednesday, Nov. 25: closes at 5 p.m. for Thanksgiving Eve
- Thursday, Nov. 26: closed for Thanksgiving
- Thursday, Dec. 24: closed for Christmas Eve
- Friday, Dec. 25: closed for Christmas Day
- Thursday, Dec. 31: closes at 5 p.m. for New Year's Eve
Venna Hillman follows Mead's civic projects closely, from the Liberty Ranch campus to Highway 66 crossings, because they shape how each part of town works day to day. If you're curious how new public spaces like this one figure into what your home is worth, Venna Hillman can walk you through it. Start with your Instant Home Valuation.
