Denver Public Library reduces 99 positions, takes four branches offline for renovation and leans on mobile services

Denver Public Library reduced its staffing complement by 99 positions and will temporarily take four branches offline as part of a restructuring tied to a 2017 bond program, City Librarian Nicole Davies told the mayor and council on Sept. 2.
Nicole Davies, who said she was in her third week on the job, described the reductions as structural changes rather than layoffs and said the library will redeploy staff and supplement services with mobile units and partnerships. “We did not have layoffs, but we reduced positions. By how many? 99,” Davies said.
The library identified four branches slated for renovation under the 2017 bond — Broadway, University Hills, Field and Hampden — and said staff assigned to those branches will be redeployed to other library functions while renovation work occurs. Davies said the system will expand hours at nearby branches, provide mobile services and work with community partners on collection and program access, including food box distributions.
Why it matters: branch closures and staff reductions can alter local access to library collections, computer and internet services, youth tutoring and citizenship supports. Library leaders said they are protecting high‑impact services such as Tutor.com and citizenship assistance while evaluating subscriptions and collection ratios for cost savings.
What library leaders said: Davies and Valencia Culbreth, the library’s chief equity and strategy officer, said the reorganization reduced direct management silos and consolidated finance, procurement, facilities and programming under three chief officers. Culbreth said the library used an equity rubric to preserve services for vulnerable users and that decisions to preserve databases such as Tutor.com were intentional.
Budget and operations: library officials said certain savings are expected to net more than $2 million from the staffing and structural changes already identified and that additional subscription and process evaluations are ongoing. They said the full budget detail will be presented in the city’s budget book next week.
Discussion vs. decisions: the briefing described structural staffing changes and operational plans; no formal council votes or motions were recorded. Council members asked which services would stop; library leaders said core public services will continue through redeployment, mobile outreach and partnerships.
Details and clarifications: the four branches tied to the 2017 bond will be taken offline for renovation; mobile services and expanded neighboring branch hours will be used to mitigate local access gaps. The library said it is analyzing subscription usage and collection strategies to generate further savings.
Looking ahead: library officials plan to provide more detailed budget line items in forthcoming briefings and to continue service evaluations to protect high‑need programs while meeting budget targets.