Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Libraries topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Douglas County Library director cites high use, says Sterling Ranch branch expected in 2027
Summary
Douglas County Library Executive Director Bob Hassnick told Castle Pines City Council the system has an 85% household active-card rate, a net-promoter score near 90, and that Sterling Ranch library is in design with occupancy likely in 2027; he urged the city to engage on future capital priorities.
Bob Hassnick, executive director of Douglas County Libraries, told the Castle Pines City Council on Aug. 12 that the library system is measuring performance by both traditional outputs and outcomes and that resident satisfaction is unusually high.
"1st 0.5 of 2025, we've got a score of 90," Hassnick said, citing the Net Promoter Score the library uses to benchmark customer sentiment. He told council members the system tracks households as a core metric and that roughly 85 percent of Douglas County households hold an active library account and use library services. Hassnick also reported a year-over-year increase in door counts — citing about 341,000 entries for a recent quarter compared with roughly 300,000 the prior year.
Hassnick described how the district is funded and how its budget is allocated: staff costs are the largest single line (he said staffing is about 48 percent of the general budget), and the board has rebated some tax revenue while setting money aside for capital. "Our board rebated $5,000,000 of that 45 back to taxpayers," he said, referring to the district's fiscal choices. He also outlined how the library spends on collections and digital content and described programming emphasis on children and families: the library system runs extensive story-time programs and meeting-room rentals that together represent a notable portion of community engagement.
On capital needs, Hassnick urged council members to weigh future board composition and priorities if the city wants a new branch. He identified Castle Pines among four priority growth areas (along with BridgeGate, Franktown and South Parker) and said a planned Sterling Ranch branch is in design and "probably we'll be in it in 2027." He said future branches would likely be at least double the size of some current small facilities and that construction inflation is a major constraint.
Why it matters: Castle Pines officials pressed Hassnick on services for seniors, Spanish-language holdings and donation policies; Hassnick described senior "ageless" programming, a county-wide home-delivery service and the library's practice for handling donated books. The presentation frames the libraries' capital and service priorities as a dialogue with municipal partners as both service demand and construction costs rise.
