After a $2.5 million Conifer Library budget increase in 2023, Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) has researched community needs and selected a location for a new free-standing location. The public library will be located in the Conifer Safeway shopping center, planned to open late summer 2025.
JCPL, after partnering with Conifer High School (CHS) since 1996, will be transitioning out of CHS over the course of the summer. They will be donating around 5,000 books to the new CHS library, which will be redesigned to make a supportive space for students and staff throughout the school day and after school.
Jared Johnson, the Public Services Manager for the Conifer and Evergreen libraries, and his team have been planning out the Conifer library and what the space will look like and provide for the community.
“We did a community assessment asking what they need in the new space, and a common theme is that this library isn’t accessible to the community at large. That has to do with the hours, we’re only open to the public 4-8 p.m.,” Johnson said. “When there’s school events, parking can be troublesome for our patrons, as well as the stairs. It’s a long walk from the parking lot to the entrance.”
The new library will allow community members to easily access the space, as the parking lot will be up front, and the location will have longer hours similar to other JCPL locations. It will implement a new “Open Plus” system, in which patrons can come into the library during extended non-staffed hours.
“People will go online and fill out a form to access our location before or after hours, and on our end we’ll review that. Once we approve it, you’ll just use your library card at the door and it’ll let you into the building,” Johnson said. “[It] gives people the ability to pick up their holds, browse the collection, even use the study room or use the meeting room. They don’t have to just come in, grab something, and leave. They can actually stay and use the library.”
Karen McIntosh, the Digital Teacher Librarian (DTL) at CHS, has been working with Johnson, Principal Greg Manier, the CHS Book Club, DTLs at other high schools, parents, and other staff members within the school and county to plan the layout and working of the CHS library.
“We will finally be able to design a space that is specifically for our students, that will empower our students to be independent learners, to read rich literature, and to collaborate with others,” McIntosh said.
After 4 p.m., McIntosh and the other librarians have to keep the library up to JCPL standards, removing signs on tables, student work, and clearing the space for the public, creating a challenge for school services to be continuous. “Just having the autonomy to make a space for our students, students are going to be really surprised,” McIntosh said.
Much of the library’s catalogue of roughly 22 to 24 thousand books—audio, children’s and middle-aged adult books, in addition to movies—does not always appeal to CHS’s student demographic. “The Public Library is like Walmart or Target. They cater to all people, but the school libraries are like a boutique. They know those students, they know those teachers, they know the curriculum,” McIntosh said. “So, we’re creating a boutique of books.”
Based on data gathered from a student survey in September of 2024, McIntosh, with the help of the CHS Book Club and the greater Conifer community, has and will be planning for the library with student vision in mind. They will also be buying new books in addition to accepting donations suitable for high school audiences. JCPL will also be donating around 5,000 books to the CHS library to assist its creation. “[They’re] going to donate books to Conifer High School, for our students to help jump start our library. I’m incredibly grateful for that,” McIntosh said.
McIntosh and other staff also plan to ‘generify’ the library, organizing the growing collection by subjects. “We’ll have a fantasy section, a mystery section, romance, adventure, etc. so, it’ll make it easier for students to find what they like to read, creating more of a bookstore vibe,” McIntosh said.
Alaina Faler, a junior and longtime reader at CHS, hopes for the library to cater to a large school demographic, including a wide range of reading levels. “I want books that are not [just] catered towards young adults and teens,” Faler said. “I think we need to have at least one section of books that are hard enough for kids who are advanced readers.”
The library plans to integrate a range of reading levels into sections, allowing for the collection to cater to all high school students.
The current draft for the CHS library will provide more workspace for students, a larger instructional area, a new Makerspace and exploration center, reading bikes, a zen zone, and a future center.
“I also want shorter tables. You can’t reach anything on the floor. And a lot of the tables are high tables, so I vote we go shorter tables, especially if you are playing a board game and you drop something, that’s what I want, more space,” Faler said.
Senior Will McCarthy and students from the SSN program select books for the new CHS library from the children’s section. (Courtesy of Karen McIntosh)
The ‘Makerspace’ will be a large desk that the CHS community can use to create handmade items. “What can we make for that organization? “We are going to make things for other people in our community and abroad. Whether it’s a keychain, for Habitat for Humanity for people who just moved into their first home, or a no-sew blanket for the homeless or dog toys for animal shelters,” McIntosh said.
McIntosh plans to discuss with the Make A Difference club as to what the space can look like.
New reading bikes along the south (windowed) wall will allow students to focus on reading while also getting exercise. “Research has shown if you can just exercise even for five to ten minutes, your brain works better. So if kids need to just blow off some steam and look out the beautiful windows that we have here in Conifer while doing some school work, they can do that,” McIntosh said.
The ‘Zen Zone’ will be a space where students can come to relax and destress during the school day. It’s planned to have calming music, coloring, puzzles, and other things that will provide students with a brain break.
“I do like that they’re separating it from the instructional area. There’s not a lot of spaces for students to be during free periods but the library is one of them. But whenever there’s a class in there, you get shoved into a corner,” Faler said.
The library conference room will double as the future center, a space that McIntosh and CHS are working on making with an unspecified nonprofit organization. “The future center will have a mural painted on the wall with QR codes linked to different career paths,” McIntosh said. “What is the purpose of going to school? It is to learn, of course, but it’s also to prepare you for your future. This virtual exploration will help students start thinking about what they want to do after they graduate from high school,” McIntosh said.
The CHS and JCPL libraries will continue to work together, partnering to host events and provide opportunities for students and the community, which until then McIntosh and the CHS community will be working to make a smooth transition toward.
“I think it’s gonna be great once we get used to it. I think overall it’s going to be a positive change for our school, and I’m excited for the opportunity,” McIntosh said. “So, we’re gonna have growing pains, that’s what I think.”
