Despite the permanent closure of the Rockrimmon Library branch on Sunday, members of a grassroots group that formed in October are optimistic that their wish for the neighborhood hub to remain open for at least another year will be granted.

“It just doesn’t make sense, the financial burden they’re describing doesn’t track with published audited budgets,” said Chris Johnson, a financial expert and member of the group that opposes the branch’s shuttering.

More than 100 children to seniors who support Save Rockrimmon Library gathered Saturday inside the building in a strip mall at 832 Village Center Drive to make signs, write their name and messages on large banners, and move outside to participate in a “Not Saying Goodbye” rally and protest in front of the facility.

With passion and energy, the group waved their signs and chanted sayings such as, “Save This Library,” “Find the Funds” and “Which Library is Next.”

Opponents to the decision to not renew the lease at the Rockrimmon branch also crowded into the children’s areas, perused bookshelves and used computers and other resources Saturday.

Armed with a pending lawsuit, the backing of some Colorado Springs City Council members, one incoming county commissioner, and a few members of the Pikes Peak Library District board of trustees, the group has advanced from a loose movement to a nonprofit organization, COS Ready, and is ready to see its views prevail, said Katherine “Kat” Gayle, a local attorney who also is with Integrity Matters and Westside Watch, local groups that hold leaders accountable for issues that they believe are unjust.

“We’ve proven without a doubt there’s no good reason to be closing this library branch,” Gayle said. “We don’t want to be the first library in the U.S. to close a library,” and not replace it, she said.

In recent weeks, the group has put pressure on elected city and county officials to try to force leaders of the Pikes Peak Library District, an independent taxing entity, to reverse its decision.

The group wants the library board to vote to reverse the decision and keep the site open for at least a year while “exploring all options,” Gayle said.

Working off a new facilities plan that recommended closing some of the system’s 15 branches for financial reasons, the library district’s board of trustees voted 5-2 at an Oct. 16 meeting not to renew the lease of the Rockrimmon Library, which opened in 1989 in northwestern Colorado Springs.

Opponents say the move came too quickly, with the decision being made behind closed doors – one of the complaints Gayle said is listed in a lawsuit being filed this weekend in the 4th Judicial District Court.

The board had said in August it would not make any decisions until after 2025, Gayle said, and the plan called for in-depth research into the matter, which she said also did not happen.

“It’s a breach of public trust and fiduciary duties,” she said. “There should have been public discussion and alternatives presented. The first we heard about it was in June.”

The first proposed 2025 library district budget had a line item for the Rockrimmon branch’s annual lease of $454,000, Johnson and Gayle said, but by October, the draft budget had been redone without the cost of the building lease.

The landlord offered to reduce the rent by 15% and agreed to a yearly lease instead of a five-year commitment, which did not gain any traction.

Amid mounting concerns, the Pikes Peak Library District’s Chief Librarian and CEO Teona Shainidze-Krebs told The Gazette last month that the decision was financial and includes the need to address deferred maintenance at its branches, and takes into account the needs of the entire county and staffing problems.

Five-year-old Camille Binkley was signing a banner at a table, while her mom, Erin Powers added her own dismay to the paper that read, “We Aren’t Saying Goodbye.”

“It’s just a sad day,” Powers said. “This library is part of our community. But we’re not giving up.”

Another mom, who gave her name as Tori, said her family lives just up the street and has been faithful library patrons for years. In fact, Tori said she didn’t really read much before she brought her children to the facility, and now she’s an avid reader who can’t imagine a life without books.

“This is heartbreaking; it’s a devastating loss,” she said. “I’m hoping they’ll reconsider. This is a safe haven for us.”

On Wednesday, the library board will convene for the body’s final regular meeting of 2024, where Rockrimmon Library advocates hope to again present massive public outcry in an attempt to influence board members to vote to keep the facility open.

In the past month, Save Rockrimmon Library has raised $70,444 in pledges, which organizers say would be enough to cover over three months of rent and utilities on the Rockrimmon Library building.

The board has the option of holding a special meeting sometime this month, after its regular meeting on Wednesday, which could include an action item regarding fate of the Rockrimmon branch. The lease ends Dec. 31, but the location was shuttered Saturday to give employees time to relocate its contents, library officials said.