CALHAN– The Calhan Library is currently open 32 hours a week. Starting this fall, the Pikes Peak Library District plans to more than triple those hours by allowing patrons access when the building isn’t staffed.

Library District CEO Teona Shainidze-Krebs explained the hybrid library model and other library facts to a half-dozen people at a town hall in Calhan on Wednesday. The town hall was the third in a series of meetings in the small towns served by the library district that will adopt a hybrid access approach.

In the new hybrid model, certain patrons would be able to access the libraries in Calhan, Palmer Lake and Ute Pass between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. any day of the week with a special badge. Shainidze-Krebs said the change could help parents and workers who can’t always visit the branch during the current hours.

“We want you to have more access to PPLD resources at times more convenient to your lifestyle. Very often, it’s easy for us to impose our lifestyle on others, to think that if I have the time, everybody must have the time,” Shainidze-Krebs said.

The district plans to launch the hybrid model at the Palmer Lake branch in August, according to the presentation Wednesday. It would then be rolled out to Calhan in September and the Ute Pass location by the end of the year.

To visit the hybrid locations during off-hours, patrons would need to apply for access and go through a special training program to receive a badge. Chief Security Officer Michael Brantner said the training would include safety features about the building, such as the location of fire extinguishers and light switches, along with the library district’s code of conduct.

During the unstaffed hours, staff at the Secure Operations Center at the East Library would monitor visitors via security cameras. The security staff would make sure patrons were following the rules, but they can also be reached by intercom to answer questions.

“During the hours when the library is open in other locations, that connection takes you to a librarian. So if you have a librarian question, it connects you to a staff member virtually. When other libraries are closed, it connects you to the security center,” Brantner said.

Shainidze-Krebs cited the Jefferson County Public Library district as another place in Colorado that had started rolling out hybrid locations. The Express Library location in Arvada opened in 2022 as a fully self-service location.

Jefferson County Library spokesperson Elise Penington explained by email that patrons get into the library by scanning the barcode on their library card and typing in the PIN for their account.

Shainidze-Krebs said the district would look at data from the hybrid locations to determine when most people visit the library. It could use that information to change when the buildings are staffed. Currently, the Calhan branch is not open at all on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

“I don’t think that we are going to make our staff work on Sundays,” Shainidze-Krebs said. “Everybody deserves a day off and on Sundays, people are busy.”

Shainidze-Krebs also presented information about the library’s budget and the statement of responsibilities the Library Board approved earlier this year. She repeatedly emphasized the library’s role as a source of information for all viewpoints.

The High Prairie Library branch in Falcon will see a less drastic change to expand access this year. The library district plans to add lockers outside the building where patrons can pick up requested materials around the clock or return materials.