Colorado living: Lots of library perks
In addition to reading materials, Douglas County Libraries (DCL) card holders have access to all sorts of educational and fun perks. You can even check out a variety of gadgets and electronics. Library card holders do not pay any fee to DCL for these accommodations.
Here is a taste of what you can find at the library:
Colorado state parks
These convenient day packs are available for check out and contain various family activity items, useful guides and Colorado state park passes. Provided to DCL by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Department of Education State Library, this program is for all ages to enjoy.
Nontraditional items
DCL offers a variety of electronics, gadgets and tools for fun and hobbies and to help with DIY projects. Available equipment ranges from gaming systems to cameras, radon and leak detectors to musical instruments, telescopes to microscopes, and devices for photography, sewing, knitting, crafting and more.
Care kits
Specialized, self-contained kits for all ages contain materials to help those struggling with anxiety, grief, depression, memory issues, and loss related to suicide. Other kits include a road trip kit and multigenerational learning kits on topics such as cooking, storytelling and nature. A military deployment kit is also available.
Adventure Passes
A DCL Adventure Pass takes you to a local, cultural institution. Currently, DCL has adventure passes to nine places: the Butterfly Pavilion, the Colorado Railroad Museum, the Denver Firefighters Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Dinosaur Ridge, the History Colorado Center, the Molly Brown House Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. Use your library card to reserve one pass at a time, up to 14 days before your visit. In any 365-day period, you can use two passes per library card for each venue.
Please note that the Adventure Passes work differently for the different venues. Every pass allows at least one free admission, then some passes allow free admission for several more people, and others offer discounts to the parks with purchase of additional tickets.
Online Learning
With your library card, you can access online classes in crafting, software, business, technology, language learning and more through LinkedIn Learning, Mango Languages and Creativebug.
To learn more and take advantage of your library perks, visit dcl.org/library-perks. To explore everything DCL has to offer, visit dcl.org and check out all the drop-down menus. The DCL – Castle Pines is located at 360 Village Square Lane, across from Pino’s Italian Kitchen.
Article and photos by Susan Helton
