Finding The Connection’s place in history
By Carin R. Kirkegaard; photos by Terri Wiebold
The Douglas County Libraries Archives & Local History team at the Philip S. Miller Library in Castle Rock accepts the collection of 126 copies (ranging from 2009 – 2019) of The Castle Pines Connection to be added to its community newspaper archive in perpetuity. Pictured left to right: Archives Technician Julia Waters, Head Archivist Alyssa Carver, Archives Technician Joan Gandy and Archivist Hannah Weber.
History is a tricky thing; it happens whether we are paying attention or not. But what a gift it is to be able to look back and trace the steps that led to today. The Castle Pines Connection is happy to have found its place in history through Douglas County Libraries (DCL) Archives & Local History (ALH).
ALH, located at the Philip S. Miller Library in Castle Rock, collects and preserves the documentary history of Douglas County. This includes diaries and manuscripts, letters, artifacts, maps, microforms, photographs, audiovisual and digital media, books and yes, newspapers. The collection represents communities across Douglas County, and this wide array of resources is available in person and via the DCL website.
“We are honored to have built something worthy of historical significance and inclusion in the library’s archive,” said The Castle Pines Connection Publisher Terri Wiebold. “We have spent the past decade recording the happenings in the 80108 ZIP code, and we are thrilled that the library sees lasting value in our contributions.”
The ALH Vault Collection: The vault collection includes a variety of materials housed separately due to their age, size, fragility or rarity. Material in the temperature-controlled vault must be retrieved by ALH staff and used in the reading room during regularly staffed hours.
The ALH Reading Room: The reading room houses circulating and reference collections and is open to the public during regular library hours. Most reference material is available for in-library use only.
Douglas County Archivist Hannah Weber spends much of her time in the secure, temperature-controlled archival vault that is now home to The Castle Pines Connection newspaper.
According to Archivist Hannah Weber, a large portion of the ALH collections are also discoverable digitally, as will be the case with The Castle Pines Connection. “Once we have The Connection upload complete, it will be among our permanent collection of digital publications,” said Weber.
For The Castle Pines Connection, the steps that led to this historic day (captured above) have been a labor of love. “This project started with archiving every issue of The Connection newspaper, and even some previous community newsletters on our website,” stated Wiebold. “We are grateful for the support of the City of Castle Pines and also the Castle Pines North Master Association in making this all possible. And in our spirit of sharing ‘a little good news,’ all future issues of The Connection will be archived with DCL as well.”
