Douglas County Libraries brings you its 2010 Youth Spring Reading Program, Hop to It! Kids ages 12 and under may register at any Douglas County Library location from February 1 to March 15. Participants with reading logs showing 12 hours of reading completed before March 29 will be eligible to receive a free book. As always, pre-readers may participate by listening to books read aloud. Prizes are not guaranteed and are available while supplies last.

To complement its spring reading program, DCL has partnered with the Denver Zoo to bring live amphibians to Douglas County Libraries locations. Children ages five and older are invited to get up close and personal with frogs, toads and salamanders. Registration is required. Call 303-791-7323, or visit any Douglas County Library branch.

"It was 20 years ago today
Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play."

I have now held my position as director of Douglas County's libraries for 20 years. It was a different world back then.

The population of Douglas County in 1990 was about 65,000. We checked out 368,492 items a year. Today, we have close to 300,000 people, and check out nearly 8 million items annually.

At the time that I was hired, we were a county department. We were also ranked as one of the worst libraries in the state by almost any measure. There was no library in Highlands Ranch. There were no children's departments, and very few story times. We were open five days a week. It looked like the next year, we were going to go down to four.

Join current Denver Deputy Mayor Guillermo Vincente "Bill" Vidal as he speaks of overcoming his humble beginnings in a Colorado orphanage to become a proud and successful Cuban-American businessman. He'll discuss his first novel-memoir, Boxing for Cuba, "in which young boys become men in the shadow of revolution and turmoil."

The Douglas County Libraries Board of Trustees will meet at 7 pm on Thursday, March 18 at the Philip S. Miller Library in Castle Rock. The public is welcome to attend. Board agendas and meeting minutes are available here.