Meet Nancy: Patron, Volunteer, and Lifelong Champion
Nancy libraries across a lifetime—from the day her mother went into labor at the library (though she didn’t head to the hospital until she’d checked out her books!) to Saturday mornings dragging home a bag stuffed with books as a little girl, to now, four years into her Boulder life as a library patron, volunteer, and Foundation donor.
“My life literally began at the library, and it’s been woven into each chapter ever since,” Nancy reflects.
Soon after Nancy moved to Boulder from Southern California, she brought her mother—herself a voracious reader and lifelong library volunteer and supporter—to live with her. Nancy signed up to volunteer with the home delivery program, thinking her mom would enjoy joining her on book deliveries. Though her mom now lives in memory care at Frasier, Nancy continues the work, delivering books to a patron in the same building. “I’m thrilled to support an institution that brings so much to me, my family, and to my community in every way that I possibly can,” she says.
Nancy’s Boulder library journey has touched nearly every corner of her life. She researched her historic farmhouse at Carnegie Library for Local History—work that proved essential to restoring and landmarking the property with the honor and respect it deserved. She and her husband have discovered the woodshop at BLDG61 makerspace. She attends Canyon Theater performances, including a Boulder Philharmonic concert where she watched children rush the stage afterward for an instrument “petting zoo”—pure joy spanning generations. And just before her mom entered memory care, Nancy brought her to a children’s storytime where she saw “flashes of my mom’s lifelong passion for reading, learning, and libraries” stir back to the surface.
“The library is like your closet full of different kinds of shoes,” Nancy reflects. “Sometimes you need hiking boots. Sometimes you need slippers. Your needs change and the library is always there for you.” For Nancy, the library has brought adventure, peace, education, community, and spiritual connection all at once—”it’s a special place that can serve everyone, always, at every age and stage of life. In just four years, the Boulder library has helped me feel more connected to my community than I ever felt after 20 years in California,” remarked Nancy.
The Boulder Library Foundation and donor support helps make all of it possible—the Canyon Theater performances, the Carnegie archives, volunteer efforts that keep Nancy connected to her mother’s legacy, and the makerspace where her husband is now building his own library story.
Library is a verb. Help us keep it that way. Support Library Giving Day with a gift today.
What is Library Giving Day?
Launched in 2019, Library Giving Day is a national movement designed to support public libraries. Library Giving Day 2026 is on April 1. You can help us support innovation, capital improvements, and expanded literacy and outreach for Boulder’s libraries with a Library Giving Day gift today!
