A proclamation honoring the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and its contribution to building the capacity of the Denver Public Library.
Communications. Do we have any communications? None. Mr. President. We have two proclamations this evening. Councilman Hernan, will you please read Proclamation 1089? Yes, Mr. President, I'm excited to read Proclamation 1089 honoring the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and its contribution to building the capacity of our beloved Denver Public Library. Whereas the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has established itself as a 21st century Andrew Carnegie for public libraries and the people and communities they serve. And. WHEREAS, The Gates Foundation was a pioneer in understanding the risk of the digital divide and the importance of digital inclusion. And. Whereas, The Gates Foundation challenged public libraries to become technology leaders and provided millions of dollars to help libraries become go to resources and trusted guides in an increasingly digital world. And. Whereas, The Gates Foundation provided a significant investment to develop EDGE, a national technology benchmarking system created to ensure that public libraries have the right technology to meet today's needs and the promise of tomorrow. And. Whereas, with its commitment to ensuring that all people have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life, the Gates Foundation has had a profound impact in communities across the country. And. WHEREAS, the work of the Gates Foundation has enhanced the capacity, value and power of public libraries as vital community assets. And. WHEREAS, The Denver Public Library and the residents of Denver have benefited from the vision, commitment and support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation . Now, therefore, the April claim by the Council, the city and county of Denver, Section one, that the Council recognizes and appreciates the importance of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for its groundbreaking work in support of public libraries and the role of Denver Public Library as an essential community resource to support community goals and meet the diverse educational needs of our residents from birth through senior years and ensure equal access to the opportunities of the 21st century. Section two that the Clerk of the city and county of Denver shall test and fix the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation and that a copy be transmitted to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Thank you. Councilman Ernie, your motion to adopt. Thank you, Mr. President. I move that proclamation 1089 be adopted. It has been moved. And second, it comments by members of Council Councilman Herndon. Thank you, Mr. President. I, I cannot express in words how important libraries were important to me when I was growing up as a kid. And my favorite book, or I should say my favorite series was the Hardy Boy series. And I remember reading all of those. And during the summer I would read a number of books and I would get pizzas from that, from Pizza Hut back in Kansas City. And it's interesting now, as we become more technology technologically savvy, there's this belief that certain institutions are no longer needed. And sometimes people think that about libraries. I believe that our libraries are more value than are more important than than they've ever been because there is a very real and it was mentioned in this proclamation digital divide or that there's a particular segment of the community that don't have the access to technology that a lot of people just literally take for granted. And that gap that stop gap, for one, is our libraries, for our communities of lower income, for our seniors that people don't think about the way they connected to the world. And their libraries are also community resources where people come for classes, resume building, job search, job searches. Our libraries are more important than ever. And you see that when you think about great programs that we do Summer of Reading, where Northeast Denver always wins, by the way. And we also have the great success on the West Side, I'm sure, Councilman Lopez, and talk about the Corky Gonzales Library and how successful it has been for that community that was built a couple of years ago and has been a huge success. So it's vital that we continue to make sure that our our libraries, our technology staffs and have a great asset to support our community. We have a great library in Montebello. They just opened up their idea lab for young people to come and let their imaginations run wild. And our libraries are that key, our key place to do that. So I'm thankful for the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation for recognizing that. I applaud Denver Public Library for all the work that it does to make sure all of our residents have access to it and the great work that they do each and every day. So I appreciate my colleagues to support this. And thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilman Herndon. Seeing no other comments, madam secretary. Raquel Herndon, i. Cashman's I can eat. Lopez. All right, new Ortega. SUSSMAN Black. Clark Hi. Espinosa Hi. Flynn, I. Gilmore, I. Mr. President. I. Please close the voting. Announce the results. Lights flashing 13 eyes. 13 eyes proclamation 1089 has passed, has been dubbed it Councilman Herndon. Is there anyone you want to bring up? We do. Our esteemed librarian, I understand, is traveling, but we do have other members from Denver Public Library that would love to come forward and accept this proclamation. Thank you. Members of City Council, we really do appreciate the proclamation as a way that we can express to the Gates Foundation how much we've appreciated the investment that they've made in the technology infrastructure of the Denver Public Library. For literally decades now, they have been investing across the city or across the country and in our city to make sure that we have been able to bridge the digital divide as much as possible. In a budget meeting we just had earlier this month, we talked about what we still have some of those Gates funds left and we're using them to purchase mobile hotspots that are checked out of all by anybody with a library card can come get on the hold list. They're very popular and check one out and take it home so that they can use that technology from the convenience of their own home and not be limited by library facilities and library hours. Last check we had 300 people waiting on the hold list for the hundreds of library hotspots we have now. And so we're going to be buying hundreds more with that money before the end of the year. So thank you. Thank you. And thank you, Councilman Herndon. All right, Councilwoman Black, will you please read Proclamation 1094?