Rocky Mountain Land Library: Nature Lovers' Collection Of 30,000 Books Boxed Up, Readied For Permanent Home

Rocky Mountain Land Library Getting New Home

You think you're a book lover? Try collecting and curating a collection of more than 30,000 nature books for 23 years and then having to pack them up into nearly 1,000 boxes for a new home. That's just what Jeff Lee and his wife Ann Martin, the curators of Rocky Mountain Land Library, have been doing for weeks.

Since February, the couple have been documenting the running box tally on the library's Facebook page. On Feb. 22, a post reads, "We just packed our 500th box! Maybe 200 to go?" But, there were actually more than 400 left to go -- a grand total of 992 boxes of books was reached on March 3, according to their Facebook page.

When Lee and Martin's rental home on Humboldt Street in Denver was sold, they were forced to move out. But it didn't just mean they had to find a new home for themselves, it also meant they had to find a new home for the Rocky Mountain Land Library which was housed in the rental home's basement. The fate of the residential library was uncertain and it looked as if its book treasure could go homeless. But after years of searching for a new site for the library, Lee and Martin have found a proper and permanent home for their collection at Buffalo Peaks Ranch in South Park, Colo. and also found a new home for themselves, The Denver Post reports.

But, Lee and Martin's new home for the library won't be ready for at least another year and their new home was not big enough to house all the books so figuring out what to do with their large collection was the challenge. But when the word got out the the couple were in need, several offers from the community poured in to help store and transport the books. One in particular, Acme Distribution Centers, is providing the transport and storage of the nature tomes for free.

On Facebook, the couple posted about Acme's generous offer:

Here's the BEST NEWS yet: THANK YOU to Jeff Goldfogel, CEO of ACME DISTRIBUTION CENTERS for donating free trucking AND storage for the Land Library's books!

Acme CEO, Goldfogel, told the couple, "We'll be happy to provide the transportation and warehousing services free of charge in appreciation for the wonderful efforts that your team are putting forth for the betterment of the community"

The Rocky Mountain Land Library has been called one of Colorado's most treasured collection of books and its mission, as stated on its blog, has always been simple, "to encourage a greater awareness of the land." It's 30,000+ volume natural history library is especially focused on the land and communities of the Rocky Mountain region. And its new home at Buffalo Peaks Ranch couldn't be more fitting.

Founded in 1861 and recently designated a National Heritage Area, according to the Los Angeles Times, Buffalo Peaks is a beautiful spot of land, the perfect home for a library dedicated to the conservation and appreciation of the land.

Beth Wood, a friend of Lee's and Martin's, photographed the restoration of some of the barn space on the Buffalo Peaks Ranch when the couple were still working on allocating the ranch, view her photos of the restoration here.

For more information on the library, visit Rocky Mountain Land Library's Facebook page or their blog.

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