Overview:
Anythink’s biggest project to date cost $45 million and is going to have 70% of its book collection dedicated to nature and environmentalism.
Brass engravings of Colorado wildlife stretch across the floor as sunlight pours through the windows of the 33,000-square-foot building. The new library’s nature-inspired design and unique details offer visitors an experience that Anythink hopes will be unlike that of any other library in the country.
“There are a few nature libraries across the country,” said Maria Mayo-Peaseley, branch manager at Anythink Libraries. “But none quite like this.”
The Anythink Nature Library is the organization’s largest project to date. The $45 million facility on 136th Avenue in Thornton took two years to build and is designed to spread awareness and inspire curiosity about nature and environmentalism through its book collections, programs and spaces.
“This library is a result of good government,” said Mark Fink, executive director at Anythink. “This is the result of an organization listening to the community, and really responding to the community needs.”
With eight existing locations spread across Adams County, Anythink has expanded steadily since becoming an independent special library district in 2004. Today, their programming and community spaces include language classes, book clubs and maker studios where residents can use 3D printers.
At the Nature Library, programming will initially be defined by Anythink, but Fink said community input will be taken into consideration.
“This space is adaptable to how the community reacts,” Fink said.
For now, some of the activities residents can expect to participate in at the library are cyanotype printing at the art and science lab, story time in the sunroom and gardening workshops from master gardeners at the Learning Garden.
Many of the library’s spaces are designed specifically for children, such as the mud pit, where they can play and explore nature, and the dark room, which seeks to replicate the experience of being at a campfire under the starry sky.
“This is a venue for all different kinds of experiences,” said Fink.
Though the building’s construction is nearly complete, the City of Thornton will continue developing the 140-acre site after the inauguration. The city plans to build a trailhead linking the library to the Aylor trail systems and a one-mile loop trail around the property.
Thornton residents are excited about the new library.
“For myself and a lot of people, we tend to use the library more, like, on the digital side, for Kindle or audiobooks,” said Sara Jones, a local who regularly takes her 5-year-old daughter to other Anythink locations in Thornton. “But the nature aspect of it will definitely be different than what we see at the other Anythink branches and I think it’ll be a cool addition to the city.”
The new location will also offer outdoor items for residents to check out, including butterfly catching kits, paddleboards and camping gear.
“The idea is we have gear and you get to try it,” said Mayo-Peaseley. “Then if you like it, you can go buy it on your own.”
For Jones, programs like those are part of what makes Anythink libraries valuable.
“I feel like it’s important because it helps people in the community that maybe wouldn’t have access to some things, to be able to access them,” Jones said. “It gives kids and adults a place to go and meet other people and experience different things.”
The library is set to receive its book collection in the coming weeks. About 70% of the collection will be related to nature and environmentalism.
“I’m super excited to see it and being somebody who typically works remotely, I picture myself just kind of going there to work occasionally as well,” said Jones.
Anythink is also opening express libraries in Reunion in the fall of 2026 and in Thornton in the spring of 2027.
