Colorado opens "first-of-its-kind" library built around nature

At a new library outside Denver, you can get a book, a pair of snowshoes—and a trail to use them on. The Anythink Nature Library, opening in Thornton (CO), offers a glimpse at how libraries are evolving as they search for new ways to serve their communities in the digital age. Anythink Libraries, Adams County's public library system, calls the project "the nation's first nature library," designed so visitors can learn about the outdoors, then step outside to experience it. The concept brings a 33,000-square-foot library, nature center and community gathering space under one roof, with a focus on making outdoor recreation and environmental education more accessible.