There has been a lot of change happening within the library sphere in St. Charles.
On Nov. 23, the St. Charles City-County Library, Mid Rivers Mall Branch, closed permanently. The Mid Rivers Mall Branch was opened on Jan. 22, 2024 in order to give more library services while other libraries in the region were under construction.
The Spencer Road Branch in St. Peters finished renovations last June and the Middendorf Kredell Branch in O’Fallon is scheduled to reopen in early 2025.
“Both of these branches were due for some significant routine maintenance to include HVAC, new parking lots, new roof or roof repairs and new flooring,” Tiffany Barke, the Interim CEO & Chief Administrative Officer within St. Charles City-County libraries said. “While we were doing many of these scheduled maintenance pieces it just made sense to do some cosmetic work while the buildings were closed to the public.”
Last May, discussions of closing down three different branches went through the St. Charles City-County Library Board. Those discussions ended with a resounding “no” based on public outcry, and there has been no discussion of closing branches since.
“I mainly use the libraries that are outside of FHN as study spaces, such as when I was studying for standardized tests like the ACT,” senior Alex Prudhomme said. “It’s a really good, quiet space with the specific study rooms that they have across the libraries, specifically for high school students and teenagers to study different things.”
Libraries around St. Charles are used by students to help amplify learning experiences and utilize their resources. Nearby libraries such as McClay have adapted their spaces to fit student needs by including study spaces and computers.
“I believe the library plays a critical role in adding value to our community for generations to come,” Barke said. “We will continue to evolve with patrons’ needs to provide equitable access to information and resources in support of lifelong learning.”
The rapid adaptation of technology means that libraries need to change to survive. As libraries try to take on new technologies, they are also taking on a lot of new costs. Ebooks lead to perpetual costs that make it difficult to expand without ballooning costs.
“There are many factors at play that could influence our sustainability,” Barke said. “Digital media’s rising costs are just one of those factors. Libraries offer many resources and services that are of value to our patrons including adult and youth programming, passport and notary services, outreach services to those who are homebound, meeting and study spaces and technology to address the digital divide just to name a few. The rising cost of digital media is just one of the many things that cost more today than it did in the past.”
Information is one of the most important resources in the modern world and libraries continue to do their part to distribute it to all people. As the internet continues to disseminate information, it is up to public sources of information to continue to strive to reduce the digital divide.
“The public libraries provide mainly just that, that sense of ambiance,” Prudhomme said. “This is a good, safe place to study and also relax because you kind of don’t get that in a lot of places because a lot of places like school and maybe home are like, go, go, go. Libraries provide that sense of peace and tranquility while you’re able to do a lot of things.”