Gift from the Friends and a Library grant help set up new service

Got Milk? Curious about Benjamin Button? Read The Reader, but haven’t seen it? Maybe you just want to watch Best Picture winner Slumdog Millionaire. No matter your favorite, the Library is about to help movie night around the house.

Beginning July 8, Kirkwood Public Library becomes the first library in Missouri to offer the latest movie releases on DVD through the Apex DiscXpress II system. Similar to our popular Hot Reads, patrons can check out the latest movies in the library’s Hot DVD collection. To allow more people to enjoy these popular titles, the Hot DVDs will check out for three days and the DVDs will not be used to satisfy holds.

We were able to purchase this system (in Kirkwood red, of course!) thanks to a matching grant from LSTA (Learning Services and Technology Act) and IMLS (Institute of Museum & Library Services).

A generous $30,000 gift from the Friends of the Kirkwood Library gave us a great start for our collection of Hot DVDs. We plan to keep five copies of each title. Just like Hot Reads, you never know what will be available at any moment.

Remember … The more you read, the more you win!

When it’s hot outside, one of the best ways to cool off is by lounging with a good book.

According to 8^th-grade student Seth Lanius, that’s only one of the advantages of joining the Summer Reading program at Kirkwood Public Library. And Seth should know; he’s logged over 60 hours in this summer’s program.

Another benefit? “Reading is pretty fun,” Seth says. “So you’re doing something you love and you’re getting prizes for it.” That’s a tough combination to beat. For Seth, that means devouring the entire Harry Potter series this summer and earning every prize on the list.

What can it mean for you? Well, there’s still time to sign up for Summer Reading and join the fun. Pick up a book and escape into another world. You’ll find plenty of interesting Summer Reading events in this world too.

Progress remains on schedule at 140 E. Jefferson location

To the casual driver on Taylor Avenue, it may appear that the entire library is being brought down during the demolition phase of the renovation. However, closer inspection will reveal that only the southeast corner of the 1939 building is coming down. The face on Jefferson and the bay window on Taylor will remain, with an updated look designed to last another 70 years.

HBD Construction has removed the portion of the building in back without affecting the front area that stays intact. As Project Manager Grant Smith reminds us, “Nothing goes perfectly smooth with an old building,” but so far in the process everything is going pretty much as planned.

Chris Stuckenschneider poignantly retells the story of a miracle colt from Missouri

Local author Chris Stuckenschneider will visit the Kirkwood train station on Saturday, July 25 to read from her new children’s book Twist of Fate: The Miracle Colt and His Friends. Plus, Main Street Books will be on site with copies of the book available for purchase, so you can get a signed copy in person.

The book recounts a dramatic accident along Interstate 44 where twenty-six animals amazingly survived. The story is told from the point of view of Twister, an unborn colt at the time of the accident, who was born at the Longmeadow Rescue Ranch in Union, Missouri.

 Friends organization has been supporting the Library since 1978

Through financial assistance and thousands of volunteer hours, the Friends have helped the Library purchase equipment and materials. They’ve also provided funding for programs and services not covered by the operating budget.

In addition, there are lots of volunteer positions within the Friends where you can lend a hand. You can support the Kirkwood Public Library year round when you join the Friends of the Kirkwood Public Library.

 KPL Responds to Your Comments

We love getting comments from patrons – complimentary, constructive or critical – and do our best to act on them.

You:
“You have discontinued Prices 4 Antiques under Information Search on the web site. A number of us use this site very often. Please bring it back.”

Us:
Good news! Jennifer Millikan, Director of Library Services, was able to work with the owner of this database and negotiate a lower cost for the library to keep it in the budget.

In fact, we even improved the service. Whereas you could previously access this database only through the library, now you can also visit the site from home.

According to a library patron who frequents Prices 4 Antiques, “the site is much more realistic than books or shows because it gives prices from actual auctions. It’s not just one person’s biased opinion, it’s real prices.”

While many people find items that aren’t worth as much as they wished, one Kirkwood collector helped a woman research a Tiffany lamp thought to be valued at two or three thousand dollars. “Turned out we found it at an East Coast auction and she sold her lamp for $48,000. That only happens about once a year. Usually it’s the other way around.”