ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — The St. Charles County library district faces an uncertain future.
Citing financial concerns and "challenges," the board and administration said they want to "look forward, not backward." As the district presses forward with that mindset, the community has since jumped into the conversation, in hopes of rewriting the next chapter.
On May 17, the library board held a surprise meeting, during which the district's apparently dire financial situation was discussed at length. St. Charles City-County Library Director Jason Kuhl began the meeting, presenting his one and only strategy to save the district from future turmoil.
"We have been trying any number of things, considering any number of things," Kuhl said during his hour-long presentation. "We've changed our hours. We've closed on Sundays for a period of time. We've been exhausting all possibilities, thinking as creatively as possible."
The administration's proposed solution would start by closing three branches. If passed, the Kisker Road and McClay branches would close by June 30. The Deer Run branch would close after renovations are completed at the Middendorf Kredell Branch in O’Fallon.
That meeting was received with a lot of backlash and heated debate. Since then, the community, along with current and former district employees and area leaders, has been voicing their opposition online and directly to the board.
Community members protest closure of libraries in St. Charles County.
Both Wentzville and O'Fallon, Missouri, unanimously passed resolutions opposed to the proposed plan to close certain branches.
"I felt blindsided when I first saw it, " Wentzville Mayor Nick Guccione said "Last thing I want to do is close up. There's always another way around it."
Multiple community groups have been launched since the meeting. One group title "St. Charles Seeing Red" even launched a website with resources, advocating to keep the branches open. The protest doesn't end online, however. Many library patrons have told 5 on your Side how vital public libraries are to their daily activities.
Meryl Raines homeschools her children and said she uses one of the libraries poised for closure at least once a week.
"I absolutely don't want them to close it. It would kind of be devastating," Raines said. "They built this nice crosswalk here, with the park nearby. I understand why there's so many people that are frustrated about possibility of this one closing."
Jul Hoehl also visits the Kisker branch on a regular basis and describes it as a necessary public service.
"I come here once or twice a week. It's very convenient. It's one of the few places I could go to that's still free." Hoehl said.
Kuhl's proposed solution to address the ongoing financial woes prominently cites electronic materials as "one of the largest drivers" for why they are proposing potential closures. When asked about the specific branches selected for closure in this proposal, Kuhl was not available for comment but referred us to the district's Chief Communications & Engagement Officer, Lori Beth Crawford. Her statements seem to imply the closures might not stop with McClay, Kisker, and Deer Run.
"The proposed plan calls for the eventual sunset of all of our medium-sized locations. These locations were designed and built to provide a narrow range of services that no longer meet the changing preferences of our residents. We need sufficient space for programming as well as more meeting and study areas The capital investment needed (several million per location) was simply not feasible." Crawford said in a statement shared with 5 On Your Side.
The public outcry was not unnoticed by library administrators, however. Crawford said leadership understands the reason public libraries are vital resources:
"We understand that this comes as a shock to many. If they haven't sat through our board meetings and read our financial reports over the years they would have no way to know what we're facing. We understand that for many the library is a lifeline and there is a lot of emotion that understandably goes with that."
The district board of directors continues to accept comments and questions ahead of the June 18 meeting. One board member has even been active on social media sites, receiving and responding to community questions through a Facebook page created to receive comments. Josiah Schmidt told the community he has been carefully reviewing their questions.
In a post on Facebook, Schmidt said :
"Dear passionate library patrons and staff:
One of your board members here. Many thanks to each of you for sharing your thoughts with me over the weekend. I have given intense thought to this issue. On Tuesday night’s meeting, during the New Business section, I intend to speak for a bit and then put forward a motion. I believe this motion is a necessary first step in order to heal library leadership’s relationship with both patrons and staff, and to give our organization clarity about what direction we need to go."
Late Saturday night, St. Charles County Library released a lengthy statement with answers to frequently asked questions.
Here is the full statement we received from Chief Communications & Engagement Officer Lori Beth Crawford:
-Why is the district prioritizing electronic materials over the physical facilities?
Crawford : The Library is not prioritizing electronic materials over our facilities. Electronic materials are just one of the drivers of expenses but not the only thing. This trend of expenses outpacing materials is a trend that predates electronic materials.
-Why are these the branches you decided to choose to possibly close?
Crawford : The proposed plan calls for the eventual sunset of all of our medium-sized locations. These locations were designed and built to provide a narrow range of services that no longer meet the changing preferences of our residents. We need sufficient space for programming as well as more meeting and study areas The capital investment needed (several million per location) was simply not feasible.
Crawford : We also evaluated based on the proximity of other branch locations; each branch identified for closing has at least one other branch less than five miles away. As the population of St. Charles County has shifted to the west, our studies show that we have an inequitable distribution of space relative to population.
-Can you briefly describe the changes you've seen that were mentioned in last night's letter?
Crawford : The higher cost of electronic items (vs. physical ones) and the increasing demand for them is one of the largest drivers of our costs. The demand for our physical collection has dropped by nearly half a million since 2019 while the demand for electronic materials has grown by more than that in the same amount of time. This is a prime example of how the use of library resources is changing. The library is a destination for study and meeting spaces and not all of our facilities can accommodate that need.
-What's your response to the community outcry to keep these branches open?
Crawford : We understand that this comes as a shock to many. If they haven't sat through our board meetings and read our financial reports over the years they would have no way to know what we're facing. We understand that for many the library is a lifeline and there is a lot of emotion that understandably goes with that.
How many staff will be laid off if the proposal goes through?
Crawford : If the proposal were to be approved in its original form we would unfortunately have to eliminate 39 staff members and that does not include the 25 current vacancies.