DESCRIPTION: The St. Louis Public Library is a full-service public library with several specialty libraries located within the main library. In addition to the Central Library in downtown St. Louis, the library system has 15 branch libraries throughout the city.
The Central Library building is one of St. Louis' architectural treasures. It is modified Italian Renaissance in style and was designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert. It features beautiful stained glass windows, hand-stenciled ceilings and glass floors.
The Public Library is a service institution providing reading material, music and tapes to the public but it is also a cultural institution which sponsors lecture series, exhibits and special events throughout the year.
SLOGAN: St. Louis Public Library -- It's Your Place; Check It Out
ADDRESS: 1301 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103
LOCATION: Downtown St. Louis
PHONE: 314-241-2288
WEB SITE: www.slpl.lib.mo.us
GETTING THERE: From downtown, take Olive west to the corner of 13th Street.
HOURS: Monday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Sunday
ADMISSION: Free
ANNUAL ATTENDANCE: 420,000 for the downtown library; 3 million for the entire library system.
WHAT'S NEW: The St. Louis Public Library features changing exhibits. Call for details of what's currently on display.
HIGHLIGHTS:
The St. Louis Public Library is actually several libraries in one. In addition to the main library, there are a Humanities Library, a History and Genealogy Library, a Fine Arts Library, a Pop Library, A Rare Books Library, a Large Print Library and a Books-on-Tape Library. The St. Louis Area Studies Center brings together books, pamphlets, periodicals and clippings on the history of the area.
The building, which occupies one city block, consists of a central oval pavilion surrounded by four rectangular pavilions with connecting bridges.
The exterior of the building is Maine granite with marble panels and relief carvings of early printers' marks, decorative medallions, notable authors and inspirational inscriptions. The grand marble staircase on the Olive Street side of the building was in the past used as a reviewing area for parades passing through downtown and takes the visitor to the main or second floor. The interior of the building is Tennessee marble and hand-carved quartered oak. On either side of the central foyer rise marble staircases illuminated by stained glass windows. The foyer's ceiling is painted with portraits and medallions of notable authors and scholars including Saint Louis, Louis IX of France. The Library's two-story Grand Hall has a coffered ceiling of molded plaster with gold accents. The only remaining cast-bronze chandeliers original to the building are in this room. The marble floor is modeled on the floor of the Pantheon in Rome. The Library's Periodical Room has more than 800 current magazines and newspapers. The room's carved ceiling is adapted from Michelangelo's design for the ceiling of the Laurentian Library in Florence. The wooden ceiling of the Humanities and Social Sciences Department is decorated with hand-painted owls, dolphins and cornucopias, symbolizing wisdom, long life and abundance.
The George Fox Steedman Architectural Library houses a collection of rare books on architecture and related arts and is jointly administered by the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Art Department. According to the wishes of the late George Fox Steedman who established the Architectural Library in 1928, the room is decorated in the English style of the 16th century with carved paneling, leaded glass windows and bookcases, a stone fireplace and carved oak furniture. Steedman gave the St. Louis Public Library his personal collection of 600 volumes, an endowment and funds to construct the room. The collection has more than doubled since the original gift. Among the rare books in the collection is Piranesi's Opere, a 23-volume set which once belonged to the British House of Commons Library. The room is open to architects and students of architecture.
The Library is involved in community outreach efforts providing book services to day care centers and senior centers. It also operates bookmobiles and mails books to the home-bound who cannot come to the library or reach a van paying for postage both ways.
The St. Louis Public Library has a reciprocity program with the St. Louis County Library and various area municipal libraries to allow greater access to its facilities.
WHAT'S COOL: The St. Louis Public Library offers special services to Bosnian, African, Hispanic, German and Asian members of the community giving them access to books and films in their own language.
ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS: The St. Louis Public Library has a toy box from which children can check out toys and an international book box with books on different countries, also available for check-out. The library sponsors story hour for young children and a summer reading program for school children.
ANNUAL SPECIAL EVENTS: The Library holds several special events each year including book sales in the spring and fall and a celebration of National Aviation Month in November. Through the library's Signature Series, top-name writers give free lectures to the public.
HISTORY: The St. Louis Public School Library, a subscription service, was the predecessor of the St. Louis Public Library. It was established in 1865 by Ira Divoll, superintendent of the St. Louis Public School System. In 1874 the library was opened to the general public for reading and reference on the premises. In 1885, a state law authorized cities to levy taxes for public libraries, and in 1893 St. Louisans voted to move administration of the library from the board of education to an independent board making the library free of subscription fees and open to all city residents.
In 1901, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie offered the city $1 million for construction of a central library and several branch libraries. The people of St. Louis provided the rest of the money needed for the construction of the buildings and the purchase of books.
Architect Cass Gilbert who was the architect for the Saint Louis Art Museum, the U. S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. and the Woolworth Building in New York City was selected to design the building. It opened in 1912.
WHAT'S COMING UP: In conjunction with The Magic House, St. Louis Children's Museum, the main library will construct an interactive children's learning environment called The Magic Library. The space, to be constructed in 2004, combines the hands-on experiences of a children's museum with the resources of a traditional library to promote literacy in a fun way.
HANDICAPPED ACCESS: The St. Louis Public Library is handicapped accessible.
WHERE TO GET LUNCH: There are many restaurants in the downtown area.
WHAT'S NEARBY: The Gateway Arch, Laclede's Landing, the Old Courthouse and the Old Cathedral are in the downtown area.
PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Gerald Brooks, Director of Marketing & Public Relations, 314-841-2917; gbrooks@slpl.lib.mo.us.
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