About Us

Libraries in the city of Sikeston were first begun in the late 1890s. These libraries were small, sometime private, and staffed by volunteers. The Sikeston Women’s Club spearheaded efforts to pass a tax levy to fund a permanent library. This levy passed in 1935.

 

The Sikeston Public Library, in its present form, opened at 221 North Kingshighway in December 1938.The building itself was constructed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration). The building was expanded with an L-shaped expansion on the north and west, either during the late 1950s to early 1960s.

 

The next major expansion was in the mid-1990s following the Americans with Disabilities Act. As a result of the passage of the Act, the children’s library in the basement was not handicapped accessible and was out of compliance. When the expansion to the library opened in 1995, the children’s library was moved from the basement to the main level, and the basement was used for storage.

 

Fast forward almost 20 years later to 2013, when the library’s Board of Trustees set a goal of raising money to renovate the lower level of the library, making it handicapped accessible and retaining/restoring as much of the original architecture as possible. Using bequests from the estates of Regina Meyer and Anne (Draughon) Matthews, and donations from throughout the community, the Draughon Community Room in the lower level of the library became a reality, opening to the public in December 2015.

 

Today, the Sikeston Public Library offers traditional library services, along with programming, computer access, and access to Wi-Fi. The Library has physical holdings of approximately 45,000 books, audiobooks, videorecordings, and magazines. The Library is a member of the Missouri Evergreen consortium, in which 57 member libraries share a catalog and almost 4 million physical items throughout the state. In addition, the Library is a member of MoLib2Go, a group of over 100 libraries that provides downloadable electronic books, audiobooks, and magazines.

 

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Library Address: 121 East North Street, Sikeston MO  63801

Phone: (573) 471-4140

Fax: (573) 471-6048

Email: info@sikeston.lib.mo.us

 

Hours:

Monday – Thursday: 10 am to 8 pm

Friday: 10 am to 6 pm

Saturday: 10 am to 4 pm

Sunday: 1-5 pm (Labor Day to Memorial Day only)

Meet Our Staff

Ron Eifert – Director

Lisa Munger – Children’s Librarian

Ashli Smith – Circulation Clerk

Lynda Muench – Circulation Clerk

vacant – Circulation Clerk

Kelly Braden – Shelver

Brianna Pennington – Shelver