General News
This month’s newsletter features information about tax preparation help available at the library, an update on children’s events for the month, as well as dates for future events and books coming soon to the library.
Click here to read the current issue of the library newsletter. For past issues of the newsletter, visit the “Newsletters” tab on our home page.
The library will be closed on Friday, August 30, for software upgrades and the transition to a new provider for the Missouri Evergreen service. Access to patrons’ Missouri Evergreen and MoLib2Go accounts will be limited from 9 p.m. on Thursday, August 29 through 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 31.
Our August newsletter has been published. Read it by clicking the link below:
http://sikeston.lib.mo.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/newsletter-August-2019-1.pdf
Keep up with events past, present and future at the library by reading our monthly newsletter. The July newsletter is available by clicking this link.
Keep up with events past, present and future at the library by reading our monthly newsletter. The June newsletter is available by clicking this link.
Our new platform lift is installed and ready for use! The new lift has 50% more weight capacity than the previous lift, and it also offers a much smoother ride.
We know the steps in the lobby can be intimidating for our patrons with mobility issues, so we encourage you to ride, not climb, into the library to see us.
We are excited to unveil our first monthly newsletter outlining news and events of the Library. Our plan is to publish a new issue at the beginning of each month, with photos of the previous month’s events along with upcoming events to mark on your calendar.
Click the link below to view this month’s newsletter.
The library will be holding its annual Used Book Sale from April 4-7 in the McAmis Room (main level) of the library.
The sale opens at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 7. It continues during regular library hours on Friday (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
On Sunday, April 7 — the final day of the sale — any items left at the sale will be sold for $1 per brown bag full. We even provide the bag!
This year, we seem to have a wide and balanced selection of items ranging from adult fiction and non-fiction, young adult novels, children’s fiction and non-fiction, audiobooks, classic VHS tapes, and DVDs. Materials for the book sales consist of donations from the public, as well as books that are no longer needed in the library’s collection.
Proceeds from the book sale are returned to the library’s budget to purchase new materials for circulation in the library.
New books are starting to appear on the shelves at the Sikeston Public Library thanks to grant funds targeted at enhancing the library’s collection. In February, the library received a $2,500 Public Library Nonfiction Collection Development Support Grant.
(Click HERE for a listing of materials purchased with these grant funds.)
“This particular grant was more specific than collection development grants that we have received in the past,” said the library’s Director Ron Eifert, who is also serving as the project manager for the grant. “We are limited to purchasing only non-fiction materials, but we are purchasing materials for all age groups of library users.”
After discussion with library staff members and consideration of requests from patrons, Eifert focused the funds on four areas in the library’s non-fiction collection.
“The first materials that we chose are in support of our summer reading theme, ‘A Universe of Stories’,” Eifert said. “We have chosen many books about the history of space exploration to add to the collection.” With the observance of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing this summer, Eifert said that he expects interest to be high.
Another area to be developed is materials to support higher education and vocational education. Books with preparation materials for the ACT, HiSet, and nursing program entrance exam books have been purchased. “We are constantly asked for preparation materials for nurses seeking to further their educations,” Eifert said. “We will approximately double our offerings for nursing program exams.” In addition, the library is purchasing math review materials for people wishing to brush up on their math skills for college preparation or high school equivalency exams.
The third area to be developed is materials targeted to minority patrons. “We have selected several books about issues facing African-Americans and Hispanics in today’s world, especially as it relates to immigration and race relations, along with books about these groups’ history in the United States.”
The remainder of the grant will be spent to purchase general non-fiction materials for adults and children, biographies for adults and children, and math-related books for children.
Purchasing of materials began on March 1, and materials purchased under the grant are already beginning to arrive. Materials purchased under the grant will be highlighted in displays within the library.
The Public Library Collection Development Support Grant is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri StateLibrary, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
The library will be closed this weekend, March 9-10. This was not an easy decision to make, but we will not have access to the Missouri Evergreen software, which affects just about everything we do!
Once the upgrade is complete, we will have a more powerful system to help you, and a system that will be more resistant to outages.
We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.