Our Opinion: Award recognizes outstanding public library

Ours is a nation of institutions — long-standing bedrock foundations that enrich our lives in immeasurable ways.

Public libraries are among them.

Children comb the aisles, looking for their next adventure. Young adults use them in utilitiarian ways to study and broaden our horizons. Adults enjoy the cost-effective access to literature and the information superhighway of the internet and even gear and equipment for recreation and productivity.

Public libraries, by their nature, serve everyone.

We’ve long known Cape Girardeau Public Library, under the stewardship of director Katie Earnhart, is a gem. In addition to the usual array of books and products available, our library is a hub of social activity, often hosting community events, lectures and educational programming.

The Missouri Library Association shares our opinion, recently naming Cape Girareau Public Library the 2024 Library of the Year.

Congratulations.

The association cited usage statistics — 13% increase in library card sign-ups, 7% increase in visits and 2.5% increase in circulation — when it chose our library.

But those impressive numbers were only one factor.

The library is one of several dozen libraries across the state participating in the Missouri Evergreen resource-sharing consortium, which allows users across the state to access each library’s catalog. Locally, that grew the library’s collection from a couple hundred thousand items to more than 4 million.

That move also allowed the library to offer materials to anyone in the county free of charge, something that had been prohibited because of boundary rules.

The award comes on the heels of marketing coordinator Whitney Burton winning the association’s Public Relations Achievement Award in 2022.

The library is doing good things. As evidenced by the usage numbers, the community knows this and supports our library.

If you’re a library user, continue to take advantage of all they have to offer. If you haven’t stopped by in a while, make a point to check out all that is available.

Take advantage of this outstanding local institution.