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After a minor delay in construction, the new Smithville branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library is open for checkouts.

The library was originally scheduled to open Nov. 2 and the building was finished and ready for patrons, said Jim Staley, marketing and communications manager for Mid Continent Public Library, but rain caused delays in paving the road up to the library and the opening date was pushed back a week.

However, Shari Ellison, Smithville branch manager, said the library staff and its collection have successfully made the transition across U.S. Highway 169 to the new building at 120 Richardson St. and officially opened the doors to the community Nov. 9.

“It was a hard transition,” she said. “We moved all the books and it was a challenge, doing all the physical work and relearning where everything is at. We used to have everything in one place and now it’s all spread out.”

The biggest change, of course, is the sheer size of the new library, Ellison said, which is double the square footage of the old building. It is now 15,000 square feet. The new building also features new amenities such as a kids area, program area and a walled off reading area with glass windows.

Of course, the increase in building size also means the library could be able to expand its collection of books and the programs it offers, Ellison said, but that could be a couple of years away, due to the recession and budget cuts.

The library also needs to increase its circulation numbers to expand its inventory and programs, Ellison said. Currently, the Smithville branch averages about 184,000 checkouts per year and they would need to improve that number to at least 200,000 and maintain it for a year to qualify for an expansion.

But, Ellison said the new location may be able to help them achieve that goal.

While the old library averaged about 900 checkouts per day, Ellison said the new location had about 1,500 checkouts on the day it opened as well as five new library memberships, putting it on pace to serve more patrons this year.

Ellison also said the novelty of a new building may attract library patrons from outside the city as well as those who don’t visit regularly.

“We want this library to be used,” she said. “We want everyone to come in and feel welcome here and hopefully we have something for everyone and if we don’t we can get it for them.”

Although the library is now officially open, Staley said the grand opening ceremony for the facility is being planned tentatively for December when the library will also announce some new programs for the location.

For more information on the new branch, visit Mid-Continent Public Library’s Web site at www.mcpl.lib.mo.us.

Staff writer Michael Westblade can be reached at 389-6636 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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