St. Charles County library might close 3 branches, eliminate some jobs

O’FALLON, Mo. — Three library branches could close and 39 people, mostly part-time, could be laid off under a plan outlined Friday night by the St. Charles City-County Library District.

The branches on the possible shutdown list are McClay in St. Charles, Deer Run in O’Fallon and Kisker Road near Weldon Spring.

In addition to the 39 employees who could be laid off, an additional 20 to 30 vacancies wouldn’t be filled.

About 200 people, including many who had to watch a videoboard in an overflow room, showed up at the meeting to watch district administrators’ presentation. The session was held at the Middendorf-Kredell branch in O’Fallon.

District CEO Jason Kuhl said the library system is facing financial problems caused by the rising cost of electronic books and other platforms.

“In a year or two without changes, we will be spending more to keep the doors open than we are collecting in revenue,” Kuhl said.

He added that surveys taken for the district indicate that there is little support for any increase in property taxes to support the library.

The board had not voted on the plan by 7:15 p.m. on Friday.

The district on Wednesday had announced the special meeting, saying only that there would be a presentation on the state of the library and a plan for the future including branch closures that could “trigger workforce reorganization and reduction.” 

No details were made public before the meeting Friday night.

The district has 11 branches across the county. The district’s $27 million budget for the current fiscal year, ending June 30, called for about 210 employees.

District officials this week wouldn’t say how many of those positions are currently vacant.

The district gets most of its money from a countywide property tax.

St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann and St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer, who appoint the nine-member board, said in interviews that they were told that the cuts are due in part to an increased use by library users of electronic books which cost the system more than those on the shelves.

“They definitely have a problem,” Ehlmann said. “They’re going to have to do something. This isn’t a growth problem and it’s not an overspending problem.”

Borgmeyer said he believes that the library system should consider instituting user fees for the electronic books as one way to deal with the increasing cost.

The Middendorf-Kredell branch, where the meeting Friday was held, will close temporarily on June 1 for renovations but it is not on the list of locations that may be permanently shut down.

The Spencer Road branch in St. Peters, which closed earlier this year for renovations, is scheduled to reopen June 3.

The library board’s consideration of closures and staff cuts apparently has no connection with a continuing controversy over the past year over sexual content of some books.

Speakers at board meetings have repeatedly complained about them; others have defended district officials.

After months of criticism, the system announced in December that it would remove books containing explicit photos of sexual acts from library shelves but that they still would be available in the district’s online card catalog and to check out.

In another flap, about 35 protesters showed up at a library branch last May to complain that a library clerk had been wearing makeup, nail polish and a goatee. About 60 others showed up to oppose them.