Jefferson County Library

The first Board included Martha Dodson of Crystal City, Della Lang of High Ridge, Robert Miller of Hillsboro, Elizabeth Mueller of De Soto, and Ralph Sippel of Arnold. The library did not begin operations however until 1989, when voters in the Northwest and Fox-Windsor library sub-districts approved a twenty cent tax levy to support library service... s in those sub-districts. The Jefferson County Library Board of Trustees, now appointed by the County Executive with the approval of the County Council, administers the active library sub-districts; the Library Director, employed by the Board of Trustees, is the chief executive officer. In June, 1991, two branches, Northwest in High Ridge and Fox-Arnold in Arnold, were opened in rented quarters, in a storefront in High Ridge Plaza and in the lower level of the Arnold City Hall. A small bookmobile also provided service. In June, 1998, the newly constructed Windsor Branch (first district-owned building) opened on Metropolitan Boulevard in Barnhart. During 2003 construction began on a new Arnold Branch Library, and in 2004 an empty commercial building was purchased for renovation as the future location for the Northwest Branch. The new Arnold Branch opened in May 2005 at 1701 Missouri State Road, adjacent to the City of Arnold Recreation Center and the Arnold campus of Jefferson College. The new Northwest Branch opened in October 2005 at 5680 State Road PP at Highway 30 in High Ridge. The library has been automated since the start - the catalog, acquisitions, and circulation. A significant milestone was achieved in January 2002 when the library catalog became available on the Internet. The library also established its own website, jeffcolib.org. From the beginning, the library has focused on building collections and services for children and teens, seniors and the local business community. Most popular among the programs and services designed for adults have been the Best Seller Club, Beginning and Intermediate Computer Classes, and Genealogy and Local History ...Read More