Rolling Hills Library grand opening set for Riverside Branch!

After more than two years of planning and 18 months of construction, the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library is ready to celebrate the opening of its new Riverside Branch location in St. Joseph.  The address is 400 Mosaic Court, just south of the Mosaic Life Care hospital and their new Plaza 4 location on Faraon and the UMKC School of Medicine facility.

After a soft opening on April 20^th the library is now open daily for visitors.  Two events are planned for this week to formally welcome the community.  The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting on Thursday, May 7^th at 11:00 a.m. for the business community.  Then the library will host a Grand Opening event on Saturday, May 9^th at 10:00 a.m. and an all-day open house with tours and giveaways.

The facility is over 36,000 square feet on almost four acres and surrounded by natural landscaping and pleasant views.  The building houses the library’s largest branch, the Bookmobile office and garage, the Administration Office, and the Friends of the Library’s used bookstore, Books Revisited.  

Sapp Design Architects of Kansas City were engaged for their experience with libraries and designed an excellent and adaptable facility. J.E. Dunn Construction of Kansas City operated as the construction manager at-risk to oversee the project. Local trade partners were used for close to 40% of the project construction budget. The total project costs including land acquisition and construction have come in at 10% under the original maximum budget set by the library board, a feat nearly unheard of in the post-COVID economy.

Library Director Michelle Mears has been both pleased and overwhelmed at the feedback from library staff and library users. “Everyone has been so positive about the new space.  We are still settling in and adjusting, but this building is a joy to come to every day.”  With large windows and a variety of seating, the library branch feels very connected to the outdoors and has a flat parking area with an accessible entrance.

The former location at the Rolling Hills Plaza strip mall on Belt Highway is for sale. “It has been well taken care of and is ready to become a retail and commercial destination again,” Mears said.

Upcoming Library Move! What you need to know...

The days are flying by, and our "big move" will be here before you know it.  Here are some dates and information that will help us to help you get through this period.

• Savannah Branch will stay open throughout this time.  Only one branch will be closed, so make the short drive to Savannah if you need to use a computer or run out of books to read.  Many of you have never been there before, and our Savannah Branch is beautiful!
• Our online resources will still be accessible.  Now is as good a time as any to try an e-book on your mobile device and see how you like it.
• Before the Belt Branch closes, check out twice as many books as you normally would to get you through.  Plus, that is more books we don't have to move.
• Don't worry about returning your books, because we do not have overdue fines.  Renew the books you already have checked out, even if you are finished with them and just hold onto them until we reopen.
• We have over 100,000 books plus 32 staff and a bunch of furniture to move.  Then we also have new furniture to get delivered and assembled.  And the Books Revisited bookstore and the Bookmobile also will need to move.  A move like this does not happen overnight.

Here are some dates for you to mark on your calendars:

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES, Closed Monday, March 2

BELT BRANCH, Last Day Open -- Sunday, March 15

BOOKS REVISITED Bookstore, Last Day Open -- Saturday, March 21

RIVERSIDE BRANCH, Soft Opening, sometime in mid-April

GRAND OPENING of the RIVERSIDE BRANCH -- Saturday, May 9  

Phone numbers and email addresses will all stay the same, so reach out online if you have any questions or concerns.  You can reach me at help@rhcl.org or 816-205-7000.

Michelle Mears, Library Director

Digital changes are coming

By Michelle Mears, Rolling Hills Library Director

I hope that many of you have at least tried an e-book or e-audio on your mobile device or computer. If you haven’t, now might be a good time to give it a whirl. If Santa brings you a new tablet or upgrades your phone, you can try out one of our online services.

But you need to know there are changes on tap for our “virtual” branch to make it simpler to use and more enjoyable.

To give you some background, it hasn’t been all that long that Missouri libraries have been offering e-books to users. Our library started around 2011 with the MoLib2Go consortium, which is provided by OverDrive. Today their app is called Libby and is our most used e-book resource. Usage of e-materials on all our online platforms has been steadily climbing after years of slow growth and now it is up about 20% over last year.

Just like potato chips, it’s hard to limit yourself to just a few, so over the years we added more and more online services. During covid, when physical access to the library was limited, we added some digital resources to our virtual branch so people would not be without books during a difficult time. Also like potato chips, it’s usually too late when you realize you have had too many.

The library needs to go on kind of a digital “diet” to streamline our offerings and keep to our budget for books and other resources.

Here’s what’s going down

We are going to end some of these app services and combine them into one new platform. Libby will continue to be available, but Boundless, Hoopla, and Blackstone will end in December 2025, and CloudLibrary will take its place. We understand that some of you may be upset about this decision, so let me explain.

First, pricing for digital titles is much higher than the same titles in print. Where we might pay $18 for a hardcover book with our negotiated discounts, the e-book version could be $60 for only 24 months of access, and the e-audio version can be as high as $120 each.

For an “always available” resource like Hoopla (no holds or waiting), we pay an amount per checkout between $.99 and $3.99. Our Hoopla usage started out at six titles per user per month, went up to 12 during covid, back down to six earlier this year, and now we are down to just three and our monthly bill is still close to $5,000 per month, just for Hoopla. That is more than 20% of our total collection budget for the whole year. Hoopla has become unsustainable.

Second, people tend to load just one app on their device and stay with that even if it means they miss out on some great stuff on other platforms. Only the savvy users will switch between different apps and search for titles in multiple places. One solution to this is to reduce the number of apps we offer so they can access more from fewer “visits” to the virtual branch.

We understand there are many people who are voracious readers, but again we have to impose limits so we can serve the greatest number of users with the funds we have available.

Finally, we have leveraged our sharing networks so our users can get the benefit of more than we can afford on our own. Libby is a shared resource across 110 Missouri libraries, which puts a lot of value into the pot but also results in longer wait times because more than 2 million people are sharing those titles.

CloudLibrary is also part of a consortium but will be shared among less than 20 libraries and will offer some of the best features of Hoopla, such as having graphic novels, streaming video and no reserves for some titles. Users will also be able to recommend titles to purchase, and we certainly want to buy things we know will get checked out.

We know that many of you have enjoyed Hoopla for the past five years and hope you will give CloudLibrary a try when it launches in mid-December.

These days public libraries have to be nimble and ready to make a change when circumstances change. We continue to work hard to serve you and welcome your feedback and input. You can send any questions, concerns or feedback to us at help@rhcl.org.

Thank you, and as always, (H)Appy Reading!

Library Friends cook up a sweet fundraiser

The Friends of Rolling Hills Library have cooked up a sweet fundraising effort in time for Christmas shopping.

The Cake Lady and Friends is a cookbook of 150 cake, pie, candy and cookie recipes from Friends members, library staff and volunteers and Barb Dalrymple, aka The Cake Lady.

The cookbooks go on sale on Black Friday, Nov. 28, at Books Revisited (the Friends used bookstore), the Belt Branch and Savannah Branch. Cost is $12.

Dalrymple began her Rolling Hills career volunteering in 1981 and became a part-time employee two years later. That’s when she started bringing cakes to work on Mondays and for coworkers’ birthdays. She retired in 2015 as acquisitions manager but still drops off birthday cakes to Belt Branch staff members.

In November 2011, Dalrymple’s first recipe appeared in the library’s monthly newsletter. The recipes became the newsletter’s most popular item through the years and are still there in the library’s quarterly newsletters. The idea for a cookbook was sparked with her 100^th recipe in the 2025 winter newsletter.

“It’s just what I do,” Dalrymple says about the cakes. “It just makes me happy that someone else is happy. Most often they smile when they see me coming in (the library) with a cake.”

Toys for Tots donations can be left at Belt and Savannah branches

Kids may not be looking past Halloween this early in fall, but the Marine Corps Reserve is already working to make sure children have a happy Christmas holiday.

Toys for Tots collection boxes are now set up until Dec. 8 at the Belt Branch, 1904 N. Belt, and the Savannah Branch, 514 W. Main.

Donations must be new, unwrapped toys and in the $5 to $15 range. More expensive gifts, such as video games, are discouraged so more people can afford to donate and more toys are available to give to children, according to Don Crigger, the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots coordinator for Andrew and Buchanan counties.

The toys that are donated in the two counties will be passed on to charitable organizations that distribute Christmas presents in Andrew and Buchanan counties.

Let the Sunshine Shine In

By Alan Stolfus, Browse editor

To say that Belt Branch manager Kelly Morris is excited about the new library being built to replace her current work site is an understatement.

“WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT WINDOWS AND DAYLIGHT AND GRASS AND TREES!!!!!” was the opening line of an email she sent when asked about her thoughts on the move.

“Having green space around the library means lots more options for programming,” Morris said. “We can have outdoor concerts, gardening programs, water play for littles on the fenced-in back patio, etc. – all things we could NOT do in our current space.”

Library director Michelle Mears also emphasizes the wellness aspects of natural spaces.

“We know that people are happier and healthier when they have a connection to the outdoors,” she said. “The design of our new building was made for the enjoyment of both library users and library staff.”

If you have been looking at the construction camera photos on the library website – it’s under About/Library Building Project – they don’t provide the best view of what is being built.

Outside coming inside

Windows, windows and more windows. The north side of the Riverside Branch will have a curtain wall of 20-foot, 6-inch insulated glass that stretches from the Administration Office on the east side to Books Revisited on the west. The library entrance also will have windows that size.

Twelve-foot windows that run along the south and southeast sides of the library will bring natural light into the library collection, study rooms and a conference room. Windows also will light up the children’s StoryHouse, CreateSpace and Community Room.

The windows are going in now (late August into September) and the roof is finished, said Jon Whaley, JE Dunn Construction superintendent. The beginning of March 2026 is when the site should be turned over to the library.

September brings outside work such as sidewalks, curbing, light pole bases and then asphalt for the parking lots. By the end of the month, the building should be sealed off from the weather, according to Whaley.

With trees on the south and west sides, nature is being added inside and outside the library.

A large rain garden will be in front of the building with a variety of plants. The Northwest Missouri Master Gardeners are developing educational signage for the native plants around the building. Morris would like to partner with a local birding group because bird feeders are planned for the south side of the building.

A retention pond for all of the Mosaic Court area is behind the library, which brings more opportunities for programs with the Missouri Department of Conservation, Morris said.

And the trees aren’t staying outside. There will be two inside support columns dressed like trees, one in the children’s area and one in the adult collections area.

Closing time

As the time comes closer to move to Riverside, Mears encourages Belt patrons to check out extra books by the end of February to get them through the closed period.

“Most programs and services will be on hiatus starting March 1, and we hope to move the branch at the end of that month and only be closed two or three weeks,” she said.

The Savannah Branch will remain open throughout this time, so all users are encouraged to look there for books and other items. The Bookmobile will continue its scheduled visits as much as possible. Books Revisited will remain open on Belt Highway until the end of April or beginning of May. 

 

Libraries Under Siege: Efforts at federal, state levels could cut our library funds

By Michelle Mears, Rolling Hills Library Director 

While it may be floating underneath your daily radar, public libraries are definitely in danger at this moment. Between a complete elimination of all federal funding for libraries and efforts to quietly reduce state property tax assessment rates, the public library as you know it may not look or feel the same if some of these changes come to fruition.

The federal budget crisis will not be solved on the backs of public libraries. The relatively small amount of funds allocated for Missouri libraries pays for statewide services like courier delivery, interlibrary loan, and summer reading grants. We may have to limit or eliminate borrowing from other libraries if we can’t afford the connection fees or the postage to borrow and lend items to libraries across the state and across the country. This service is one of the things that has always made libraries special.

This year, we applied for a summer reading grant to help cover the costs of providing a reading program for all ages. But the State Library first told us that half our grant was gone, then said that it was back, and now we don’t know what to believe since the courts have put an injunction on the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the federal department that distributes funds to the states.

State legislators have also been busy wanting to lower tax rates, which would give away local tax dollars that have been approved by voters. It may seem like small potatoes, but assessing personal property, like motor vehicles, at 31% instead of 33.33% will put a significant dent in our expected income if this passes and is signed into law. Residents of our library district approved a tax rate based on the valuation of property and the kind of services they wanted from their public library, which we will be hard pressed to provide as revenue shrinks.

For those who have never lived anywhere but Missouri, you need to understand taxes here are not high compared to other locations. You won’t get clean, safe, and educated communities without spending public tax dollars to get them.

As we get ready for our new fiscal year to begin on July 1 and we prepare to move to our new facility in St. Joseph in 2026, it is only prudent that we look at how and where we can tighten our belts. If it turns out that things are fine, then it was just a precaution. If not, then we will be in a good position to keep providing the best library service possible.

We won’t fade away. We are here to help you in any way that we can. We’re building the kind of library we can be proud of and that you deserve, because the right to read is for everyone.

Study shows visiting libraries makes people feel better

By Michelle Mears
Rolling Hills Library Director

Reading is a leisure activity for the most part. Some people read as a part of their job (unfortunately, working in a library does not pay you to read), but once you are done with schooling most people who voluntarily read do so because they enjoy it. Now we know that it’s also good for their well-being.

A study done by the New York Public Library of nearly 2,000 users reported overwhelmingly positive effects of public library usage. People said that visiting the library resulted in calm and peaceful feelings (92%), increased their desire to learn new things (90%), and supported their personal growth (88%). In addition to the benefits for individuals, respondents also indicated that they had a greater sense of optimism about the future, more feelings of empathy towards others, and felt that they are a part of a larger community around them.

Now you might say, wait a minute, that seems a bit biased. One of the biggest public libraries did a study and showed they are doing good things. We don’t need a research study for that, we know we do good things. Well sometimes it is good to have the data to back up your claims, and we’ve got it.

We collect comment forms from library users to both inform the provision of services but to also measure how people are feeling about the library. We send out random email surveys to ask users if they would recommend the library to friends and family, which results in a measurement called the Net Promoter Score (NPS). Anything above 50 is considered good. Our scores are consistently in the 90’s. We know that people like us, and we know we make a difference in people’s lives. Please ask for a comment form at a service desk and share your story with us, we love to hear them.

It’s one of the reasons why we are excited about the location of our new building in St. Joseph. Being located close to the center of health care in our community will give us more opportunities to show the connection between literacy and improved life outcomes. Checking out books for leisure reading, doing crafts, and listening to lectures all contribute to increased wellness and greater satisfaction with daily life. We look forward to having outdoor spaces and access to walking paths for fitness.

It is a trying time for many in our community. The library can offer a sense of hope when all else seems dark. It can give you a sense of direction, make you feel useful, connect you to others in the community, and give you a moment of respite when you need to escape the stress of reality.

We really are doing good work.

Libraries are in their 'Digital Days' with E-books ... and that will be expensive for them

By Michelle Mears
Rolling Hills Library Director

In 2024 by all measures, checkout of digital items from public libraries reached record levels. Remote usage of library collections took a big leap in 2020 during the pandemic and have been increasing 15-20% each year since. In the most recent fiscal year, Rolling Hills Library users checked out 64,135 digital items, which was 17% of the total circulation of items.

Our patrons still love their printed books, but digital is catching up quickly. So far this year, usage of print items is down 8% while digital checkouts are up 20%.

What are e-books?
E-books have been around for more than 25 years in public libraries. E-book is a generic term that refers to electronic copies of print materials and includes digital audio (e-audio) and e-magazines. If you like to read words on a page, an e-book will recreate that setup with a layout on the screen device of your choice where you read from top to bottom and turn simulated pages.

E-audio is slightly different in that you don’t have to be able to read it off the screen but access files that play on your mobile device or connect through Bluetooth or other means to your car, your stereo or even your television. Usage of e-audio has been growing at the fastest rate of all types of digital checkouts and only looks to get bigger as time goes on.

You also can view or listen to e-books on your mobile phone. For those who like to read words on a page, a tablet is usually more comfortable with a screen about the size of a hardcover book. Some people have a dedicated e-book device, like a Kindle from Amazon where all it does is store and show e-books. Others use iPads or Samsung tablets to read or listen to e-books.

So many choices
We wish it was easier for library users to get e-books, but part of what the publishing industry wants to do is create “friction” in the process. If it was too easy, they speculate, no one would ever buy their own copy of a book. We know this is not true. Access to library books, both print and digital, drives sales of books because people discover new authors and series and then buy them for themselves.

For the most part, we follow the same process in the digital world that we do in print, which is called “one copy, one user.” Each person can only use one digital copy of an e-book at a time, as if it was a physical item. When your checkout period is over, it moves on to the next person or just becomes available again.

Rolling Hills Library has many vendors for e-books and e-audio. The main resources or apps are Libby, Boundless, and Hoopla. Each of these are listed on our website, and the titles available are also listed in our online catalog.

Libby is used by MoLib2Go, a shared collection from 118 Missouri libraries with the most titles, but wait times are longer. Boundless is a group of 20 northern Missouri libraries that have a smaller collection of more popular items, and its wait times are shorter.

Hoopla has the most variety of items and includes streaming video and digital magazines. This collection is different in that there are no wait times, Everyone who wants to read, listen to, or watch an item can do so because the library has to pay per usage. There are lower monthly limits on Hoopla to keep the library’s costs down.

We also have other e-book resources, including Tumblebooks, AudioBookCloud, TeenBookCloud, and Flipster. You can get electronic copies of magazines on Libby or Flipster, including popular titles like People, Midwest Living, and Atlantic Monthly. Some of our vendors offer access that requires a live internet connection to read or listen to, like the BookCloud sites. Tumblebooks is also available at school districts within our library boundaries so teachers can play picture books that are read aloud with animation.

If you aren’t really a “reader” that’s OK, we still have items for you too.

Our newest service with an app is Freegal, where you can stream three hours of music a day and download three free songs per week. You also can get music on Hoopla. Or for those of you who like to binge watch, you can stream films, concerts, and educational videos from Stingray Qello, IndieFlix, or The Great Courses with a 7-day pass you get from the Libby app.

Accessibility rocks!
One of the best things about digital access is that there are features that make the experience more adaptable for different users. You can often change the size of type, the screen brightness, or other features to make reading more comfortable.

E-books and e-audio are great for travel, because you can “carry” multiple titles on the same devices you were planning to bring anyway, like your smartphone or tablet. E-audio is also good for working in the garden or walking the dog.

If you need help getting started with e-books, make a one-on-one appointment with our library staff to learn how to use your specific device. Download the apps needed or visit our website at https://rhcl.org for more information.

Digital is here to stay
Don’t you love when a story starts with, “back in the day…?”  Well, some of us remember when it was high tech stuff for libraries to have record albums for checkout. Then it went to cassettes, CDs, and now downloadable audio.

Digital isn’t just another format waiting to be replaced by something more advanced. This is the future of library access, especially for popular materials. Digital files do not wear out or fall apart. No one can tear a page out of an e-book or spill coffee on one.

The only fly in the ointment is that licensing terms mean libraries pay more for e-books than consumers do, and we can only buy access for a limited period of time -- and that’s not right. Bigger chunks of our library budget are spent on buying the same e-books over and over again, not because they are broken but because they have expired and are still in high demand.

If you have not tried an e-book, give it a whirl. You might be surprised at how far technology has come. But remember, you can always check out books and videos in person at any of our branches.

Health scare derailed his plans, but Savannah man is a tai chi teacher again

Once a teacher, always a teacher.

Al Garbagnati was a college psychology professor and hospital psychologist in Arizona before he and his wife, Susan, moved to Florida four years ago to care for a relative. Two years later, they decided to move closer to family in Kansas.

Their hunt for the right place to put down roots brought them to St. Joseph, which they found comfortable. A real estate agent suggested they might look at Savannah, too.

Savannah turned out to be just the place for them. And a place where he is now teaching Wednesday evening tai chi classes for the foreseeable future that begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Savannah Branch.

Garbagnati, who also teaches sitting tai chi at the Savannah Senior Center, started teaching weekly classes at the library last June but had to cancel after two weeks when he needed heart surgery.

“I’m well and back on my feet and ready to rock and roll again,” he declared.

Garbagnati has practiced martial arts for 52 years. Karate was his form for 25 years until suffering a ruptured disc. He then turned to tai chi and its easier methods.

The form of tai chi he first practiced included 86 postures, that took about 15 minutes to work through. Learning and memorizing that many moves was challenging, but he mastered the method.

Four years ago, he learned about Tai Chi for Health, an Australian non-profit organization that promotes a compact version of tai chi with only eight postures for people with arthritis. The program was created by a physician who used tai chi to treat his own arthritis.

When Dr. Paul Lam came to Kansas City to present a two-day seminar in 2023, Garbagnati attended to learn more about Lam’s arthritis tai chi. By the end, he had become a certified instructor.

“It’s a very abbreviated form, but you really get the experience of tai chi,” he said. “For people who aren’t that athletic, this is great for them.”

Tai Chi for Arthritis improves balance, flexibility, posture, strength and mobility. It also helps reduce blood pressure, stress, falls and fear of falling. Adults who don’t have arthritis are welcome to join Garbagnati’s free classes, which last 50 minutes.

Young at Heart Resources, the not-for-profit service organization for seniors, is sponsoring the classes.

Adults can join our 2025 Winter Reading Challenge

Cold weather doesn’t stop readers from reading. They just put on more clothes or blankets and hunker down.

That’s the idea behind the 2025 Adult Winter Reading Challenge that runs from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28. Participants who read four books will win a pair of custom RHCL winter gloves, a free book or a Books Revisited coupon, entry into grand prize drawings for cozy-themed gift baskets and an invite to an End of Winter Party.

Record your books using the bingo cards available at both library branches and the Bookmobile or go online and use the Beanstack reading challenge platform at rhcl.beanstack.org/reader365.

Stay warm and turn those pages. Let us know when you finish your fourth book!

Reading helps build empathy for others in a time that it's needed

 By Michelle Mears, Rolling Hills Library Director

Those of us who read regularly, both for information and for enjoyment, have a sense that it has opened our eyes to the world in ways we can’t always explain. It’s hard to articulate how reading murder mysteries or celebrity biographies makes us better people, but it does. It puts us in the shoes of other people and helps us develop a greater understanding of life.

There isn’t a great deal of research on this because it is not easily studied. Empathy in general is a fuzzy concept, the ability to feel what others are feeling and understand the way that they experience the world is not like riding a bicycle. It doesn’t just “click” one day and then you never fall down again. It has been shown that people who read stories, both fictional narratives and historical or biographical texts, tend to exhibit more empathy towards others and report that they feel transported into the story, that they are emotionally involved, and that they identify with the characters. The result is what they call a “sleeper effect,” something that manifests over time without the conscious knowledge of the person experiencing it.

We are certainly in a time when we need to encourage people to have a greater understanding of each other. Unfortunately, people are moving away from spending extended time with narrative stories in favor of short reads and online videos of less than a minute. Reading comprehension was in decline long before the pandemic, but time out of school and a lack of support at home has made it worse.

So how do we get people, and especially kids, to be readers again? Parents need to understand they are their children’s first teacher. They cannot wait until kindergarten to start. They should be sending kids to school with some basic pre-literacy skills and recognition of letters and numbers. Reading books aloud with children and letting them use devices for educational games (not mindless videos) helps build reading skills. And kids need to see adults reading to show reading is valued in your home.

Will reading save the world? It won’t happen overnight, and we need to stay vigilant against the forces that want to stop people from reading or only let them read certain things. The solutions to the world’s problems will always involve reading more and not less. Fighting bigotry, racism, and sexism is helped by experiencing stories from people of all races and genders. Help your kids develop the connections they need to the communities they live in by reading. It doesn’t need to be award-winning literature. Fluency, comprehension, and understanding will grow no matter what you read as long as you read — and read a lot.

Construction of new library is set to begin in January

By Michelle Mears, Rolling Hills Library Director

Looking back, I can’t believe it has been two whole years since we began the design process for our new building. But we’ve made progress, and now it’s time to share an update about this project.

We’ve purchased a plot of land, a little under four acres, near the intersection of Faraon Street and Riverside Road, in the new development south of the Mosaic Life Care complex. The lot gives us enough room to build on with plenty of parking and outdoor spaces for programs, a drive-up window, and a walking path around a retaining pond for exercise and relaxation.

Our floor plan is set, and the layout includes space all on one level for the library branch, administrative offices, Bookmobile garage, and the Friends of the Library bookstore. The exterior is similar to the original renderings, but we had to make a few choices to keep costs down, so new images will be shared soon in addition to the ones in the Winter 2025 newsletter.

Other features of our new space will include four public meeting rooms, four study rooms, a patio for outdoor programming, and a technology space for both one-on-one assistance and classes. Our interior theme is designed around bringing the outdoors inside, making a connection to nature and the world around us. There will be a play area for children focused on early literacy, and plenty of natural light throughout the building.

Our construction manager has put the project out for bid, and we are committing about 35% of the construction costs to local contractors. In some categories we did not receive any local bids, sometimes because the job was too big and sometimes because firms were too busy to include us in their schedules.

Construction is planned to begin in January 2025 and be completed by March 2026. While winter is not a good time for a groundbreaking ceremony, we will do something fun in the spring to celebrate the project. We will have a job-site camera so we can watch online the building growing from afar, and our 2025 Summer Reading Program theme will include building and construction components to keep us connected to the project.

We plan to keep the Belt Branch open as long as we can, reopening in the new building once the collection and staff are moved. It seems like this project has taken longer than expected, but we are right on track and look forward to serving you in our new spaces. Follow our progress as construction begins at rhcl.org/building-project.

Library seeking donations for two community drives

To help local families have happier holidays, the library is asking for public donations to two community drives.

Toys for Tots collection boxes are now set up at the Belt Branch and the Savannah Branch until Nov. 30.

Donations must be new, unwrapped toys and in the $5 to $15 range. More expensive gifts, such as video games, are discouraged so more people can afford to donate and more toys are available to give children, according to Don Crigger, the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots coordinator for Andrew and Buchanan counties.

The toys that are donated in the two counties will be passed on to charitable organizations that distribute Christmas presents in those counties.

In November, the library is seeking donations to provide families with baby supplies, hygiene items and cleaning supplies. The items collected between Nov. 1-30 will be given to the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division Northwest Region Prevention Team to provide to families in need.

Items sought for babies include diapers and pull-ups, wipes, baby bottles, pacifiers, sippy cups, shampoo, lotion, thermometers, diaper rash cream and clothing including toddler sizes.

Home and hygiene items needed are laundry detergent, home cleaning products, trash bags, cleaning rags, hand and dish soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner and body wash.

All items donated will go directly to support children and families working with the Children’s Division.

Blitz-style chess tournament set for Halloween night

Based on the success of our first-ever chess tournament back in June, the library is having a second U.S. Chess Federation-rated event on Thursday, Oct. 31 -- but players will need to be quick thinkers for this one.

The Frightful Fast Chess Frenzy that begins at 6 p.m. at the Belt Branch, is a blitz-style tournament with a double round-robin quad setting. Participants will be placed in groups of four or less and will play each other in two games per round. Players will have 5 minutes on their clocks.

“I've been hoping to add one or two more tournaments throughout the year after our first tournament went so well,” tournament director Bridged Reeves said. “No library events were planned for Halloween night, so I thought it would give area chess players something to do if they weren’t going trick-or-treating.”

In line with this FREE event being held on Halloween, spooky trophies will be awarded.

More information and registration is available at rhcl.org/website/event/11466278. Games start at 6 p.m., so players should show up early to find their tables.

Belt Branch to have local history, pop culture events in October

Local architectural history, fossils, local ghosts and ghost stories are the topic of four programs this fall at the Belt Branch.

Edmond Jacques Eckel, one of St. Joseph’s most prolific architects, will be the topic of a history program at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, by Shelly Haynes from St. Joseph Museums.

Eckel was born in France in 1845 and studied architecture as a young man. He came to the United States in 1868 and in 1869 was traveling to Kansas City. When his train was delayed in St. Joseph due to a washed-out bridge, he explored the town and decided to stay because of the town’s post-Civil War economic boom. He began working as a draftsman and would design many of the mansions of that era, including the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion.

Eckel went on to form his own architectural firm and had many partnerships through the years. It’s estimated he or his firms are responsible for 75% of the public and private buildings of that era in St. Joseph.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, Missouri Western professors Dr. Evan Hart and Dr. Ed Taylor will discuss their podcast, which explores “the spooky, the haunted and the occasionally laughable world of the paranormal and supernatural.” This program for adults and teens is presented in partnership with Missouri Western’s Pop Culture Club.

In celebration of National Fossil Day on Wednesday, Oct. 16, retired Northwest Missouri State geology professor Dr. John Pope will discuss fossils and our region’s natural history in a program at 7 p.m. If you have fossils you’d like to know more about, bring them along so Dr. Pope can evaluate them.

Just in time for Halloween, Missouri Western professor Dr. Michael Charlton will discuss the books and career of the “King of Horror,” author Stephen King at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24. King has published more than 60 horror, mystery, suspense, crime, science fiction and fantasy novels, 12 collections of shorter stories and five non-fiction books, not to mention screenplays and essays. This program is presented in partnership with Missouri Western’s Pop Culture Club.

Banned Stand

By Michelle Mears, Rolling Hills Library Director

If you want to know the power of literacy and reading, just look at how hard some people work at stopping someone from reading a book.

Our region is just now experiencing the book banning trend that has been cresting in other communities across Missouri and across the nation. The problem lies with singling out individual works for removal from public access so that no one can read them, based on the opinion of a minority of community members and the reasons they cite for wanting a book banned.

The freedom to read is closely tied to the freedom of speech, one of the freedoms we hold most dear in our democracy. If schools or libraries (“the government”) were to decide what speech was allowed or not allowed, they would be in violation of the Constitution. There are some limits to the freedom of speech, and this is where book banners tend to operate. They read salacious passages taken out of context and label the entire work as obscene. Or they think the topic is too mature for certain readers. Or they wish to shield children from what they think are radical world views. The instincts to want to keep children safe are not what we object to, but the blanket nature of book challenges that make assumptions about the value of a work as seen only through the eyes of rejection.

School libraries often get more book challenges than public libraries because they have a captive audience and there is this impression that every child is in contact with all the books in a school library. (Don’t we wish!) Just like the public library, school libraries work hard to connect kids with books and to develop a collection that will support the curriculum and allow for reading for pleasure. However, schools have a responsibility to protect children in ways that public libraries do not, so book banners don’t think anything controversial should be in schools.

The problem is many of these books speak to the real-life experiences of young people: They are being raised by two daddies or know someone who is. They have a big sister, or cousin, or aunt who got pregnant before they finished high school. They see violence on television and in the videos they watch on their mobile devices. 

While none of us in the library community want to spend our careers dealing with book banning on a regular basis, it’s actually a good sign when we see so many community voices rise up in opposition to censorship. It means we aren’t alone in the fight for the freedom to read. Ultimately, it is parents who should decide what their children are allowed to access. We believe that everyone should be able to read stories they can relate to, so we stand with the banned.

Belt Branch event will be a discussion on the late jazz critic Stanley Crouch

“A good number of our myths are as porous as Swiss cheese, but there is no more deservedly mythic city in the jazz story than Kansas City, Missouri.” – Stanley Crouch

The late author, columnist, social critic and jazz champion Stanley Crouch will be the subject of a talk at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, in the Belt Branch Upper Story, 1906A N. Belt Hwy.

St. Joseph-native and Central High School alum Glenn Mott, who is a Brooklyn-based editor, journalist and poet, and Books Revisited manager Hans Bremer will discuss Crouch’s writing and contributions to the jazz world.

Crouch, who passed away in 2020, was the author of eight books, including five collections of essays (two of which were nominated for National Book Critics Circle Awards), a novel and the acclaimed biography Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker.

In 1987, Crouch co-founded then served as artistic consultant for jazz programming at the Lincoln Center in New York City and was founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center, often writing notes and essays for concert programs.

He was a biweekly columnist for the New York Daily News from 1995 to 2014, writing about culture, politics and race, and authored hundreds of magazine articles, essays, album liner notes and reviews on jazz that influenced the genre. For his work as a jazz historian and critic, the National Endowment for the Arts named him a Jazz Master in 2019.

“Stanley believed our democratic lives are apparent in the making of jazz: The creation of jazz (specifically improvisation) is an American art form that memorializes the amendment process in the human condition,” Mott said. “Stanley was always authentic, someone who provoked with insight, rather than one who assembled consensus. He didn't want to persuade you as much as provoke thought.”

Mott edited Crouch’s American Perspectives columns for more than a decade after bringing him on as a syndicated columnist at Hearst. After Crouch’s passing, he edited the book Victory is Assured: Uncollected Writings of Stanley Crouch, which was published in 2022. Copies of the book will be for sale at the event.

Mott has been the recipient of a Davis Fellowship for Peace and was a Fulbright Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He has authored two books of poetry and essays, Eclogues in a Mustard Seed Garden and Analects on a Chinese Screen.

Your move! Sign up for library's first chess tournament

Rolling Hills Library will launch its first-ever chess tournament on Saturday, June 8, featuring a U.S. Chess Federation-rated section and an open section for all ages and skill levels who are not USCF members.

The first of four rounds, Swiss style, of this free tournament begin at 10 a.m. in the Belt Branch Upper Story, 1906A N. Belt. Doors will open at 9 a.m. for players to register if they have not done so already at events.rhcl.org/event/10041386. USCF memberships can be purchased on site if needed.

Awards will be handed out at 5 p.m. and consist of first, second and third place medals for each section with an additional prize for first place in each section.

Bridgid Reeves, the library’s technology services librarian, is planning for the tournament to be an annual event. She began thinking about having a tournament after taking over the library’s Chess and Checkers Club in 2017.

The club had a core group of dedicated members who gathered to talk chess and play games, she said. When the pandemic hit in 2021 and forced the library to suspend public programs and events, participation declined and thoughts of a tournament were shelved.

Now a few years after the pandemic’s high point, participation in the chess club has grown, and Reeves is planning on making the tournament an annual event.

“Chess teaches you how to focus and think creatively,” she said. “It helps to develop problem solving skills and how to think calmly and carefully and consider the consequences of your actions. And it brings people together and fosters a sense of community and even cooperation.

“It seemed to me that sharing this hobby, or sport depending on who you ask, would be a great addition to the community as a whole.”

Our planned new library will be located at ...

After more than a year of searching for the right site to build a new library to replace the Belt Branch, Rolling Hills Library has a contract under review and work has started on building plans. If all goes well, the new branch could be open by early 2026.

The site is in the new development where the University of Missouri-Kansas City also plans to build a School of Medicine facility at the east end of Faraon Street, across from Mosaic Life Care. 

Library Director Michelle Mears said the library was seeking a piece of ground that was accessible, affordable and relatively flat to minimize site preparation costs. The location also had to be in the library’s taxing district.

“It took us quite a while to find this piece of land,” she said. “It drew our attention because of other development in that area.”

The four-acre lot will be at the end of a new road to be built south of Faraon into the development. The building will be located near the east side of the lot so it will be visible from Riverside Road.

The project calls for a 36,000-square-foot building that houses the library, Bookmobile office and garage, Administration Office and the Friends of the Library’s used bookstore, Books Revisited. The estimated building project cost is $16 million.

“We have over half of that amount in reserves and will issue certificates of participation to fund the remaining amount,” Mears said.

Sapp Design Architects of Kansas City is the project architect and was chosen for its experience with libraries. The firm has designed more than 25 new libraries and library renovations in Missouri and Kansas, with the majority of those in the Kansas City area.

J.E. Dunn Construction of Kansas City is the construction-manager-at-risk. It will work with Sapp through the design process to create the best plans and build the library at a guaranteed maximum price. The contract with Dunn includes a goal for local contractors to be used for at least 40 percent of the project.

After the new library is built, the library-owned Rolling Hills Plaza strip mall where the Belt Branch, Administration Offices and Books Revisited are currently located will be sold. “It should be an attractive investment for someone who wants to own retail space,” Mears said.

More information about the new library project is available at https://rhcl.org/building-project.