On a recent afternoon, as Kristen Sorth strolls through the second level of the St. Louis County Library’s new Clark Family Branch, she stops. Sorth wants to explain all of the giggles and squeals coming from the next room, where kids are running, jumping, and, yes, reading books.
“Libraries aren’t quiet anymore,” she says with a smile.
Lots of libraries have spaces for children, but most aren’t known for having dedicated video-game hangout rooms, recording studios, 3D printing areas, genealogy research stations, small-business workspaces, and just about any other resource imaginable. The facility in Ladue represents the culmination of the county’s decade-long Your Library Renewed capital-improvement campaign. The upshot: new buildings, upgraded existing branches, and expanded the library’s offerings from books to pretty much any resource that modern citizens might want or need. These days, Sorth says, there’s no shushing here.
“Libraries are loud,” she says. “We’re not shy about talking about the things that we provide for the community. Sometimes, that work is not quiet.”
In her 26 years with the St. Louis County Library, including the past 11 in her current role, Sorth has pushed the library system to think of itself as so much more than merely a home for books. That’s why, on nearly any given day, visitors can schedule appointments at branches across the county with onsite social workers who are trained to help with mental health needs and substance abuse. Since rolling out its social-services program in 2021, Sorth says the library system has served people from 72 ZIP codes, including guests who live everywhere from the Metro East to Jefferson City.
During Sorth’s tenure, the library has enjoyed an especially transformative period, during which it has embraced technology and adopted new ways of meeting people where they are. During the pandemic, for example, the library became a community hub where struggling families could find free meals, as well as internet access through such initiatives as the GrandPad program, which helped seniors stay connected with loved ones via Wi-Fi-enabled tablets. Similar initiatives remain in place today: The library partnered with Operation Food Search to offer lunches for kids this summer and recently rolled out a program that allows anyone with a valid library card to check out Wi-Fi hot spots for up to three weeks.
And that’s not all. Need something to pass the time during a flight from St. Louis Lambert International Airport? You can now access free e-books through the St. Louis County Library by simply scanning a QR code in the terminals, whether or not you have a library card. Want to immerse yourself in the local arts scene? Earlier this year, the library partnered with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to offer free concert vouchers to library patrons.
“Kristen sees things that never were and says, ‘Why not?’” says Lynn Beckwith, president of the St. Louis County Library’s board of trustees, invoking George Bernard Shaw’s famous formulation. “She has insights into what is needed, and then she acts on that. Her vision is unique and rare.”
When Sorth started with the library system as a human resources manager in 1998, she thought she might one day go back to school and pursue a career in law. But as her career in St. Louis County unfolded and she saw the ways that the library could have a profound impact on thousands of lives, Sorth wanted to help the library evolve to fit the needs of contemporary communities.
In 2022, the library earned the prestigious National Medal for Museum and Library Service, and it received the Missouri Library of the Year award. This year’s opening of the Clark Family Branch marks the end of one chapter and the start of a new one. Although the Your Library Renewed campaign is now over, Sorth says the library system will continue updating its branches, including libraries in Chesterfield and Normandy.
“We’re certainly not a system that sits down,” she says.
Nor is it one that sits quietly.
