5 new ways to stay connected from St. Louis Public Library

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Courtesy of the St. Louis Public Library Foundation

St. Louis Public Library keeps St. Louisans connected to the world and to each other. As a 21st-century public library, SLPL goes beyond providing books. Even though we all love that unique library-book smell, SLPL offers ways for St. Louisans to be informed, engaged, and entertained. While many businesses and services were not accessible, the library system adapted and found innovative ways to provide vital services and enriching programming for our community. Here are just five ways that SLPL keeps our city connected:

1. Hotspots and Chromebooks: Internet access and technology are not a luxury—they are a necessity and a lifeline. For many, the St. Louis Public Library provides that lifeline. In fact, in 2020, amid the height of the pandemic, SLPL provided free internet access to more than 650,000 users. While the library provides internet access for people onsite, it also helps bring the connection home with Wifi hotspots and Chromebooks. These devices are available for checkout at library locations across the city. Users can connect up to 15 devices to each hotspot, supplying an entire household with free internet access for up to three weeks.

2. Creative Experience tech spaces: When the Central Library reopened in 2012, it debuted the Creative Experience, the first free digital maker space in St. Louis. This space provides access to specialized equipment and software and a recording room for creating, editing, and publishing. Whether it's helping start your own podcast, editing home movies, or digitizing those special moments, the library’s trained staff can help. In 2020, SLPL also opened a second Creative Experience tech space at Barr Library, where staff have helped many people access the equipment needed for building their businesses, realizing their entrepreneurial endeavors, and having fun. The large-format printer at Creative Experience@Barr, for example, is one feature that's received a lot of use during the past year, including to print signs for their businesses—including the menu of a new food truck. Creative Experience can help you launch your next big idea.

3. Virtual Tech Connect: Tech services provided through the library have helped people navigate the sometimes-complex digital world. Through SLPL’s Virtual Tech Connect appointments, you can book a virtual one-on-one appointment to answer technology questions; library staff can help with downloading ebooks and audiobooks, searching for jobs online, writing a resume, using an iPad or iPhone, and creating email or social media accounts. A trained library staff member can help via phone, email, or Zoom.

Courtesy of St. Louis Public Library Foundation

4. Story Time Anywhere, Anytime: Whether it's outdoor story time in a neighborhood park, story time at a school or early childhood center, or one of the many story times offered online, the library system has a story time to engage and delight any young reader. At the onset of the pandemic, SLPL immediately transitioned its weekly story times to an online format to help keep young children connected to the library and to literacy services. SLPL offered four virtual story times per week, which served 60,000 children. With the library’s story times being so popular, SLPL added a bilingual story time in Spanish and English. In addition to outdoor story times in city parks, the library partnered with Great Rivers Greenway to install a permanent Storybook Walk in Ruth Porter Mall Park, just north of the intersection of Delmar Boulevard and DeBaliviere Avenue. Families can follow the signs to enjoy a stroll while reading a story together. And look for a “Pop-up” Storybook Walk in parks around the city.

5. Summer @ SLPL: Many families have been navigating online classes during the pandemic. To give children the opportunity to socialize, learn, and create, the St. Louis Public Library hosted online summer camps. “My son was able to have an experience that was both personal and a wholly classroom-like experience with his peers," says one camper's parent. "He learned, moved, and created crafts that he still wears daily.” 

This post was created by SLM Partner Studio on behalf of St. Louis Public Library Foundation. To learn more, visit slpl.org.