The final piece of the decade-long capital-improvement campaign by the St. Louis County Library (SLCL) will be unveiled this summer.
The grand opening of the new Clark Family Branch at 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. will take place in two phases in June and July.
On June 1, a public ribbon-cutting will be held for the new library’s Post Event Space at noon, following by a ticketed event with country artist Darius Rucker, formerly of the chart-topping band, Hootie and the Blowfish. Rucker will appear to discuss his new memoir, “Life’s Too Short,” beginning at 1 p.m.
The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new branch will take place at 9 a.m. on July 9, with the entire building open to the public for the first time immediately following.
The two-story, 74,000-square-foot Clark Family Branch replaces the former library headquarters building and is the largest branch for SLCL. Highlights of the new building include two fireplaces, comfortable seating, a large browsing collection and artwork on display on the first floor; and a children’s area, complete with a large playhouse, interactive learning activities and games and reading nooks, on the second level.
The branch is named after Clayco executive chair and founder Bob Clark, who donated $4 million to the project in 2022.
The Clark Family Branch is the centerpiece of SLCL’s multi-year Your Library Renewed campaign, which saw the creation of six new library branches and the renovation of 13 others since 2014. St. Louis County voters in 2012 approved a $.06 tax increase to fund new facilities and upgrades to existing SLCL structures, as well as enhance the system’s programs and services.
