Cape Girardeau Public Library celebrates 100 years of service

Need a pan to bake a cake for your mom’s birthday? How about a telescope to view the next lunar eclipse? Or maybe you need to get your passport renewed so you can fly to Paris where you want to play a ukulele while proposing to your girlfriend? Believe it or not, you can get all these things — yes, even the ukulele — at the library.

The Cape Girardeau Public Library offers so many things that librarians in 1922 couldn’t even have imagined. Items to borrow. Experiences to enjoy. And yes, they also have books.

“The Cape Girardeau Public Library has served the community as a treasured institution for the past 100 years,” said library director Katie Hill Earnhart.

On June 15, the library will celebrate its 100th anniversary with an Open House from 4:30 to 7 p.m. They are offering special edition centennial-themed library cards for free while supplies last.

“The Cape Girardeau Public Library continues to be a source of pride for our community,” Earnhart said. “And I’m honored to be a part of that tradition,”

Library staff encourages the community to join the tradition and nurture a love of reading and a lifelong pursuit of knowledge.