LIBRARY SERVICES CATER TO CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

The public library is no longer a place just to check out books.

"We work to make the library a lifelong learning center," said Cape Girardeau Public Library Director Elizabeth Ader. "Public libraries have always tried to support the interests of the greatest possible number of people."

Ader said the youngest patron the library has ever served was a newborn a mother brought in.

"The mother sat the baby on the table against her chest and opened a big picture book in front of the baby," said Ader. "Every time she turned a page the baby would kick and wave its little arms up and down."

Several retirees and elderly persons come in every day and sit in the periodical reading room to scan newspapers and magazines from every corner of the United States.

"We get to know them real well," said Ader. "You could say they are some of our best customers."

When school is in session, hordes of elementary, junior-high, high-school and Southeast Missouri State University students flock to the library for after-school study, for school projects or just to kill some time before mom and dad get home from work.

"In the winter months, lots of school children come to the library when it is too cold to stay outside," said Ader. "So from October to April, we are open on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m."

In addition to what many consider traditional functions of a library, the Cape Girardeau Public Library offers several special features free and open to the public.

Starting Jan. 20, the library will host monthly travelogue seminars featuring guests who have visited the places they will talk about. Topics include Tanzania, a study of the Incas, the Mexican Copper Canyon, Egypt and Turkey.

Another new program the library has developed focuses on the needs of singles -- with and without children.

Beginning Jan. 24, the library will host monthly programs for singles concerning divorce or death of a spouse, the challenges of single parenting, financial planning and investing for singles, and living and traveling on your own.

On Feb. 5, the library has invited Nellice Gillespie and the Mississippi Flyway Fiber Guild to hold an open house for the public to watch spinners and weavers at work, ask questions and view finished products.

"I had heard about Nellice Gillespie and visited her home recently," said Ader. "We got to talking, and I told her we'd love to have an exhibit and a time where people could come in and view guild members weaving their crafts."

Members of the guild will demonstrate spinning wool and other fibers into yarn on spinning wheels and weaving on table and floor looms. Others will be preparing various fibers for spinning, knitting or crocheting.

From Jan. 15 to Feb. 5, there will be an exhibit at the library featuring hand-spun yarns, hand-knit sweaters, hand-woven rugs, blankets, table linens and tapestries made by members of the guild.

In the spring, the library will feature a Missouri Heritage Readers Series program funded in part by the Missouri Humanities Council.

Aside from guest speakers and special programs, the library has many features of which few people are aware, Ader said. The genealogy collection is paralleled by few others.

"That section is used intensely by genealogists throughout the region who are searching for their roots," said Ader.

The library also houses the largest collection of foreign-language books and reference guides in Missouri. "We have 27 different languages represented in our section," Ader said. "But more importantly, we get more and more books in every year from every corner of the world."

If the library does not have something you are looking for, it will make every effort to get it, Ader said. If necessary, the library can contact the Missouri Statewide Reference Center in Kansas City for information or reference materials.

"One of the strangest requests we had recently was from some person who wanted to know the nutritional requirements of minks and foxes," said Ader. "Believe it or not, we were able to find material for that person."

The city library is open 68 hours per week. For more information about any of the programs or services its provides, call 334-5279.