A new destination

Voters' approval earlier this week of an increase in the library levy means construction of an $8.9 million addition to the Cape Girardeau Public Library could be under way later this year.

The project is expected to require two years to complete, following several years of careful planning.

Owners of a $120,000 home in the Cape Girardeau Public Library District will pay $34 more a year in property taxes over the next 20 years to pay for a plan intended to turn the building into a destination library.

A destination library is much more of a community center than libraries have been in the past, a place youths, families and seniors go to socialize, learn and be inspired.

A destination library is also up-to-date technologically.

The plan calls for a drive-through window, larger meeting rooms, a much larger and more colorful children's area and space for more computers.

The building's 27-year-old heating and air-conditioning systems will be replaced.

The addition will double the size of the current facility on North Clark Street.

Thanks to supportive voters, to the taxpayers and to librarian Betty Martin and the many library backers who have worked on this project for years, Cape Girardeau soon will have a public library built for 21st-century users.