New library

The $8.9 million renovation and expansion of the Cape Girardeau Public Library on Clark Avenue is well underway. Anyone who has driven by the old library can see that the structure has been gutted, with little but a concrete framework left standing. Meanwhile, the library is temporarily housed on South Broadview Street.

Some passers-by and part-time sidewalk superintendents have expressed surprise that the old library building is gone, except for the superstructure and roof. They say that's not what they recall being told during the campaign before last year's successful vote on a bond issue to pay for the new library.

But library director Betty Martin says the renovation and expansion are progressing as planned before last year's election. Library staff members and board members are focused on what the new facility will have to offer when it opens: a state-of-the-art library.

We expect the upgraded facility will be a gem, but Cape Girardeau isn't just getting a "renovated and expanded" library. It's getting a new library.