Letter to the Editor

Making and keeping a promise

Monday, February 1, 2021

When raising my children, they would tell me, “Promise me, Mom, that you will do this for me…” Sometimes my answer to them would be, “I can’t make a promise because I’m not sure I can keep it. I will try to do what you asked to the best of my ability.” Other times, I would promise because I knew I could do what they asked. I always tried to do my best to keep my promises. As a result, my children trusted me to be a person of my word. Promises are important and broken promises shatter any trust we hold in a person. Whether it is my children or the citizens of our community, promises made and kept imply a reciprocating relationship for growth and harmony.

Today, I can declare a promise kept. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, marks another point of history for Poplar Bluff Municipal Library. We have met the final promise made to the citizens when they voted for the library’s quarter-cent sales tax in 2012.

Since 1916, there have been many momentous occasions that have contributed to the growth of library service to our community. These occasions range from the opening of the library, the passage of its first property tax in 1917, new locations, including the library’s permanent home on Main Street, state law declaring municipal libraries as a political subdivision, the addition to the south side of the Main Street building, the passage of the sales tax and opening of the Dr. Gus T. Ridgel Branch on Kanell Boulevard.

All of these events were promises or pledges to the citizens and voters of Poplar Bluff. These promises were not made lightly, and all of these promises were kept by the Board of Trustees and the directors they hired to carry out these promises. The promises were made with a knowledge of the will of the people. The will of the people was expressed at the polls and in support of the library through volunteerism and donations to carry out the work of the library.

With the passage of the sales tax, the Board of Trustees promised to expand the library’s service and increase citizen access to the library’s collections, staff, and other resources. Some of these promises were met earlier than others, including an increased budget for library materials, technology, and programming. The last promise was to increase library access. In 1935, the Main Street location of the library was chosen for its closeness to the public schools, residences and the business district. The geographic growth of the City of Poplar Bluff widened the distance of the Main Street location away from many of the citizens it serves while maintaining the need to continue to serve the downtown area. As a result, library leadership began searching for a means to serve more of its growing community including greater school children access while building financial stability.

In December 2019, the library was able to purchase a building that had everything needed to increase access and serve students, businesses and growing residential neighborhoods. The 3398 Kanell Boulevard location was perfect. It was affordable, allowing the library to be without debt, and the building required very little renovation.

The library kept its promise. Therefore, on Feb. 2, the Dr. Gus T. Ridgel Branch of the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library opens with collections, study rooms, programming space, technology and self-service lockers for use by all citizens.

Thank you to the citizens of Poplar Bluff and to the Board of Trustees for your guiding hand to make this a reality.

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Ridgel Branch begins it regularly scheduled open hours. These hours are 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The Main Street branch is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call 573-686-8639 or visit www.poplarbluff.org.

Watch for our grand opening of the Ridgel Branch in April during National Library Week.

Sue Crites Szostak

Library Director