The Jefferson County Library’s new Cedar Hill satellite location will fully open next week.
A soft opening, with limited hours, is being held this week, but the official opening will be Monday, Feb. 20.
A grand opening event is set from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day at the satellite, 6780 Mall Drive.
“We wanted to better serve the Northwest (School) District, and Cedar Hill was the perfect location for us,” said Tony Benningfield, the library system director. “We thought that we should bring the library into the community here.”
Library system spokeswoman Laura Maddock said the grand opening will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony and refreshments.
“I’m excited that the community of Cedar Hill will now have the opportunity to access the many resources and experiences of the Jefferson County Library,” she said.
In early 2022, Jefferson County Library officials purchased the 2,400-square-foot building for the Cedar Hill library satellite for $300,000 and an empty lot next to it for $67,000, both from Tazz Investments. The building previously served as a small retail complex that housed several businesses over the years, including a hair salon and a thrift store.
After those properties were purchased, library officials estimated it would cost $150,000 to renovate it, but the figure more than doubled.
“Due to inflating costs, change orders and discoveries after we purchased the building, the end cost for renovations was around $350,000,” Maddock said.
Benningfield said the new site is called a satellite because its smaller than the library system’s Northwest, Arnold and Windsor branches.
Nevertheless, Cedar Hill satellite patrons will have access to all of the library system’s materials, Maddock said.
“From the (three branches and the satellite library), we have about 223,000 physical items in our collection – books, magazines and ‘the library of things,’” she said. “(The library of things) would be anything from binoculars to crochet hooks to instruments, telescopes, cooking ware and other things.
“If we add e-materials, the number goes up to 1.6 million items.”
Maddock said the satellite library also will offer public computers, a dedicated children’s area and a drive-thru window for pick-ups.
Karen Jones, who has worked for the Jefferson County Library system for 20 years, will be the satellite supervisor and lead a staff of four.
The Cedar Hill satellite will begin regular hours on Feb. 21. The hours will be the same as the system’s other branches – 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
The satellite library’s phone number is 636-551-1020.
The system’s Northwest Branch is at 5680 Hwy. PP, High Ridge; the Arnold Branch is at 1701 Missouri State Road; and the Windsor Branch is at 7679 Metropolitan Blvd. in Barnhart.
For more information, visit the library system’s website at jeffcolib.org or go to its Facebook page.