Webster Groves Public Library
WGPL in 2013
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| Country |
 United States
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|---|---|
| Established | 1911 |
| Location | Webster Groves, Missouri |
| Collection | |
| Size | 70,000 |
| Website | wgpl |
The Webster Groves Public Library is a municipal library in Webster Groves, Missouri. It is a member of the Municipal Library Consortium of St. Louis County.
The oldest public library in St. Louis County, Missouri, Webster Groves Public Library originated in a small reading room opened by First Congregational Church in 1884. When the Church built a new sanctuary in 1893 it included a library and reading room that was open to the public. Eventually Church leadership decided that the reading room was not meeting its mission, and it was closed in 1908. Management of the library then passed to the Monday Club of Webster Groves. In 1911 Webster Groves residents William and Jennie Jager donated land to the Monday Club to erect a building, under the condition that it include space for a public library. The building was designed by architect Lawrence Ewald and built at a cost of US$6000, and opened on October 12, 1911. The library was managed by five volunteer assistants and a librarian salaried by the City of Webster Groves. It was open two afternoons and one morning each week and was also open to the Monday Club for meetings.
On April 5, 1927, the citizens of Webster Groves voted 2,887 to 551 in favor of a tax levy to fund the library, making it one of the first tax-supported municipal libraries in St. Louis County. At the time, the school board was building an addition to the Webster Groves High School and offered to include a space for the library in it. The public library remained in the high school from 1928 to 1951.
During the 1930s, a second library was established in North Webster with the help of Douglass High School Principal Howell Goins for access by African-Americans. Because the high school, like all high schools at the time, was segregated, African Americans were only allowed entrance to the library one afternoon a week. This second library at Douglass High School was staffed by a librarian whose salary was split between the Library Board and the Board of Education.
Late in the 1940s the Library Board began planning for a stand-alone library building, and funds were raised through a bond issue that passed in 1947. A site was picked at the corner of Lockwood and Orchard Avenues, along the southern edge of the neighborhood known as Webster Park. The building was designed by the St. Louis firm of J. P. Hoener Associates, and the grand opening was held in October, 1951.
Over time, the library's services outgrew the space in this building, which was just under 11,000 square feet. Cubicles to house staff offices were built in the main reading room; Children's Services were moved to the Auditorium, leaving the library without a public meeting room.
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