Mid-Continent Public Library

Mid-Continent Public Library

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Established	1965 (1892)
Location	Clay, Platte, & Jackson Counties, Missouri
Coordinates
Branches	31
Collection
Size	3,544,072 (2009)
Access and use
Circulation	9,183,005 (2009)
Population served	668,632
Other information
Budget	$46,561,545 (2009)
Director	Steven Potter
Website	http://www.mymcpl.org/ Midwest Genealogy Center: http://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy

Mid-Continent Public Library, officially known as Consolidated Library District #3, is a consolidated public library system serving Clay, Platte, and Jackson Counties in Missouri, with headquarters in Independence, Missouri.

Mid-Continent Public Library is the largest public library system in the U.S. state of Missouri by number of volumes and size of budget. Its collection ranks among the 100 largest libraries in America, which includes university, public, and private collections, and is among the nation's 20 largest public library systems. (Note: The Kansas City Public Library is a separate library system with facilities primarily serving Kansas City in Jackson County, Missouri.)

On May 8, 2014, the Mid-Continent Public Library received the National Medal for Museum and Library Service during a ceremony at the White House in Washington D.C. The medal is the country's highest honor awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Background

Mid-Continent Public Library's roots go back to the Independence Public Library, formed by the Independence Library Association in 1892 and the creation of the Citizens Improvement Association Library (later the Carnegie Library) in Excelsior Springs in the 1890s.

After World War II, Clay, Platte and Jackson counties formed countywide library systems. They began collaborating in the early 1960s, and on November 10, 1965 Clay and Jackson formed the Mid-Continent Public Library Service as a joint administrative body, though each library retained separate governing boards and budgets. Platte County joined the group in 1968. In 1978, seven years after the state legislature passed a law allowing for consolidated multi-county library systems, the Clay and Jackson libraries officially merged to form Consolidated Library District No. 3. Platte County joined a year later.

The library system is overseen by a Library Board of twelve members, four appointed by County Commissioners in each of the service region's three counties. It currently has 31 branches in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area of Missouri located in Kansas City, Independence, Liberty, Gladstone, Lee’s Summit, Grandview, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, and other cities. It also hosts two installations at community centers in partnership with the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department that provide automated library services and public Internet access.

In fiscal 2008-2009, the collection held 3,544,072 items. Total annual circulation was 9,183,005 items, and it filled 1,773,586 intra- and interlibrary loans. Branch libraries served 4,673,737 visitors. Total attendance at live programming events for adults and families and for children was 318,639 patrons. The system has 466,344 registered borrowers.

Annual circulation for the year exceeded one-half million items for each of the Mid-Continent Library’s five busiest branches: Liberty, Lee’s Summit, Colbern Road, North Independence, and Blue Springs South.

The system has one of the nation’s largest Summer Reading Programs, which was completed by 106,846 patrons in fiscal 2009. It is known for its array of services, including more than 250 online learning tools and research databases with remote access, downloadable audiobooks, and Library-by-Mail for homebound patrons. Library branches offer self-checkout machines and self-service hold pick-ups, and LCD flat-panel monitors on every on-site public access computer. Most branches also offer free wi-fi access. The library system collaborates and partners with local foundations.

Midwest Genealogy Center

Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, Missouri

On 21 June 2008, Mid-Continent Public Library inaugurated the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri. It is the largest stand-alone public genealogy research facility in America.

The 52,000-square-foot (4,800 m²) building houses a unique collection of records in almost completely open stacks. It holds 80,000 family history books, 100,000 local history items, 565,000 rolls of microfilm, and 7,000 maps. It also contains all available U.S. federal population census records and federal indexes, Civil War histories, immigration and naturalization records, ship passenger lists, Native American records, biographical archives, manuscripts pertaining to the American slave trade and the Antebellum South, Papers of the St. Louis Fur Trade, and a large variety of state records for Missouri and other states such as state censuses, tax records, penitentiary records, military service records, compiled records of Missouri Union and Confederate Army soldiers, approximately 50 Missouri newspapers, local newspaper indexes to obituaries and weddings, and genealogical periodicals. The center also has 10,000 volumes available for circulation in the “Genealogy from the Heartland Collection” created from donations by the American Family Records Association (AFRA), Missouri State Genealogical Association (MoSGA), Heart of America Genealogical Society (HAGS), Gann Family Association, and patron contributions.

The center’s equipment includes microfilm reader-printers, self-digitization stations, and free access to important research databases. It offers many advanced services, including free wireless Internet access and digital video conferencing capabilities for viewing national broadcasts relevant to genealogists and family historians. The Midwest Genealogy Center is open seven days per week. Groups and tours are welcomed by appointment.

Branches

Midwest Genealogy Center, main floor atrium

• Antioch (Gladstone)
• Blue Ridge (Kansas City)
• Blue Springs North (Blue Springs)
• Blue Springs South (Blue Springs)
• Boardwalk (Kansas City)
• Buckner
• Camden Point
• Claycomo
• Colbern Road (Lee’s Summit)
• Dearborn
• Edgerton
• Excelsior Springs
• Grain Valley
• Grandview
• Kearney
• Lee’s Summit, Oldham Parkway
• Liberty
• Lone Jack
• Midwest Genealogy Center (Independence)
• North Independence (Independence)
• North Oak (Kansas City)
• Oak Grove
• Parkville
• Platte City
• Raytown
• Red Bridge (Kansas City)
• Riverside
• Smithville
• South Independence (Independence)
• Weston
• Woodneath Library Center (Kansas City)

External links

• MCPL Official site
• MCPL Library catalog
• Interlibrary Loan
• Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center at FamilySearch Research Wiki for genealogists