On this episode of 'Going Public', we speak with the Cape Girardeau Public Library Director, Katie Earnhart. She shared her appreciation for library staff, and community partners and talked about the many services offered to the community through the library.
The Cape Girardeau Public Library recently received the prestigious 2024 'Library of the Year Award' from the Missouri Library Association.
This honor recognizes the library’s 'outstanding community service, commitment to intellectual freedom, and dedication to expanding access to information and resources for all residents'.
Over the past year, the Cape Girardeau Public Library has increased its community engagement and resource accessibility. A key highlight was joining Missouri Evergreen— a statewide resource-sharing consortium, that connects libraries across Missouri.
This integration has significantly expanded the library’s collection, providing patrons with access to a wide range of educational and recreational materials from libraries throughout the state.
Additionally, the library established a reciprocal borrowing agreement with Riverside Regional Library, allowing residents in both districts to obtain library cards at either location. This partnership has enhanced accessibility to library services for residents across Cape Girardeau County.
Despite facing multiple book challenges, it remains committed to providing access to diverse perspectives and upholding the community’s right to free expression.
Katie Earnhart has served in this position for just over six years. Prior to taking over at CGPL she was the Director of Coffeyville Public Library (Coffeyville, KS) from 2013-2018 and the Program Director for the Master's of Library Science program at the School of Library and Information Management (SLIM) at Emporia State University (Emporia, KS) from 2009-2013.
Katie is active in the Cape Girardeau community serving in many civic organizations and boards such as the Cape Area Community Foundation and Zonta. She serves as the current President of the Downtown Cape Girardeau Rotary Club.
