Of all the places that make St. Louis home for me, the St. Louis Public Library has to be at the top of the list. Theyâve provided me with books, toys, craft kits, even access to a giant scanner to bring prints from Prince Charlesâ long-ago trip to St. Louis into the digital age (what can I say, I needed them for work). But for the homeless community, the library is also a lifeline, to the point that staff members at some branches can become overwhelmed by their needs. Get up to speed on the libraryâs latest balancing act below.
In other news, the city is taking steps to protect a historic house, even as preservationists fear action may be coming too late. Ryan Krull has the latest chapter in that saga below. And donât miss the new video series recording some inspiring St. Louis stories.
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The state of the Zeiss House today has fueled preservationists' concerns. Photography by Ryan Krull
THIS JUST IN
Historic stone structure gets a âhalt workâ order
Last week the city ordered the owner of a historic property in Carondelet to stop work on the building. That order from the city, addressed to an LLC associated with a physician whose real estate holdings throughout town have come under increased scrutiny, noted that âall work including demolitionâ requires permits.
The Zeiss house, constructed in the 1850s, is considered a rare example of early stone construction in St. Louis. It was given National Register of Historic Places status in 1980.
But Andrew Weil of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis says he's worried that its interior is being intentionally demolished. The Landmarks Association outlined its concerns on Facebook last week, saying, âIt seems clear that the intent is to further destabilize these important historic buildings so that they can be demolished outside of the City's Preservation Ordinance.â
The propertyâs owner is an LLC associated with pain management physician Dr. Gurpreet Padda. Just last week, another historic property owned by an LLC affiliated with Padda, the Slovak Church in Soulard, was the subject of a lawsuit filed by a Soulard neighborhood group seeking to wrest control of the church from its owner, saying it's an eyesore âinjurious to the public health, safety, security, and welfare of the neighboring residents and businesses.â Padda has not responded to multiple messages seeking comment. âRyan Krull
The St. Louis Public Library's downtown flagship is only one branch regularly dealing with a high-needs population. Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
DEEP DIVE
St. Louis Public Library goes back to requiring library cards for computer access
An experiment attempted by staff at the St. Louis Public Library came to an end this month: Library computers will again only be available to people with a library card.
The new policy is, in fact, the same as the old policy. But about a year ago, SLPL executive director Waller McGuire implemented a looser plan, one requiring that prospective users merely obtain a âcomputer pass.â Pick one up from the service desk, and you were good to go.
McGuireâs intent was to save staff time, as homeless people using the library often needed a new card, and getting one set up required linking it to their former account. Says McGuire, âThe hope was that a computer pass could make access simple and quick.â
Unfortunately, good intentions werenât enough. Incidents increased âimmediately,â McGuire says, including conflict between patrons, conflict with staff members, and even damage to equipment, theft, or accessing inappropriate material.
âThere was a correlation between those using computer passes and increased incidents, inasmuch as identification could be made with people using our systems who are not required to give any form of ID,â he says. âI'm a librarian, not a sociologist, but I would surmise that someone who is invited to use sophisticated, powerful systems and asked to make no commitment or provide any identification can sometimes treat that privilege as a given that doesn't require answering responsibility or sometimes reasonable behavior. I believe that the work involved in issuing cards is worth a potential reduction in incidents.â
Why It Matters: In cities including St. Louis, public libraries have become key service providers for homeless residents, serving as a place for people to cool down or warm up and also connect with the Internet. Trying to facilitate those services without stretching staff members too thin is an ongoing challenge for many library systems.
Whatâs Next: Acceptable documents to obtain an SLPL card include not just driverâs licenses or work/school ID cards, but also a letter from a shelter. Since the new system was implemented on Sept. 2, McGuire says the library has received no complaints and no reports of conflict. âS.F.
STAGES St. Louis Presents BEAUTIFUL: The Carole King Musical!
Sing along to the musical of a lifetime with BEAUTIFUL: The Carole King Musical playing September 19âOctober 19 at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center.
Three lawsuits and a referendum: New 6â1 congressional map faces multi-pronged attack (Missouri Independent): A dark money organization donated $500,000 over the weekend to the campaign aimed at repealing the map.
Jefferson Countyâs first bitcoin mine is ready to go (stltoday): The facility just needs one final step of governmental approval before it can become operational. But neighbors are concerned about its secrecy and its high energy needs.
"We got to save St. Louis," says President Trump (Fox2Now): The president continues to talk about potentially calling the National Guard to deal with crime in the city, but police leaders say they haven't heard from the White House.
St. Louis Mosaic Project executive director Suzanne Sierra, left. launches a new video series with Annie Mbale, who came to Missouri from Malawi. Screenshot
Around Town
â THE POLITICAL TEA
Mayor Cara Spencerâs communications director Beverly Isom has resigned, the mayor's office confirmed yesterday. The move came as little surprise to most of the City Hall press corps, many of whom griped about the non-replies to the emails they sent her. The reporters in turn sent their requests to deputy communications director Rasmus Jorgensen, who tended to be quick with a response but also went on paternity leave this summer, at which point tensions really started to boil over. In many ways, Isom was over-qualified for the job she just left. Sheâd been the spokeswoman for the mayor of Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics bombing there before going to work at public relations behemoth FleishmanHillard. But her style didnât mesh with Spencer, one reporter who covers City Hall noted to SLM, saying that Isom counseled her boss to speak in sound bites. âHer advice to Cara was to say less. And Cara is just not that way. Beverly wanted more message discipline. Cara wants to talk it out, have hour-long press conferences.â The bigger issue, though, especially in the wake of a natural disaster, may have been that you canât control the message in a rapid-response media environment if you donât even respond to requests seeking information or interviews. âR.K.
𧳠TRANSPLANTS
St. Louisâ ongoing efforts to attract, and retain, immigrants now include a video series. This week, the St. Louis Mosaic Project is relaunching its Mosaic Stories as a series of monthly on-camera interviews. First launched in 2017, the stories each feature an immigrant who has made their home in St. Louis sharing about their journey. Now, for the first time, instead of a written narrative, theyâre an informal conversation where a native St. Louisan interviews a newcomer. The debut episode features Suzanne Sierra, the projectâs executive director, in conversation with Mosaic Project program manager Annie Mbale. Mbale has an incredible story to tellâa native of Malawi, she began her journey to Missouri after striking up a friendship with a Peace Corps volunteer assigned to her village, who just happened to be from Jefferson County. The volunteer encouraged Mbale to come to the U.S., and after a few years at Jefferson College, Mbale earned a full ride to the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Sheâs been in St. Louis ever since, and tells Sierra she felt immediately at home thanks to the diversity she witnessed at UMSL: âI feel like I belong in St. Louis.â The Mosaic Project is looking for more immigrants willing to tell their storyâand more natives interested in asking the questions. Throw your hat in the ring here. âS.F.
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Heard on the Street
Count St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder among those mourning the slain activist and author Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in Utah last week. The West County Republican asked the clerk to introduce a resolution honoring Kirk in time for tomorrowâs council meeting.
The retorts continue to former Fox-2 reporter Elliott Davisâ allegations that the Central West End is dead. Alderman Shane Cohn noted to the newsman on Friday that, yes, it was nice when Culpepperâs was there but, no, it wasnât nice walking past several vacant buildings to get to it.
Happy birthday to PR maven Julie Lally and Craft Republic founder Brian Dix, both of whom celebrate today!
đŹ Got a milestone to celebrate or gossip to share? Email sfenske@stlmag.com.
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