ST. CHARLES COUNTY — The St. Charles City-County Library will not renew its lease for its branch inside of Mid-Rivers Mall in St. Peters, the agency announced this week.
The branch, which opened earlier this year while the Spencer Road and Middendorf-Kredell branches underwent renovation, is slated to close Nov. 23.
The Mid-Rivers branch was not one of the three permanent branches the library district considered for closure earlier this year; it was always considered temporary, officials said.
“It was very well used when Spencer Road was closed, but once we saw this building reopen (in June), we saw the usage decline significantly,” library district CEO Jason Kuhl said Tuesday. “So, we are beginning to transition out of that space.”
The branch consistently saw an average of 23 visitors per hour of operation earlier this summer, but those numbers began declining to about 12 visitors per hour, according to statistics posted on the library district’s website.
The Friends of the Library will hold two pop-up book fairs at the mall location in December, but the library district officially vacates the space ahead of its lease expiring in January.
“When there are holiday shoppers at the mall, we will be able to use that space for some book fairs and raise some money,” Kuhl said. Proceeds from the book fairs will go toward the Friends of the Library’s support of the library district.
The branch is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
