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Mother’s Day 2025

What better way to honor moms than to read about motherhood and all of its ups and downs!

Beach Reads For Summer 2025

Whether you will be enjoying the waves at a beach, lounging by a pool, snoozing in a hammock or enjoying the air conditioning at home here are some great books to take with you!

Discover More Author Events at KPL!

Have you noticed the buzz around Kirkwood Public Library lately? We’ve been thrilled to welcome an exciting lineup of authors — from nationally recognized names to talented local voices — and the conversations have been fantastic!

This month, mark your calendar for May 21st, when we host our biggest event of the year: One Author, One Kirkwood. This year, we’re excited to welcome Steven Rowley, bestselling author of The Guncle. Don’t miss this special evening!

But that’s not all — there’s something for everyone this month:

• May 3rd: Doug Feldman dives into Cardinals history with his book One More for the White Rat, featuring interviews with players from the memorable 1987 season.

• May 29th: Dr. Elizabeth Chiarello, local author and sociologist, will discuss Policing Patients: Treatment and Surveillance on the Frontlines of the Opioid Crisis. Her book takes you inside the culture of surveillance that pits healthcare providers against their patients

There’s never been a better time to join us. We’ll see you at an event soon!

May is Personal History Awareness Month

What is your life story? What stories do you have of your parents and grandparents? What family stories are waiting to be rediscovered? How will those stories be preserved and passed on in your family? KPL has many resources to help discover and record your personal history.

Books:

Of course we have books about how to start or continue working on your genealogy. 

Technology: 

But at KPL, you can also: Check out a digital voice recorder to capture your family’s stories in their own voice. Use one of our scanners to preserve documents and photos. Sign out KPL’s Shotbox to photograph family heirlooms and photo albums. Drop off home movies to have our staff convert them to a digital format. Rent a pop-up canopy or a screen & projector to help host your own family reunion.

Databases: 

Ancestry (in library only) and Heritage Quest databases are available to dig through records to find traces of distant and not-so distant ancestors, but also be sure to use NewsBank and EBSCOhost as well as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Review archives to find stories about your family and the times they have lived through.

Staff:

Finally, ask a member of the reference staff to help you navigate these resources, or to help you apply for a passport so you can travel to see for yourself where your family used to live. Or set up a Grab-a-Geek appointment to ensure your files are backed up securely so the stories you tell and the information you find stay in the family!

What is a Memory Cafe?

Is it...

1. A place to test how well you remember?
2. A place to belt out the song “Memory” from the musical “Cats”?
3. A place for people with memory changes and a friend or family member to come together with others who are experiencing similar challenges and have fun in a relaxing environment?

The correct answer is “3” and Kirkwood Public Library will be offering memory cafes starting this May. We will have different themes each month, but all of them will have an engaging program, fun things to do, light refreshments, and time to socialize.  To learn more about memory cafes check out this video. To learn more about the memory cafes offered this summer, check out this link.