"It (the library) is the heart of the cultural unit of this community."
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KCKPL Downtown.
Small Beginnings. Continued Impact.
The Kansas City, Kansas Public Library was officially founded in 1875 starting with a small 200 volume subscription library. In 1899, the library came under the authority of the Board of Education where it remains today. The original Carnegie library building was located at 625 Minnesota Ave. The cornerstone of the building was laid at night under new electric arc lights on September 6, 1902. More than 3,000 people turned out to witness the opening event. See the timeline below to find out more about KCKPL's history and our current downtown location.
Shared Places. Shared Spaces.
The following images are of the current Main Library, 625 Minnesota Ave., and its predecessor, the downtown Carnegie Library. The Carnegie Library was razed in 1965 to make room for a parking lot for the current library.
Reviewing the Past.
Exploring the Future.
Over time, the needs and desires of a community can shift. To explore how the downtown library and Kansas City, Kansas Public Library as a whole has changed, we established a timeline, but KCKPL also compiled news articles from our holdings and our NewsBank database service, which is available to patrons.
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Kansas City, Kansas Public Library has completed feedback sessions and surveys at this time. Thank you for your interest.
Please note that KCKPL's Copyright, Disclaimer and Credits for the Kansas Collection apply to the information, images and articles on this page.