When Patriots walk into South’s Library they might not know they’re walking into one of the top libraries in Missouri.

The Parkway South library recently won an award for being an Exemplary School Libary Program–one of the top libraries in the entire state of Missouri. 

The South High library offers many fun activities for all students. Librarian Katie Pendleton shares what activities our library holds. 

“We have all kinds of activities and are normally super busy in the morning. There are crossword puzzles, sticker art, maker space events, and Lucy the therapy dog. The library also helped with Black History Month coffee house and promoted staff appreciation,” Pendleton said. South High’s other librarian is Dawn Murray. She shares what they have planned for the library next year. 

“Right now we are getting rid of all nonfiction books that are outdated and in bad condition so we can have more space. We also want to add new furniture next year. We have overwhelming support from Mrs. Pappas-Muyco, which allows us a lot of freedom and funding to do events to make our program unique. We also want to find ways for the library to be open to more students during different times,” she said. 

One student from South talks about how she enjoys the library every day. 

“I go to the library every day and love sitting outside on the patio and reading,” junior Emmy Nance said. 

One important thing is making sure the library is inclusive for all students, according to Pendleton.

“The library is very peaceful and a nice environment. You get to see students from all around the school. There’s also a lot of books and definitely something for everyone,” Pendleton said.  

Although South’s library did win one of the top libraries in Missouri there is always something we can improve on, she said.

“We want to communicate more with parents and see what they want from us. We really want to make this program the student’s program and include things other students want to see,” Pendleton said.  

Murray shares the process and the feeling of winning this award. 

“This was a very long process for us. There were 22 standards we had to meet and prove how we met each one. Overall our google doc application was 108 pages. We couldn’t have completed it without the support of our library staff. It’s a pretty great feeling seeing all our work pay off and watching our program improve. It’s very eye-opening and shows you what you’ve been doing right, but it also helps us notice what we can improve on,” she said.