Kansas City Public Library - Central Library

Kansas City Public Library - Central Library The Central Library welcomes you! The iconic Community Bookshelf parking garage is next door. Please visit!

We are housed in a beautiful repurposed former bank and home to such wonders as the Vault Theater & historical Missouri Valley Special Collections.

🎥 June movies in the Central Library Vault Theater! Free! Free parking in the Library garage at 10th & Baltimore. Note: ...
06/01/2026

🎥 June movies in the Central Library Vault Theater! Free! Free parking in the Library garage at 10th & Baltimore. Note: Saturday movies are only for kids and their families, unless otherwise noted. Movies start at 2 p.m. daily. Vault Theater seats 28. Seating begins at 1:45 p.m. No reservations required. First come, first served. Note: There is also a movie/discussion event with Vault staff every third Wednesday. Contact the Vault staff at (816) 701-3455 for more info.
kclibrary.org/calendar
kclibrary.org/central
Free parking in the Library garage at 10th & Baltimore:
https://kclibrary.org/locations/central/parking

🤩Sneak peek at the free Summer Reading books for kids & teens! Our program starts Sunday 5/31. Sign ups start that day. ...
05/30/2026

🤩Sneak peek at the free Summer Reading books for kids & teens! Our program starts Sunday 5/31. Sign ups start that day. Participants get a free book just for signing up. Then, read any 5 books 5/31-6/15 and get a prize! (Adults can also sign up and get a free book; there will be a whole section of books for adults on the 1st floor.)
The Central Library Summer Reading Kickoff Party is on Sunday 5/31, 2-4PM, in Kirk Hall on the first floor and the Helzberg Auditorium on the 5th floor.
kclibrary.org/SummerReading
Free parking in the Central Library garage at 10th & Baltimore:
https://kclibrary.org/locations/central/parking
https://kclibrary.org/central

Patron Notice: All KC Public Libraries will open at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 29, due to staff training.
05/29/2026

Patron Notice: All KC Public Libraries will open at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 29, due to staff training.

In 1973, the city of North Kansas City purchased land for a public park, but it took more than a half-century to open it...
05/28/2026

In 1973, the city of North Kansas City purchased land for a public park, but it took more than a half-century to open it. Senior Special Collections Librarian and NKC resident Michael Wells examines why in the most recent installment of What’s Your KCQ?, an ongoing partnership between The Kansas City Star and the Library.

Full article: https://kchistory.org/blog/why-it-took-more-50-years-open-north-kansas-city-park

What: Central Library Summer Reading Kickoff Party on Sunday 5/31, 2-4PM. Carnival games, cotton candy, live music, free...
05/28/2026

What: Central Library Summer Reading Kickoff Party on Sunday 5/31, 2-4PM. Carnival games, cotton candy, live music, free book just for signing up! (Then read any 5 books by Aug. 15 and get a prize!) (Adults also can sign up; same rules, but adults get a neat pint glass as a prize.)
kclibrary.org/SummerReading
Free parking in the Central Library garage at 10th & Baltimore:
https://kclibrary.org/locations/central/parking
https://kclibrary.org/central

Some interesting events coming up at the Central Library in June!
05/27/2026

Some interesting events coming up at the Central Library in June!

📚😮🍿The divorce-blindside tell-all "Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage" was the top adult nonfiction read in April with KC P...
05/27/2026

📚😮🍿The divorce-blindside tell-all "Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage" was the top adult nonfiction read in April with KC Public Library readers. The Correspondent epistolary novel remained at No. 1 in adult fiction, while kids gave Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas top marks, and teens put aside Sunrise on the Reaping for the first time in MONTHS to revisit The Hate U Give (originally published in 2017).
Find your #1 at kclibrary.org!

PS to Pause but thank you!!! 💚🌱💚You are a generous bunch! Thank you everyone who donated to the Propagation Station at t...
05/23/2026

PS to Pause but thank you!!! 💚🌱💚You are a generous bunch! Thank you everyone who donated to the Propagation Station at the Central Library! We have rehomed hundreds of cuttings and tiny plants, thanks to you! (See pix for some of the neat donations that have been swiftly adopted.) Starting Tuesday 5/26, we will pause the PS for Summer Reading but might start it again in the fall. We will keep you posted. Thanks again, and we hope all your new plants are doing well!
Some of the neat plants that were donated and adopted: succulents with accoutrements, peace lilies, spider plants, pothos, alligator plants, cacti, jade plants, aloe vera plants, wandering dude plants, African violets, Monstera, Syngonium, snake plants, philodendrons, leopard lily! 😄

Kansas City history has connections all over the world! Across the Atlantic, in the Czech Republic, a descendent of a gr...
05/21/2026

Kansas City history has connections all over the world!

Across the Atlantic, in the Czech Republic, a descendent of a graduate from the Sweeney Automobile and Tractor School has shared a photograph of their diploma!

Businessman Emory J. Sweeney founded the school in 1908 before relocating to the iconic high-rise at the corner of 24th and Wyandotte, now Pershing Lofts, in 1917. In total, 14 trades, including aviation and auto mechanics, were taught. The school flourished in the wake of American involvement in World War I due to the demand of mechanics and similar skilled technicians. The school operated until financial troubles caused the eventual closure and the sale of the building in 1929 to the Businessmen’s Assurance Company. Sweeney reported that the school taught approximately 80,000 students during the school’s time span.

Items on the Sweeney Automobile and Tractor School can be found at Missouri Valley Special Collections on the fifth floor of the Central Library.

Address

14 W 10th Street
Kansas City, MO
64105

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+18167013400

Website

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