Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch Takeaway. Our Local Library. Great place to bring the kids on a Saturday morning. Large, dedicated kids section has two computers with age-appropriate learning games. A big pipe marble run. Blocks. Books. And a bustling train set. Free to use. Easy way to spend a couple of hours.
Several defined rooms in the Branch include a teenage reading room, a printing room, a computer room, and a meeting room available for reseravations. You can check out video games, audiobooks, and movies. And there's a magazine section in the back. Free wi-fi all around makes it a good place to get out of the house to work.
The staff is super helpful and accommodating. Bathrooms are available for kids and adults. Parking is plentiful in the front.
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Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch Experience Summary
The Mid-County Branch is our go-to local library. My dad is a big library guy, and I remember going a lot as a kid, so he was one of the first things he suggested doing when he came to town.
It turns out to be an excellent place to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday morning with the kids or for me to work outside of the house some days. The best perk is that it's free.
While I appreciate the computer rooms and wi-fi, my kids really enjoy the dedicated kid's section. The room takes up three-quarters of the front of the building and houses about ten stacks of books for the ten-and-under crowd. They also have child-appropriate movies for rent and some audiobooks.
The surprising number of toys is the main draw. I don't remember having a full train set in my library as a kid, but the Mid-County branch does. It also has two computers, a large block set, and a pipe marble run.
It's like a free, MADE for kids lite.
Activities At Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch
The set of activities at the Mid-County Branch is good for keeping your kids occupied for about an hour. You can stretch it longer if you find some books they want to read there.
On our last visit, we paired a stop at the library right when it opened followed by a trip to the St. Louis Zoo. That's quintessential STL parenting right there, taking advantage of two totally free activities to spend the morning with the kids.
For kid activities, the quality of the train set immediately stood out to me. They have amassed easily three or four sets of Kate & Jack quality trains. They have several bridges, tunnels, and multitrack connectors. If your kids let you help, you can build an incredibly solid train track. You can put the train track at the St. Louis Science Center to shame with some planning.
Right behind the trains, you'll find a pipe marble run. Made of PVC piping, you can construct a multi-level back-and-forth run. I'd like to believe that my son and I created the longest-ever mid-county branch marble run because we used nearly every piece.
I'll unofficially claim it for now, but feel free to try and beat us!
Across the room, you'll find two computers pre-loaded with age-appropriate games. My older son, who was six when we first started going and is now eight, gets more mileage than my two to four-year-old did and does. Frankly, the games are pretty janky, and I'm mildly worried about lice in the headsets because I'm paranoid, but they like them, and we are bug-free so far.
To be clear, the library is super clean. It's just the whole sharing headset thing kinda grosses me out cuz that's how I am.
Giant, one-foot-high blocks round out the non-booked-based activities in the kids' room. We've made some pretty awesome skyscrapers from them. There used to be a play cashier set in that corner too, but I don't remember seeing it on this visit.
And finally, you're in a library, so there are a ton of books for kids here. You can order them from other branches to pick up or just enjoy the selection. There are a couple of glass reading nooks along with couches and chairs.
On a final note, there's a kid-friendly bathroom located in the room that we frequently visit.
Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch Atmosphere And Miscellaneous
The Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch has a great staff that is super helpful and keeps the building spic and span. They're happy to help you find any book you're looking for or direct you to a part of the library.
Ask for help if you need it, they are super helpful!
In terms of things amenities for adults, the Mid-County Branch has:
Rentable conference room.
Audiobooks, video games, and movies for rent.
A printing/fax/copy room.
A computer room.
Dedicated magazine section.
Teen reading room.
A big multipurpose room where I've voted in the past.
The whole facility has free wi-fi, which makes it a great place to come work for the day. I was there this morning as a change of pace for myself. My buddy lives closer and works here about once a week. We actually met for lunch down the street at Pastaria Deli & Wine when he was working there, so you can walk to downtown Clayton in under ten minutes.
There's a book drop-off outside for when you need to return your books.
Parking At Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch
There are three main options when it comes to parking at the Mid-County library:
Park in one of the limited spaces in front. Metered during weekday business hours.
Park in the lot across the street. Metered during weekday business hours.
Park in the neighborhood to the north for free. 1hr parking in the first block and 2hr parking two blocks away. The meter maids definitely come during the week, so you will need to move.
If you know me, I'm always parking in the free parking when possible, even for a little walk. The neighborhood has meter maids, so be careful to move your car after an hour.
Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch Receipt
