Woodneath Case For Support - Mid-Continent Public Library

Connecting@MCPLA campaign to access the potential of tomorrow

Imagine a place where past and present meet in new and exciting ways. Where throughcareful planning and stewardship public space is created that serves the growingNorthland. Where access is provided through a modern, sophisticated library. Where oneof few remaining historic structures in the Northland is given new life. Where acres ofgreen space are preserved.ImagineAll this is the grand vision of Mid-Continent Public Library’s Woodneath destination, alibrary unlike most in the nation.The new main library, built by $13 million in public investment, will be a jewel in the Mid-Continent system. Located on Flintlock Road in the Shoal Creek area, it will offer thesystem’s most technologically advanced library, with programs and amenities that provideunparalleled access to quality information.Preserved in front will be the Woodneath home, built in 1855 and once the center of avast family farm. It is the Library’s intent to renovate Woodneath and its grounds through$4.025 million in private contributions, making it an integral, working part of the library.The Library has made great effort to assure the new, much larger building would notovershadow the house. Architects designed it to sit several feet lower than the historichome. The Library chose neutral building materials for the new addition to allowWoodneath’s red brick to stand out. The new building’s design, with its arching form andcolonnade features reminiscent of Greek revival structures, suggests it is wrapping its“arm” around the old manor.This ambitious project is sensitive to the past, mindful of the present and anticipates whatthey library of future is about: access. We invite you to support this blending of yesterdayand tomorrow. We invite you to invest in Connecting@MCPL.

AccessNo longer just repositories of books, libraries are redefining their role in a day of mass,rapid technology. They are focusing ever-more acutely on access to information andadvanced levels of literacy while continuing to serve as a place of connection, community,gathering and ideas.Mid-Continent Public Library, with 34 branches in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties, is atthe forefront. Nowhere will it be more evident than at Woodneath.The new library will provide 35,000-square feet of state-of-the-art features such as a dropoffand pick-up window, café, spacious meeting rooms, computer lab, automated booksorting system and more. It will house a 65,000-volume book collection and thetechnology to reach the world. It is expected to serve 200,000 people annually.The Woodneath home will be a destination — a library with a story of its own. It willcontain a traditional reading and historic collection, training space and computers. AnAuthor in Residence and Visiting Authors Series, featuring a variety of writers of note eachof the next five years, will enlighten as they inform. Outdoors, the 33 acres hold promisefor historic and natural interpretation, walking trails and public green space.Most promisingly we see Woodneath as the home of the region’s first self-publishingtechnology and a training ground for aspiring authors.All in all, Woodneath will powerfully connect the past with the promise of the future.

Main FloorThe main floor of the home will include a comfortable Crouch Family Reading Room thatcould feature archival books, first editions by Missouri authors or other literature ofspecial interest. The main floor also will house the writing lab, a place of learning andcreation for budding writers. It is here that the Author in Residence program and theVisiting Author Series will come to life.InnovateRelated programming will include Creative writing coaching and workshops Editorial initiatives Book marketing and merchandisingSecond FloorWoodneath’s second floor will offer a portal to the future. A media-creation and digitalpublishing lab will enable people of all ages to access and create digital content: written,audio, and video.A key component will be the Xerox Espresso Book Machine, one of the latest technologicaladvances in the self-publishing revolution. Once an author has completed writing, editingand design, the Espresso automatically prints, binds and trims – on demand – a libraryqualitypaperback. This positions MCPL as a regional resource for authors who wish to selfpublish.In exchange for assistance with self-publishing, MCPL would receive rights to sell andcirculate books created at Woodneath throughout the library system..

VisionWoodneath Writing LabWoodneath FloorplanCrouch Family Reading Room

The National Register of Historic Places added the Woodneath home in 1978 for itsarchitectural, agricultural and socially historical importance. Completed in 1855, it wasbuilt by Elbridge and Finetta Arnold and sold to Presley Moore sometime after the CivilWar.ConnectMoore named the spot after the woods which surrounded it. Today, oak, pine and sugarmaples still feature prominently. Moore owned the farm until the Crouch family acquiredit after the turn of the 20 th Century. Crouch descendants owned Woodneath until they soldit to Mid-Continent Public Library in 2008.For the Crouch family, passing ownership means making a permanent connection betweena home that holds deep meaning and a promise that it will endure. By connectingWoodneath the home with Woodneath the newest public library in the MCPL system,house, land, history and future will forge a perpetual connection.Western Missouri continues to be a very dynamic area. Frequently, true accounts of itshistory are more engaging than any movie or novel. What is fascinating is that with suchan interesting story to tell, many people have never heard these incredible tales.The adaptive reuse of Woodneath represents a way to continue the conversation and tomake the next chapter more glorious than past generations may have imagined. Throughthoughtful preservation, Woodneath will be transformed from an antebellum farmhouseinto a first-class destination library.

InvestCapitalHome preservation ................................................................................................. $2,000,000Publishing technology ............................................................................................... $150,000Computers ................................................................................................................... $75,000Furniture and fixtures ................................................................................................ $100,000Initial Phase of Grounds and landscaping ................................................................. $400,000Sustaining capital endowment .................................................................................. $200,000Subtotal: Capital ..................................................................................................... $2,925,000Program deliverySpecial collections for Woodneath ........................................................................... $250,000Author in Residence; Visiting Authors Series (5 years) ............................................. $750,000Subtotal: Program delivery ..................................................................................... $1,000,000Campaign expenses ................................................................................................... $100,000WOODNEATH CAMPAIGN TOTAL ........................................................................... $4,025,000You can make a differenceYour contribution is deductible as defined by law. Please make your gift to the WoodneathFund at Truman Heartland Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization.

Founded in 1965, MCPL is formally known as Consolidated Library District No. 3. Its originsderive from the Independence Public Library, formed by the Independence LibraryAssociation in 1892 and the creation of the Citizens Improvement Association Library (laterthe Carnegie Library) in Excelsior Springs in the 1890s.LeadershipMCPL is a consolidated library district with 30 branches in three Missouri counties: Clay,Platte and Jackson. It is the largest political subdivision in the state. Mid-Continent PublicLibrary has a service area that includes more than 750,000 people. .Many people are surprised to find that MCPL is the 19 th largest public library in the UnitedStates, with peers such as Boston Public Library, Seattle Public Library and the SanFrancisco Public Library. It is larger than the Kansas City Public Library and Johnson CountyPublic Library combined.Mid-Continent Public Library has a tradition and a reputation for sound fiscal managementand for meaningful stewardship of the public’s investment in library services. Whilecontinuing to provide more and better service, the library has not asked voters to increasetheir tax levy since 1983.The Library system is led by Director of Libraries Steven V. Potter. Mid-Continent PublicLibrary is governed by a 12-member Board of Trustees. By Missouri Statute, each county inthe library district may appoint four representatives to the Board. The Clay and PlatteCounty Commissions and the Jackson County Executive make these appointments.

(Back inside cover will have a pouch that will contain updated):Additional schematics/drawings19 Ways of GivingBoard and Campaign Cabinet listNamed gift opportunitiesPledge formArticlesSpecial grounds/green space pieceMid-Continent Public Library15616 E. US Hwy 24Independence, MO 64050816-836-5200www.mymcpl.org