Report: “St. Louis Police Library Faces Uncertain Future as Department Makes Way for High-Tech Shooting Trainer”

The St. Louis Police Library, among the first of its kind in the country, is a trove of new and old policing paraphernalia. But after seven decades in service, the library at the department’s downtown police academy is being dismantled, making way for a high-tech active-shooter training simulator.

Now, a troop of retired officers is trying to find a new home for the library and its collection, which includes more than 20,000 books, thousands of photos and hundreds of one-of-a-kind artifacts. The last librarian to care for the collection, Barbara Miksicek, retired in 2016 after 34 years. She hasn’t been replaced.

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Police Chief John Hayden declined to be interviewed for this story. His spokeswoman, Officer Michelle Woodling, issued a statement saying the library, located at 315 South Tucker Boulevard, has reduced its hours of operation since Miksicek retired.

“As such, it has not had the visitation it has had in the past,” Woodling said. “The department, along with some of our retirees, are working to find a secure location to relocate the library’s collection so the public can enjoy it.”