July 2025
July 2025 Standard News article
Gaylee Harris, Director
Montgomery City Public Library
Did you know that the Montgomery City Public Library offers various kits for checkout? Adults can check out these kits after completing a user agreement.
MCPL is collaborating with Dr. Jenny Bossaller from the University of Missouri’s School of Information Science and Learning Technologies and Maria Calvert from the MU Extension Office to develop mental health kits and book discussion kits for book groups, focusing on mental health. We created the mental health kits based on those from the Healing Library (https://www.thehealinglibraryus.com/), customizing our own similar versions. The kits cater to children, teens, and adults, addressing common issues people face: divorce, stress, addiction, loss of a loved one, as well as tools to improve life, such as healthy eating, fostering healthy relationships, and navigating retirement and aging. Each kit will include a brief description of its contents and usage, several books, a workbook, and a list of online resources for further reading. These kits are expected to be ready by the end of August.
With the help of local book clubs, four new titles were selected to create additional book club discussion kits. These fiction selections aim to destigmatize and enhance understanding of mental health. The titles include Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey; Bear with Me Now by Katie Shepard; Small Joys by Elvin Mensah; and More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova. Each kit will contain 12 copies of the title along with discussion questions. The two initiatives are currently being implemented. We will include brief, anonymous surveys with the kits and book group books to monitor ongoing needs and expand the initiative as necessary. We believe that this will be a valuable addition to MCPL, as many communities, particularly smaller rural areas, struggle with a shortage of available therapists. While we do not intend for these to replace professional help (and include a disclaimer in that regard), we believe that this can serve as a first step to guide people toward helpful resources.
MCPL offers over forty-five other book club discussion kits for adults to check out. The kits include ten to twelve copies of the title, discussion questions, and a tote bag. Some nonfiction titles include Celia, A Slave by Melton A. McLaurin; Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance; and John Adams by David McCollough. Fiction titles include The Women by Kristin Hannah, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michelle Richardson, and many others. The library offers two regular book clubs: the ABC Book Club meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm, and the Page Turners Book Club meets on the third Friday at 1:00 pm. MCPL’s Introverts Book Club meets on the fourth Monday of the month from 1:00-3:00 pm at Rugged Root Coffee Shop, but it does not have any required reading as the other clubs do. Other non-library-related book clubs are available in Montgomery City and Montgomery County.
Special STEAM-To-Go kits focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math for toddlers, preschool through third grade, and fourth grade and up. Two new STEAM kits include a Learning Spanish kit and a Sign Language kit. Toddler kits consist of Early Start, Sensory Explorer, On the Farm, Under the Sea, and Growing Motor Skills. Preschool through third-grade kits include Magnets, Dinosaurs, Nutrition, Phonics, Math Patterns, Spelling, Kindergarten Readiness, Emotion & Empathy, and many more. Build & Design, Examine Science & Nature, Green Energy, Space, Machines & Contraptions, Math Games, My Amazing Body, and others are available for fourth grade and up.
The Memory Matters kits are for adults dealing with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. These themed kits include books, pictures, discussion questions, and activities designed to promote dialogue and recollection of the past. Themes encompass Baseball, Handyman, Homemaker, Remembering Pets, Birds & Butterflies, Farms, Gardens, Ocean, the four Seasons, and many more. Caregivers and family members can check out the kits to help their loved ones with memory recall, conversation skills, and keeping the brain sharp.
The STEAM-To-Go kits and the Memory Matters kits were funded by grants. These projects received support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
No matter if you want your child to have fun while learning, help an older family member recall fun memories of the past, discuss a mental health issue with someone, or read the same book with your friends, we hope that you will try the different kits available at the Montgomery City Public Library.