The Story Center Collection is a special collection of Mid-Continent Public Library that supports the mission of The Story Center to help people create stories, share those stories, and connect with the stories of others. Similar to books in the Library's general collection, the 2500 items in this special collection circulate, except periodicals. The Story Center Collection comprises four complementary sections.
Browse the Story Center Collection
Primary Collection
Established with funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the primary collection features books intended to inspire and guide storytellers working in all mediums—poets, fiction and non-fiction writers, and oral and digital storytellers. Books about the storytelling craft complement collections of folktales, reflections on writing, and books about the publishing business. New books are added to the primary collection regularly.
Periodicals
The Story Center Collection subscribes to 42 periodicals including a selection of literary journals from the region and from across the country, and magazines about the craft and business of writing and storytelling. Periodicals are updated annually.
ReadLOCAL
The ReadLOCAL collection celebrates the literary achievements of writers who currently live within the Library’s service area. It encompasses a range of styles, genres, and publishing methods—self-published, hybrid published, small press, and large or traditionally published, for example. New books are added regularly.
Thusnelda Schmidt Storytelling Collection
Named in honor of the first State Coordinator of Children's Services and originally housed at the Missouri State Library, the Schmidt collection contains a number of books of stories to tell, as well as how-to books. Most are children’s books and many are out-of-print. Browse the Schmidt Collection.
The Library is committed to growing The Story Center Collection and encouraging its use. Unfortunately, the Library is not able to accept donations to the collection at this time. Suggestions for titles we should consider adding are always welcome. For more information, please contact The Story Center at (816)883-4775 or storycenter@mymcpl.org.