Effective May 12, 2026
Our hours have shifted to the following weekly schedule:
St. Louis Mercantile Library
Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday - Sunday: CLOSED
The Wallace H. Smith Gallery of Art*
Monday: Noon - 4:00 PM
Tuesday - Friday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday - Sunday: CLOSED
*Selected weekday evenings are available by appointment for private visits and tours. Please call (314) 516-5920 for more information.
Please note that all hours above may be affected by holidays and UMSL semester breaks. To view all library hours in advance, visit https://libguides.umsl.edu/hours.
Thank you for your patience as we continue to update our hours across all media. For questions, please contact us by phone or email.
Website Notice: We are currently in the process of updating the St. Louis Mercantile Library website to meet WCAG standards, including the UMSL Digital Library. If you experience trouble locating or accessing website content, please contact us by phone or email.
We are hiring!
The St. Louis Mercantile Library is currently searching for a Curator of Fine Art and Research Professor.
View Position and Apply
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About the Mercantile Library
Established in 1846 by civic leaders and philanthropists, the Mercantile exists today as a vibrant community and cultural asset. It is the oldest library west of the Mississippi and the grandparent of St. Louis cultural institutions.
The task of the Mercantile Library as a research library is to make its collections, which have come to concentrate on Western Expansion and the history, development, and growth of the St. Louis region and of the American rail and river transportation experiences, available to the widest number of local and national users.
