Emerson is giving $1 million to build the auditorium for the Center for Family History, the genealogy center planned by the St. Louis County Library.

The large gift is part of the $18 million private capital campaign for the center, which will be built in Chesterfield. The library’s foundation is raising the money.

Ground has not yet been broken, but work should begin this year, said Jennifer McBride, communications manager for the library. Construction is estimated to take 15 months.

The project was originally expected to begin in 2010 and be open this year. The economic climate has made fundraising difficult, McBride said Tuesday. She said some verbal promises of donations have fallen through. The foundation has raised about $9 million toward the goal.

The library now hopes to have the center open in 2014, before a National Genealogy Society conference scheduled for 2015 in St. Louis.

In a press release, Pat Sly, Emerson’s executive vice president, stated: "The Center for Family History will be a great asset to the St. Louis community. Emerson is committed to the development of the Center and the strong connection to history that it will foster."

The county library system announced this month that it circulated a record 12 million-plus items last year and was the busiest library in the state.