Some heartwarming news out of Ferguson. The public library has received upwards of $300,000 in an
outpouring of charity, from around the globe.
$300,000 is a lot of donation money for any library, much less one in a town as comparatively small and poor as Ferguson, Mo. But support for the library swelled online, buoyed by reports that it would stay open with volunteer classes for kids even though schools closed during the protests.
Like most public libraries in the United States, the Ferguson Public Library is wildly underfunded and woefully understaffed. This money will go to good use.
"We have sensible, frugal plans of what to do with [the donations]," Bonner said. "We're librarians and have plans to make sensible use of every dollar."
Bonner said he needed his board to approve everything, but he hopes to save much of the money, use some to repair the library's worn carpets, and to maybe hire a second librarian to focus on programming, as he's the only full-timer on staff.
As with most public libraries, the people there are doing the true work of any real democracy—providing free information to any and everyone who walks through its doors.