SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A message from the Ferguson Municipal Library. (Photo: Scott Bonner)
'Love Each Other': Support Floods in for Ferguson Public Library
Library staff, who chose to keep doors open when others closed, say it's just 'what libraries do'
Nov 27, 2014
The Ferguson Municipal Library, a beacon of peace in a community wracked by unrest, has received a flood of donations in response to its decision to stay open following Monday's grand jury announcement--more than $175,000, or more than half its annual budget, in just two days.
The public library, which employs only one full-time librarian and serves about 21,000 local residents, acted as an ad-hoc school and community center when other public institutions shut down, reports the St. Louis Dispatch.
Staff Tweeted Tuesday: "Lots of kids, lots of teachers, lots of knowledge at the #Ferguson library today! Thanks! Support each other & stay safe. #whatlibrariesdo"
On the day the grand jury announced its decision not to indict white police officer Darren Wilson for shooting dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, the staff wrote: "Many other orgs closing. But we will stay open to serve people of #Ferguson as long as safe for patrons & staff, up to 8p. Love each other;" and "Normal hours tomorrow. We will have teachers and volunteers here to help kids from 9-3 since [Ferguson-Florissant school district] is closed!"
The community-minded approach garnered online support from luminaries such as author Neil Gaiman, tv host and commentator Rachel Maddow, and the PBS program Reading Rainbow.
"We can donate directly to the #Ferguson library through their website," Gaiman wrote on Twitter. "They are open while schools are closed: https://www.ferguson.lib.mo.us".
The calls are working. More than 7,000 well-wishers from around the country have clicked the "Donate" button, with the amount raised surpassing $175,000 in a matter of days, according to the facility's Facebook page. In addition, all the books from the library's wish list have been fulfilled.
"It doesn't seem real yet," the library's director, Scott Bonner, told the Dispatch on Wednesday. "I had no idea there was anything like that coming."
Inside the library, however, the atmosphere is still fraught, reflective of the tensions outside its brick walls. "I'm seeing a mix of moods," Bonner told Library Journal. "Our volunteers are excited and optimistic, and here to help, and then I have patrons who come in and literally hold my hands and cry--they just needed someone to hold onto and talk to."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
The Ferguson Municipal Library, a beacon of peace in a community wracked by unrest, has received a flood of donations in response to its decision to stay open following Monday's grand jury announcement--more than $175,000, or more than half its annual budget, in just two days.
The public library, which employs only one full-time librarian and serves about 21,000 local residents, acted as an ad-hoc school and community center when other public institutions shut down, reports the St. Louis Dispatch.
Staff Tweeted Tuesday: "Lots of kids, lots of teachers, lots of knowledge at the #Ferguson library today! Thanks! Support each other & stay safe. #whatlibrariesdo"
On the day the grand jury announced its decision not to indict white police officer Darren Wilson for shooting dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, the staff wrote: "Many other orgs closing. But we will stay open to serve people of #Ferguson as long as safe for patrons & staff, up to 8p. Love each other;" and "Normal hours tomorrow. We will have teachers and volunteers here to help kids from 9-3 since [Ferguson-Florissant school district] is closed!"
The community-minded approach garnered online support from luminaries such as author Neil Gaiman, tv host and commentator Rachel Maddow, and the PBS program Reading Rainbow.
"We can donate directly to the #Ferguson library through their website," Gaiman wrote on Twitter. "They are open while schools are closed: https://www.ferguson.lib.mo.us".
The calls are working. More than 7,000 well-wishers from around the country have clicked the "Donate" button, with the amount raised surpassing $175,000 in a matter of days, according to the facility's Facebook page. In addition, all the books from the library's wish list have been fulfilled.
"It doesn't seem real yet," the library's director, Scott Bonner, told the Dispatch on Wednesday. "I had no idea there was anything like that coming."
Inside the library, however, the atmosphere is still fraught, reflective of the tensions outside its brick walls. "I'm seeing a mix of moods," Bonner told Library Journal. "Our volunteers are excited and optimistic, and here to help, and then I have patrons who come in and literally hold my hands and cry--they just needed someone to hold onto and talk to."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
The Ferguson Municipal Library, a beacon of peace in a community wracked by unrest, has received a flood of donations in response to its decision to stay open following Monday's grand jury announcement--more than $175,000, or more than half its annual budget, in just two days.
The public library, which employs only one full-time librarian and serves about 21,000 local residents, acted as an ad-hoc school and community center when other public institutions shut down, reports the St. Louis Dispatch.
Staff Tweeted Tuesday: "Lots of kids, lots of teachers, lots of knowledge at the #Ferguson library today! Thanks! Support each other & stay safe. #whatlibrariesdo"
On the day the grand jury announced its decision not to indict white police officer Darren Wilson for shooting dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, the staff wrote: "Many other orgs closing. But we will stay open to serve people of #Ferguson as long as safe for patrons & staff, up to 8p. Love each other;" and "Normal hours tomorrow. We will have teachers and volunteers here to help kids from 9-3 since [Ferguson-Florissant school district] is closed!"
The community-minded approach garnered online support from luminaries such as author Neil Gaiman, tv host and commentator Rachel Maddow, and the PBS program Reading Rainbow.
"We can donate directly to the #Ferguson library through their website," Gaiman wrote on Twitter. "They are open while schools are closed: https://www.ferguson.lib.mo.us".
The calls are working. More than 7,000 well-wishers from around the country have clicked the "Donate" button, with the amount raised surpassing $175,000 in a matter of days, according to the facility's Facebook page. In addition, all the books from the library's wish list have been fulfilled.
"It doesn't seem real yet," the library's director, Scott Bonner, told the Dispatch on Wednesday. "I had no idea there was anything like that coming."
Inside the library, however, the atmosphere is still fraught, reflective of the tensions outside its brick walls. "I'm seeing a mix of moods," Bonner told Library Journal. "Our volunteers are excited and optimistic, and here to help, and then I have patrons who come in and literally hold my hands and cry--they just needed someone to hold onto and talk to."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.