Ferguson Municipal Public Library

Ferguson Municipal Public Library is an American public library located in Ferguson, Missouri. It is a member of the Municipal Library Consortium of St. Louis County.[3]

Ferguson Municipal Public Library
Exterior of Ferguson Municipal Public Library, January 2012
EstablishedJune 1930 (1930-06)
LocationFerguson, Missouri
Coordinates38°44′44″N 90°18′22″W
Collection
Size81,873 items (2014)[1]
Access and use
Population served21,538
Other information
Budget$400,000 (2014)[2]
DirectorScott Bonner
Staff4 full-time employees
Websitewww.ferguson.lib.mo.us
Map

History

The Ferguson Municipal Public Library was founded in June 1930 as a volunteer community library.[4] The Missouri Library Commission contacted Chapter FH of the P.E.O. Sisterhood about starting a public library in Ferguson[4] and the Kirkwood Public Library provided guidance and gifted fifty books.[4] The library opened on June 1, 1930 at the corner of Carson and Florissant Road with 575 books in its collection.[4] Between 1930 and 1995, the library moved several times before securing a single-use building.[4] In 1966, Ferguson Municipal Public Library joined the Municipal Library Consortium of St. Louis County (MLC).[5] In 2015 the library was named by the Library Journal as the Gale Cengage/LJ Library of the Year.[6]

Services
Inside the library, January 2017

Ferguson Municipal Public Library serves a population of 21,538 people. It has a collection of 77,317 volumes and circulation of 70,421 transactions.[7] In addition, library patrons have access to more than 700,000 volumes located at the eight other libraries in the MLC.[8] The Online Public Access Catalog is SirsiDynix Horizon. The library's catalog includes[9] periodicals, special print and digital collections, movies, digital publications, access to ebooks and periodicals on the Internet. Their services include: WiFi and computer workstations, Chromebooks, interlibrary loans, events for children and adults, tax assistance for low income residents, voter registration and public meeting rooms.[9]

Support services after Michael Brown shooting
See also: Shooting of Michael Brown and Ferguson unrest

The library has often been used as a meeting place for community resources, leaders, and business owners.[10] It received national attention beginning in August 2014 for its efforts to support the local community in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown. These efforts included helping teachers open an ad hoc school on library grounds in August and November 2014 when schools of the Ferguson-Florissant School District closed due to safety concerns.[11][12][13]

Other support services included hosting the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide emergency loans and the office of the U.S. Secretary of State to provide document recovery and preservation of vital documents that were destroyed.[14] The library also hosted the Missouri Department of Insurance to help local businesses file for insurance and held community meetings led by ONUS, Inc., the NAACP and Teach for America.[14] The Alliance of Black Art Galleries selected the library to feature an art display in response to Brown's death and the related unrest.[14] The library offered healing kits for local children that contain books and activities related to coping with traumatic events as well as a stuffed animal for the child to keep.[15]

The library received over $350,000 in donations in the weeks following the grand jury decision not to indict the police officer involved in the shooting death of Michael Brown — approximately 85% of its annual budget.[16]

Administration
See also: Ferguson, Missouri § Government

The library is independent and has its own tax levy.[17] It is governed by a Library Board of Trustees composed of volunteers appointed by the Mayor of Ferguson.[18] In 2014, the director, Scott Bonner, was the only full-time staffperson.[19]

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See also

Notes
  1. "Ferguson Municipal Public Library District". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  2. Peet, Lisa (November 25, 2014). "Ferguson Library Provides Calm Refuge for a Torn Community". Library Journal. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  3. "FAQ". Kirkwood Public Library. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  4. "History of the Library". Ferguson Municipal Public Library. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  5. "Municipal Library Consortium". Municipal Library Consortium of St. Louis County. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  6. "Library Journal". Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  7. "Ferguson Municipal Library". libraries.org. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  8. "Local Libraries". Washington University Libraries. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  9. "Services". Ferguson Municipal Public Library. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  10. Hu, Elise (November 27, 2014). "A Nationwide Outpouring Of Support For Tiny Ferguson Library". National Public Radio. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  11. Curry, Colleen (August 20, 2014). "Ferguson Library Becomes Refuge for Adults and Children Amid Strife". ABC News. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  12. Bustamente, Jr., Cesar (August 26, 2014). "Ferguson Libraries Step Up to Serve Community in Turmoil". Library Journal. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  13. "Don Lemon visits "School of Peace"". CNN. August 22, 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  14. Hall, Matthew T. (December 2, 2014). "Ferguson library donations amazingly top $300K in a week". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  15. Solo, Kay (December 1, 2014). "Ferguson library gets nationwide help after protests". All Voices. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  16. Kellogg, Carolyn (December 9, 2014). "Ferguson library donations top $350,000". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  17. Henderson, Jane. "Ferguson library stays open, attracts over $175,000 in grassroot support". STL Today. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  18. "Library Board of Trustees". Ferguson Municipal Public Library. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  19. "Ferguson library gets online support". BBC. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
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