Greetings from Ferguson, Missouri!
It is time again for our yearly update. We have been busy!
This year has been about programs, and filling the library with people. Attendance to our 2025 juvenile programs is up by 25% over the same time range last year, and adult programs are up about 20%. That’s with us doing fewer actual programs, but getting more people in the door on each one – we are choosing quality over quantity, and quantity came along anyway.
What does that look like? A few examples:
We partner with a local community service organization, CAASTLC (Community Action Agency of St Louis County) to help people apply for utility payment assistance. It helps people who are struggling, and about to have their electricity, gas, or water cut off. They help folks get enough assistance to keep the power and water on. The patrons are looking for their last hope before they lose their heat or their home. It is often “all hands-on deck” when CAASTLC shows up every Tuesday afternoon. Our amazing staff help CAASTLC ensure every person gets the help they need. Library staff rush to help patrons get everything ready — finding vital documents, filling out forms, copying, printing, faxing, soothing worried brows — so that everyone can get the help they need. It’s a complicated application process, but every week we help an average of 40 to 50 people in a 3-hour period! Exhausting!
Amy, our Children’s Librarian, has gathered an enthusiastic Lego League team that meets each week to hone their skills. These are all smart, tech minded kids who are getting ready for their big competition the first weekend of December… wish them well!
Taneesa, our Adult Services Librarian, continues to have phenomenal success with her monthly cooking program, Cultural Cuisine. Each month has a different theme or culture of focus, and she often brings in guest experts. People want to learn about other cultures, other ways of viewing the world, and food is one lens by which we learn. Those programs can swell up to fill the room with curious people and the smell of from-scratch cooking. And anyone who shows up gets to eat.
The Readings on Race book club continues to be popular as they read the most challenging books on race-related issues. Simone, one of our Circulation Clerks, has started a new book group, the Black Authors Book Club.
And I could go on and on – story times, sewing, reading programs, pottery, crochet, craft kits, and the absolute delight that is the Mother’s Day Tea Party! Bring your fancy hats and best dresses!
The other big theme of the year is packing the library full again. Every day is busy, whether or not there is a scheduled program. People come to read, browse, print, fax, get documents notarized, or simply spend time sitting and jawing with each other – the patrons love being with us, and we’re delighted to be there for them!
As director, I take seriously the responsibility of hiring staff who genuinely want to help. I encourage them to step up, and I provide the resources to go that extra mile when needed, all the while making sure we all support one another so no one is overwhelmed.
Over time, we’ve built a strong reputation as a library that is especially helpful and focused on meeting patrons’ needs. That welcoming spirit at the desk and our commitment to providing meaningful assistance has become our brand, and our patrons regularly express their gratitude for it.
So, we are filling our library by providing what folks need. Folks are coming to us to grow their own knowledge and take charge of their own lives. That’s what libraries do.
We hope you are staying safe, and getting any and all the help you need. Give your time when you can, let others lean on you, and allow yourself to lean on others. In the meantime, our little library will continue being as open as we can, and do as much as we can.
We can do that, in part because of help from folks like you (yup, here’s the ask). If you want to give, that’s great! Donate Here!
More importantly, find your local library, and donate if you can. Or, offer to run a program on something you love and know well, check out books that your friends will want to borrow (just make sure they give them back!), start a book club, start a political movement, just get started! Libraries magnify the power of every donation, because we don’t just do a service. We empower our patrons to help themselves, and then help them bring their own community together.
As always, THANK YOU!
Scott Bonner, Director
Ferguson Municipal Public Library District
FergusonLibrary.net
35 N Florissant Rd, Ferguson, MO 63135
The Ferguson Municipal Public Library District (43-0899661) is registered (per a Section 218 agreement) as a state or local government agency. We are tax deductible under this 170(c)(1) designation, for political subdivisions. Our type of organization is listed specifically in Publication 526 Charitable Contributions, as being tax deductible as long as the donation is being used for a public purpose, and we use all donation money to serve the public.