David Michel

The Ferguson Library has received a $31,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to enhance access to library services. Part of the money will be used to purchase an annual service plan for the 25 hotspots that the library circulates to people in need of internet access (the current plan, purchased with state funding, is expiring). People can also borrow Chromebooks from the library.
 
Additional funding will be used to purchase self-check kiosks for the South End Branch and digital lockers for the Harry Bennett Branch. These will be situated outside so people can pick up materials even when the library is closed. We also plan to purchase air-purifying machines for small study rooms and meeting spaces, so those spaces can be safely used by the public.  

The NEA Big Read is coming in October. The Ferguson Library has received a $12,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to participate in a community-wide Big Read. We hope you’ll join us in reading or re-reading Toni Morrison’s classic novel, Beloved. 
 
 We kick off a month-long series of NEA Big Read programs October 2 with a book give-away and the first of three workshops to create a community quilt evoking the rich world of Beloved.
 
Our keynote address on October 7 features Swarthmore College President Valerie Smith, the author of Toni Morrison: Writing the Moral Imagination.
We’ll also be holding discussions of Beloved at all our locations. Watch our calendar for more information.

Watch for Ferguson librarians out and about with our new mobile bike. We’ll be bringing books to local parks through the fall. The project was generously supported by the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, Domus and the Woodworkers Club of Norwalk.

Do you need official documents notarized? Our notary public is available at the Harry Bennett Branch to notarize your paperwork for free. Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m., by appointment only. For information or to make an appointment, call 203 351-8292.

ProQuest’s ABI/INFORM Collection provides researchers with a complete picture of companies and business trends from around the world. It features business and economics full-text journals and periodicals; dissertations, conference and working papers; country-and industry-focused reports; and newspapers and news content, including the Wall Street Journal, the Economist and the Financial Times.
 
Subject coverage includes business, economic conditions, corporate strategies and more. You can find ABI/INFORM at our website under Research & Learn/A to Z Resources. You will need a valid Ferguson Library card.