Nora Roberts has donated $50,000 to the Patmos Library in Jamestown, Michigan, which has been at risk of shutting down after residents defunded it over librarians' refusal to remove LGBTQ books.
After the town voted to remove a millage—the share of taxes that provides 85 percent of the library's budget—several residents set up online fundraising campaigns in an effort to save it. As they received support, both from within their town and around the world, they caught the attention of Nora Roberts, whose donation brought the fundraiser over its $250,000 goal.
Roberts wrote a note to organizers on GoFundMe along with the donation:
Laura Reeth, Roberts' publicist, wrote in a blog post that Roberts had been "appalled" after seeing the Washington Post's coverage of the Patmos Library. She added:
I have many emotions about the vote to defund and Nora's determination to help. When I was 9 years old, the first place I was allowed to talk to on my own was the Brooklyn Public Library. Eight blocks down Fort Hamilton Parkway to the magical place where I could choose my own adventure. Where I could fill up summer days with stories. I went pretty much every day.
... the thought that access to the services a library offers and the shelves full of interesting stories could be voted away because people don't agree with all the information in those books is a nightmare.
The town will vote on whether to restore the millage on Nov. 8.
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