Cooney Showers Maine Library with Gift
Staff -- School Library Journal, 2/1/1998
Long known as an illustrator of award-winning picture books, Barbara Cooney wears a new moniker these days: philanthropist. With a gift of $550,000 that comes with few strings attached, Cooney has made it possible for the town of Damariscotta, ME, to save its deteriorating and cramped public library. The size of the gift would please any library, but it's a windfall to this tiny library 50 miles north of Portland. Cooney, who lives in the area, told SLJ that she wanted to do something for the town. "And what did they need?" she asked. "A library."
