Teen’s Book Collection Sparks New Library

NBC reality show grants 13-year-old’s wish for town library

By Laura B. Weiss -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2005

The one wish that 13-year-old Nicole Donant wanted more than anything was a library in her hometown of Mineral City, OH. Thanks to NBC’s reality show Three Wishes, her dream came true.

One year ago, Donant began a campaign to start a library and ended up gathering more than 6,000 books. Her small town, population 842, had been without a library for at least 30 years, says Mayor Terry Nill. Donant, who has cerebral palsy, told her wish to Three Wishes’ hosts Amy Grant and Carter Oosterhouse, and on November 11, the TV series aired a segment recounting how Donant, an avid reader, began collecting the books as part of a Girl Scout project.

Although she suspected something was brewing, Donant says she had no idea that the Three Wishes crew was constructing a library, which was designed and built in two weeks and was slated to open December 1.

“My mouth just kind of dropped,” says Donant, who got off the school bus on October 18 and saw the new library. The library company Brodart donated shelving, a circulation desk, tables, chairs, and online public access catalog stations, as well as books and other supplies.

Three Wishes’ Executive Producer Andrew Glassman says they chose Donant because she’s an “extraordinary and selfless young girl, and we were so impressed that she had been able to collect more than 6,000 books in her community. It is especially rewarding to grant a wish that really benefits an entire town.”