A gift for the libraries

Oconee County Public Library is pleased to announce a $10,000 gift donated by Lem Chastain in memory of his mother. Chastain, who has a home in Mountain Rest, established the memorial fund with the goal to support literacy in that community. However, it will also be used to benefit the rest of the county. Part of the Helen M. Chastain Memorial Fund will be used to purchase E-book titles, which are greatly growing in popularity, for the library’s digital collection. The other portion will go to the establishment of “little free libraries” in the Mountain Rest area. Little free libraries are free book exchanges that are housed in waterproof boxes erected at various spots in a community. The initiative started in Wisconsin in 2009 and there are now over 10,000 official little free libraries registered worldwide. The OCPL will partner with local businesses to set up the libraries at accessible locations.