The Springfield-Greene County Library Foundation has received its largest gift to date. Ava Louise Gager Smith, a retired geologist and lifelong library user who passed away in May, left the foundation $2.34 million.
The foundation's executive director, Bridget Dierks, said they’ll set up an endowment in Smith’s name that will positively impact the library district forever.
"It's profoundly impactful, and it was unexpected," she said. "Mrs. Smith never notified us of this gift in advance, and we were very surprised. She was a lover of the library. She was a decades-long user of our library system and frequented our libraries, particularly Schweitzer Brentwood, very, very, regularly and used a wide variety of our services. She checked out thousands of books and used our meeting rooms and participated in our gatherings and clubs."
Smith never owned a computer and used those available to the public at the library.
"She loved our library deeply, and she left an estate gift that reflects that," said Dierks.
From what Dierks has been able to learn, Smith grew up in the Joplin area and graduated from Kansas University. She was married and widowed and spent many years as a widow in Springfield. And Dierks said Smith was a wonderful neighbor.
"She's very beloved by her neighbors who we have gotten to know since the time that we were notified of the gift," she said, "and it has been such a joy to get to know her neighbors who speak so highly of her and of what a welcoming person she was."
$300,000 of the unrestricted estate gift will be donated to the capital campaign for the 500-seat Hatch Auditorium at the Library Center, which is expected to open this winter.
The Library Foundation is planning to name the lobby of the new auditorium in Smith’s honor. And, since Smith was a hobby painter, her name will be placed above the library’s gallery wall.
Dierks said, every year, they’ll speak Smith’s name at a board of trustees meeting honoring her and "providing funds to support the library district and all of its important programming."
