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Midland Public Library given more than $50,000

The Midland Public Library got a donation totaling more than $50,000 on Monday.

MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - The Midland Public Library got a nice chunk of change on Monday.

"The Library announced today a $51,000 gift from the Millburn estate," said County Judge Mike Bradford. "It was given to the Redfern Genealogy section and we'll be working with the Redfern family as to how they would like to use that section of the library."

Priscilla Millburn passed in February 2016 and according to the library, she was an avid user of the Redfern Genealogy Collection, housed at the Midland County Public Library building off of Loop 250.

The total amount donated was $51,342, which library director John Trischitti, said is the largest amount he's seen donated to a single collection in his time.

"She indicated specifically to the genealogy collection," said Trischitti. "We've had gifts in the past that have been for children's or general usage or adult services but no something on this scope and scale is very unique and we hope to do her name proud."

Although the library has known about this for a little while, they have yet to decide what the money will go toward exactly but historical newspapers and possibly new computers are on the to do list.

Trischitti said the gift is huge and those who are true genealogists will appreciate it as their collection has so much to offer, even compared to the Internet.

"Things like Ancestry can get you started but they don't really close the gap in really finding those definitive documents and really trace your lineage back to where you want to," said Trischitti. "Another thing is, we're free. A lot of times those are pay services. You may have an interest but you may not want to fork out the money to buy that subscription privately."

Trischitti and the staff said they will be looking for a way to honor Ms. Millburn in the form of plates showing what her donation buys.

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