Local Inventor believes comic books "feed the imagination," sponsors collection for youth at Gotham Free Library

article by Emily Barney
Photo by Alper Çuğun

Burt T. Wigglesworth, a local businessman and self-proclaimed "eccentric inventor" recently sold a new and improved mousetrap to a pest control company for a significant sum. Among his many generous gifts to the town of Gotham has been a $15,000 grant for Gotham Free Library to create a collection of graphic novels in their teenspace section of the library.

Wigglesworth's desire to create this collection is a reflection of his own experience with the Gotham Free Library, a personal history that goes back to his grandmother, Ms. Mildred Schiller, who served as the children's librarian from 1938-1962. "My Gram didn't believe reading comic books was an appropriate way for any young person to spend their time," says Mr. Wigglesworth. "She was thrilled that I loved to read about important scientific discoveries and help organize her collection of rare moths, but there was no way we would ever have seen a comic book in the library when she was in charge."

As a boy Mr. Wigglesworth says he had to beg other friends to let him read their comic books, but "they always seemed to give away the endings before I could get a crack at 'em. My grandmother wanted me to save all my earnings for college, so it was hard to find a way to buy any myself and Mr. Moriarty always chased us out of the drugstore if we tried to sneak a glimpse without paying. I always wished I could read these at the library, but I knew there was no money to spare in their budget even if my grandmother didn't think they were a waste of time."

With the sale of his Pulverizing Rat Impounder to Victor Products, Mr. Wigglesworth believes it's fitting that his first gifts honor the research skills his grandmother taught him at the public library. "I loved my Gram," he says, "but I think the library is better now than when she ran it. She thought the library's job was not only to provide me with books to read, but to tell me which ones I should read and how to read them. I believe the library should be a place where everyone feels welcome to explore all kinds of new experiences and ideas."

"Along with the Scientists of the Future program I've sponsored at the Wayne Academy, I'm hoping that the youth of Gotham today will enjoy this wonderful storytelling style as much as I did. It's just as important to feed the imagination and see the world as it could be as it is to build our knowledge of the world as it is."