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Friends of the Library contributed $400 to receive the Children’s Book Project grant from The Pilcrow Foundation. The grant provided $800 in matching funds and provided the library 71 titles, plus four bonus books from the Foundation, 18 health and wellness books from Drs. Bill Strawbridge and Meg Wallhagen, and 23 math and science books from Mr. Hal Berenson and Mrs. Laura Ackerman for grand total of 116 new books.
According to Karren Timmermans, Executive Director, our “library was selected to be sponsored through a generous donation from Mr. and Mrs. Don Williams of Kansas.” The Foundation’s mission is to provide new, quality, hardcover children’s books to rural public libraries and is based out of Cottage Grove, Oregon.
The Pilcrow Foundation supports rural public library communities through our Children’s Book Project. We ask librarians, in partnership with the Friends of the Library or other local sponsors, to raise one third of the funds used to purchase the new books to build community investment in children’s literacy and the library’s future. The new books provided through the Children’s Book Project become part of the library’s permanent children’s book collection, thus ensuring children’s access to quality books for years to come.
These new books, after being added to the SEKnFind Catalog, will be housed with the New Books in our Children’s department. Each book includes a bookplate honoring the Friends of the Library, the Foundation, and the donor-sponsored books. We hope these books will be read and enjoyed for years to come.
The Friends of the Library, through annual fundraising events, provide financial support to the Library. In 2024, the helped fund Summer Learning Program, a StoryWalk(r) around the Square, and helped make sure the library’s Calendar of Events appears every month in The Iola Register. Explore the Friends of the Library page and read through the 2025 Newsletter.
Thank you to our Friends, The Pilcrow Foundation, and the generous donors who made this grant possible.