Casselton library receives grant

By Jacqueline M. Dotzenrod

The Casselton Public Library has recently received a grant from the Libri Foundation to add to the children’s collection.

“I think this Libri Foundation is the best thing that ever came along,” librarian Beverly Draeger said. “Any library that doesn’t apply for a Libri Grant is missing a great opportunity.”

The Libri Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization that donates new quality children’s books to small, rural public libraries in the United States throught its “Books for Children” program.

Along with the typical duties of running a library, Draeger also makes time to search and apply for grant funding for the library.

“We run on a pretty tight budget, so we look for anything that can give us a boost,” she added.

The $1,060 matching grant was a combination of one-third of the funds provided in memoriam of former local library patron Sandra Weber and two-thirds by the Libri Foundation.

“Sandra Weber battled cancer for quite some time,” Drager said. “When she passed on, she left some money to the library, designating it for children’s books. So when I came across this grant, it seemed to be just the thing.”

On the inside cover of each book purchased with the funds, there is a sticker informing the reader that the book was purchased through the generosity of Sandra Weber and the Libri Foundation.

“This Libri Foundation is just such a blessing,” Draeger said. “The books are all very high quality. We knew what we were getting and we knew that they were going to be appropriate. There’s no slant to these books. It’s just about getting books for kids.”

The Libri Foundation also takes some of the legwork out of selecting books by providing a list.

“I can go to Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton or Scholastic and I can look through their booklists,” Draeger said. “But it takes hours to go through and see what’s available.”

The foundation provided two lists of books, picture books to be read to children and books for early to young readers.

“I tried to split it up between the two age categories,” Draeger said. “It’s a huge variety of books we can pick from, everything from biographies and history to regional books and poetry.”

And these books aren’t just for kids.

“Some of the books, especially the junior books, really almost reach into adult reading,” Draeger said. “I’ve had a couple adults that will check books out from that section.”

The books are currently being featured at the Casselton Public Library and are available for checkout.

“Without this grant, we were able to fill out some collections that we weren’t able to before,” Draeger said. “And we would probably never have gotten some of these books.”