Anoka County libraries seek book donations for food shelf clients

Thanks to the Anoka County Library, kids who can’t afford to own a book will have one in time for the holidays.

Anoka County libraries are seeking donations of new books this year in its annual Project Bookshelf.

The books will be delivered to area food shelves and distributed to clients’ children in time for the holidays.

“There are a lot of kids in Anoka County, sad to say, who can’t afford a new book,” said Ava Larsen, children’s librarian at Rum River library.

Brighten a child’s holiday – Donate a book

The Anoka County libraries are accepting new and unwrapped books for children and young adults through November as part of Project Bookshelf. Fiction and nonfiction.

The books will be distributed to county food shelves in time for a special holiday gift to kids who might otherwise not be able to afford a book.

Book drop-off sites are:
Any Anoka County Library, Anoka County History Center, Columbia Heights Public Library and ABC Newsapers at 4101 Coon Rapids Blvd. in Coon Rapids.

“There’s just something about owning a book. There’s a certain pride in it. There’s just a magical thing about having your own possession.”

And the food shelves are excited about getting the books. People have already been asking about them, Larsen said.

The libraries will be accepting new and unwrapped books for children and young adults, including fiction and nonfiction books, through November.

Picture books for toddlers are needed as well.

Last year 927 books were donated to the project, up from 717 books in 2006.

A food shelf client was disappointed recently when she called the North Anoka County Emergency Food Shelf in East Bethel and was told there would be no holiday gift giveaway this year because of a lack of space.

“But we have some books coming,” food shelf volunteer Janette Domogalla told her.

“And you could just tell the difference. That really brightened her day.”

Domogalla has been known to tuck books into the hands of an excited child while his or her parents are shopping at the food shelf.

“The kids love to come in and look at the books and take them home,” Domogalla said.

Books from the project will be donated to the following food shelves: Anoka County Brotherhood Council, Community Emergency Assistance Program, Centennial Community Food Shelf, North Anoka County Emergency Food Shelf and Southern Anoka County Assistance.

Books open a child’s world, Larsen said.

“It triggers your curiosity and your imagination,” she said. “It gives you the knowledge to know you can expand your world. You can have adventures you never thought were out there.”

The Anoka County Library system has been collecting books for Project Bookshelf since the 1980s.

Books will be accepted at any Anoka County Library, the Anoka County History Center, the Columbia Heights Public Library and ABC Newspapers at 4101 Coon Rapids Blvd. in Coon Rapids from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30.