Elementary school library received $1,000 grant

Joyce Wilson, the library aide for Wahkiakum School District has done it again.

Over her summer break, Wilson applied for and was awarded a Refreshing School Libraries to Engage Students grant from the Washington Secretary of State.

This is the second time this year she found success with grants for the WSD libraries.

“It’s exciting,” Wilson said. “Once I received the other grant I started getting more notices.”

This grant allowed her to purchase $1,000 worth of non-fiction for elementary students.

The new children’s non-fiction books are library bound and more durable for little hands. The sturdy construction means they are more expensive at $25-30 each, according to Wilson. $1,000 didn’t go as far as it might have if she’d bought paperbacks, but in this case quality trumped quantity.

“The grant allowed me to buy things I wanted but were cost prohibitive,” Wilson said as she showed off some of the new books.

There were books about dinosaurs, deer and rabbits. There were also historical graphic novels about the Alamo, the Ironclad and Nathan Hale. There were also books about gardening that Wilson hoped would appeal to the students who were enjoying their classroom time in the school garden.

“My goal is to improve the library,” Wilson said.

She’s doing that $1,000 at a time.