As the Holidays approach, the Schmaling Memorial Public Library is asking you to give the gift of reading to the community. There are four Holiday Giving Trees in the Library –one is located at the 5^th Street entrance, one in the Children’s Room, one in the basement hallway, and one on the main floor. On each tree, you will find a variety of hand-crafted ornaments, each featuring a reproduction of a different book cover. The Library is asking its generous patrons to choose books to sponsor. Your sponsorship will help the Library to purchase the books on the trees.

When you sponsor a book, Library staff will affix a book plate inside the book to let everyone know that it was your generosity which made the purchase of the book possible and, best of all, you will receive the first read once the book arrives at the Library. Many of the books have not yet been published so you may have to be patient for some of those.

There is a sliding scale of sponsorship rates for different types of books. These rates are based on the average price that the Library pays for each type of book. Prices range from $3.00 to $25.00. So, you can choose to sponsor a book at a level that is comfortable for you.

As author Garrison Keillor once said, “A book is a gift you can open again and again.” When you sponsor a library book, you’ll be giving a gift that you and everyone else in the community has an opportunity to open again and again.