By Rhys Baker

The Clay Center Carnegie Library is hosting its annual Adopt A Book fundraiser through November 27th. Children’s Library Pixie Knepper says adopting a book is simple, “We have purchased the books that we wanted for our library collection anyway, and they’re all for the children’s department. Come in and select a book from the display table, and the price is in there. If you wish, you can write a short dedication in honor of or in memory of someone, or you don’t have to write a dedication. Then, we type that up and put it inside the book. The book will then get into circulation.”

Books available for adoption are all children’s books, such as nonfiction, picture books, chapter books, and easy readers. Knepper said that the library added adult titles for the first couple of years, but the titles were not adopted and were costly. She explains how the fundraising part of the process works, “We have selected books that we needed or wanted for our collection in advance. The Friends of the Library sponsor this program and gave us the money to purchase the books. Our books are purchased at a slightly discounted price. These books are then sold at the full price. For each book, the Friends of the Library earns $5 to $6 per book adopted. There are 38 books this year, which helps us get more books for the Library’s collection.”

The books available to adopt are displayed in the library’s children’s section. Adopters can choose to add a name and dedication to the book or keep their purchase anonymous.