Daviess County Public Library donated 1,000 books on Friday to help Grace Christian Academy greatly expand their library.
Assistant Manager Taryn Norris said DCPL partners with schools throughout the county, helping either financially with loans or physically with books. When it came to GCA, Norris said she knew it was a school that could benefit from a donation of books.
“We knew we wanted to be as generous as possible to help them create a robust library for their site. We want to meet the needs of our community partners,” Norris said.
Norris said prior to DCPL’s donation, GCA primarily had a library built from donations by students’ families.
Norris noted that their donations were geared toward books for ages 4 to 8.
“We were really happy to be able to help them. (Preschool teacher Natalie Tanner) was gracious enough to give us a tour after so we could take a look at the school and see if there are other ways that we can help,” Norris said.
Hannah Goebel serves as the elementary administrator for GCA. She said that during their tour, the library staff noticed the need for the high schoolers to also have their own age-appropriate book selection.
“The high schoolers were excited about the chance to have a library as well,” Goebel said. “So the staff said that they were going to come back and expand the library to high school age as well.”
When the young students entered the now fully stocked library, Goebel said that each student was excited as they grabbed books about George Washington, Aladdin, and more.
Goebel said she’s thankful the GCA students have so many book options now at their disposal.
“We have screens around us all the time. To be able to have these kids pause and hold an actual book in their hands, sit down, and have a quiet moment to read is really important to instill in them,” she said.
GCA recently announced their school is expanding yet again. The school will offer grades pre-K through 4 and 9 through 12 for the upcoming academic year, and enrollment is open now.
GCA is an independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation with a non-denominational and evangelical Christian perspective. The school’s statement of faith outlines the Christian convictions that are fundamental and essential to the school. The head of school is responsible for day-to-day operations, with the board of directors governing the overall direction of the school. GCA serves the region of Daviess as well as neighboring counties.
