The Long County Library recently received grants totaling $1,050 to buy new books.  
Library manager Tammy Goober said that they were able to buy 79 books — hardcover fiction and non-fiction — with the money.
According to Goober, the funds were received through a Libra Foundation Books for Children grant and a donation from Bill Strawbridge and Meg Wallhagen. She said that the library was required to put up $350 to receive the money.
Goober said the matching funds came from the library’s annual community birthday calendar sales and money raised at the Long County Wildlife Festival.  She said that Long County was one of only eight libraries in the state to receive the grant.
“Most of the books have been published within the last three years and have been highly recommended by recognized authorities in the library and education fields,” Goober said.
According to Goober, the Libra Foundation is based out of Eugene, Oregon, and is a nationwide nonprofit group.
Its grants focus on small, rural communities and since 1990, it has donated over $6.1 million to over 3,300 libraries throughout the United States.
“The foundation believes that children who learn to enjoy reading at an early age will develop into lifelong readers,” Goober said.
The library has the books on display, she said, and this month the library will be selecting one of the new books to be used during the weekly story-time reading. Readings of the stories are at 3:30 p.m. each Wednesday and are open to the public.
For more information, go to the library’s Facebook page or call 545-2521.