La Crosse fifth graders get book donation from library

The La Crosse Public Library showed up to Northside Elementary in La Crosse Tuesday afternoon bearing gifts.

Boxes full of donated books will be used by fifth-grade teachers.

The La Crosse Public Education Foundation and the library have teamed up for the donation.

“No matter how wired we get, there is still a basic human need to connect with the written word in a personal and direct way,” library director Kelly Krieg-Sigman said.

One fifth grader, Kyara, was especially excited.

“We’ve been reading a lot of these books,” she said. “They’re kind of boring. In the new books seem really fun and interesting.”

The project is part of the library’s give-a-gift fundraiser, in which 702 books were purchased.

“The original intent was to establish new collections in all the of the fifth grade classrooms,” Kreig-Sigman said. “So, by the time this is all over with, approximately 1,400 different books will be established in these classroom collections.”

The La Crosse Public Education Foundation approached the classes about the need for more books to stay in the classrooms. The books feature a wide array of genres.