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The Gift that Keeps on Giving: A Library Book

By Cassie Willner

Dispersing new, high interest books to children in under-resourced communities across Vermont and New Hampshire has been a cornerstone of CLiF programming since 1998. We’re known for our free book giveaways, if we do say so ourselves.

Something we’re perhaps a little less known for is our deep commitment to another essential component of CLiF programming: the humble, hard-working library book.

Since the very beginning of CLiF’s work, we have emphasized investment in library books as enduring resources with the power to impact both organizations and children. While we haven’t tracked every single library book purchased for CLiF grantees over the past 28 years, it’s guaranteed to be a gigantic number.

Three adults stand behind a table filled with children's books and a literacy grant banner.
Author/illustrator Marty Kelley with librarian Caroline Pynes of the Chichester Public Library and school librarian Anna Benevides of Chichester Central School in Chichester, NH. The books shown were purchased through the library’s 2024–25 CLiF Rural Library grant.
Teacher reading a book to students in a classroom setting.
Allison Noel, principal of Stratford Public School in Stratford, NH, visited every classroom to read When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left and give each student a personalized copy. CLiF purchased the books through the school’s March 2025 Spark grant.
Multiple copies of "Wildoak," "Maizy Chen's Last Chance," and "The Lost Library" on a colorful rug.
Copies of Golden Dome Book Award nominees for student book groups at the Union Street School in Springfield, VT; purchased by CLiF for their Year of the Book grant in 2023-24.
Four children read books while sitting on a colorful map carpet in a classroom.
St. Albans City School in St. Albans, VT used part of its CLiF Year of the Book mini-grant to purchase climate change books for student discussion groups and classroom read-alouds with younger students.

As with giveaway books, we seek to increase access to high-quality books for the children we serve. This means diversifying how and where they find books, whether it’s at home, the local library, a bookshelf at an afterschool program, or a book bin at a childcare center. The goal is more books, everywhere, to offer children choice and exposure.

But new books are expensive, and often cost prohibitive for our partners with extremely limited (or nonexistent) book purchasing budgets. This is where CLiF comes in. A beautiful, new hardcover book represents quality and reflects positively on the library. In this sense, purchasing library books is a double investment in both infrastructure and reader.

We’re not just talking about traditional public libraries here–CLiF also purchases books for on-site collections such as elementary school classrooms, childcare centers, preschools, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, out-of-school time programs, affordable housing sites, and more.

It’s extremely important to update collections with diverse titles, current nonfiction information texts, popular series, and relevant topics and themes for today’s youth. New books are enticing! They are not only eye candy on display–with their gorgeous, glossy covers–but they get kids excited to read about new places, experiences, and fantastical worlds.

New books draw in families, eager to read with their children and pick out books to bring home. In the words of a CLiF public library grantee who used CLiF funds to purchase new titles for their bookmobile: “The CLiF books circulated like hotcakes.”

Printed copies of books are here to stay. We’ve heard from program partners how strongly they desire a physical book in a child’s hands vs. more screen time. The best part? Multiple children and families get to enjoy these books over, and over again. Such is the power of a library book–it compounds on itself and pays off the initial investment in spades.

Here’s a rundown of CLiF's many avenues for distribution of new library books in FY26:

  • Rural Library Grant: New children’s books for the public library’s collection and new books for the local elementary school library’s collection; flex funds for the library grantee with the option for more books, including alternative formats, foreign language titles, or VOX books with embedded audiobook players.
  • Year of the Book Grant: Includes new children’s books for the school library’s collection and new books for the local public library’s collection; plus classroom books to enhance literacy and learning.
  • Early Childhood Literacy Grant: Includes new books for preschools, child care centers, public libraries, and early education programs to enhance their collections for ages 0-5; plus flex funds with the option to buy more books, including alternative formats, foreign language titles, or books with embedded audiobook players (i.e. VOX books or Yoto players).
  • Community Literacy Grant: Includes new library books for community program partners including homeless shelters, out-of-school time programs, affordable housing sites, and more.
  • Literacy Enrichment Grant: Option for grantee to purchase new library or onsite lending books to support their project that “brings literacy to life.”
  • Spark Grant: Option for grantee to purchase new children’s books for a library, classroom, or program’s lending collection.
“The VOX books we received through the grants have already been well-loved and received! Students and patrons who normally wouldn't look or read books while visiting are now listening to the books and checking them out. The books we were able to get also let us catch up on Great Stone Face Book Award nominees and replace a lot of books that have been lost, damaged, or permanently checked out. Being able to show kids these books brought excitement and allowed our budget to go farther.”
Ella Cademartori
Director at Stephenson Memorial Library, Greenfield, NH (Rural Library Grant 2024-25)
“We had many people exclaim over the display of new books from CLiF at Latham [Memorial Library]. Their circulation has been heavy. As a result of the new offerings in children's nonfiction in particular, we had more kids and their parents check out this type of reading material.”
Emily Zollo
Director at Latham Memorial Library, Thetford, VT (Rural Library Grant 2024-25)
“Our school’s ability to actively support home language literacy for our international families has been greatly enhanced by offering a lending system of Book Bags. Without such a program, it would otherwise be difficult and costly for families to obtain home language books at accessible reading levels. Additionally, the borrowing system has proven highly effective, with books consistently returned in good condition, allowing us to sustain and grow this program for years to come.”
Erin McLaughlin
Multilingual Teacher at Mallets Bay School, Colchester, VT (Spark Grant 2025)