(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by Great River Regional Library.)

Although central Minnesota is covered in snow, it is springtime at the library! Locally Growin’, the fundraising campaign at Great River Regional Library (GRRL), runs Wednesday, March 1 through Friday, March 31, 2023. 

GRRL’s Locally Growin’ campaign keeps donations 100 percent within the branch library of the donor’s choosing. Each library selects a specific “wish” item and a campaign goal. Over $26,000 was raised around the region in 2022 to support various goals. Each library’s goal is unique and focuses on its community’s interests and needs. 

GRRL’s southern library locations are raising money for the following this year: 

Kimball wishes for program supplies and library hours magnets;

Becker wishes to add STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) items to the library;

Big Lake wishes to add STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) items to the library;

Annandale wishes for program supplies;

Buffalo wishes to add new kits to the library, including pickleball, Play2Learn, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) kits;

Monticello wishes to add books from the National Book Award Nominees and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) kits and supplies to the library;

Elk River wishes for children’s big books and shelving;

St. Michael wishes to add snowshoes to their collection for checkout;

Cokato wishes for a visit from the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center and to add Playaway audiobook devices to their collection;

Howard Lake wishes for new bookshelf signage for the new library;

Rockford wishes for creature feature funds;

Delano wishes to provide programming in the summer. 

These are just a few of the libraries’ wishes across the six-county region. Stop by to learn what is growin’ at local libraries! Patrons can learn more about the Locally Growin’ campaign and make a difference for a library by giving online at GRiver.org/library-news/locally-growin-2023. 

Great River Regional Library (GRRL) provides library services at 32 public libraries and one to-go system in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. GRRL2GO is a locker system that allows you to pick up items at the Sartell Community Center. GRRL supplies the residents of Central Minnesota with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, and information services.