Library places books at health office

COEUR d'ALENE - Families participating in the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program at Panhandle Health will find something extra the next time they visit the office in Hayden: books placed there through an outreach project in partnership with the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.

The project was organized by circulation clerk Annabelle Farley, based on a similar program she learned about at an Idaho Library Association conference. That project involved the Napa Valley Library and its local WIC office.

WIC serves about 7,000 pregnant women and their families in North Idaho and Farley said the project is close to her heart.

"This was a meaningful project for me," she said. "WIC has assisted my family with food and nutrition counseling since my son was born. I am so grateful to have been allowed to work on this for our local office. I am looking forward to doing some similar projects targeting the underserved in our community."

The books were provided by the Idaho Commission for Libraries through its program designed to get books into the hands of underserved Idaho children. Farley arranged for the purchase of a set of bookshelves, assembled it herself, and delivered it along with about 80 books to WIC.