LOUISVILLE, Ky. — 35,000 "forever books" will be given to Louisville children and families.

It always takes a little time to settle in to a new role and Crystal Puryear has done so, nicely.

Puryear is the assistant branch manager at Shawnee Public Library and even though she’s only been here four weeks, she has 15 years experience being surrounded by books.

“I was a language arts teacher in middle school. I have about seven years or eight years in the school library,” Puryear tells Spectrum News 1.

Touring around the Shawnee branch and it is decked out with books, but it will receive and help distribute thousands more thanks to a gift from the PNC Foundation.

$123,000 has been given to Louisville’s Public Library system to provide 35,000 ‘forever books.’ “We go into the daycares, we go into the early childhoods and schools. We’re giving students a book that they get to keep and that’s special,” Puryear said.

The books will be prioritized for very young children who may live in neighborhoods described as ‘book deserts.’ A book desert doesn’t mean families don’t have access to libraries, per se, but families that don’t own many of their own books.

Offering ‘forever books’ for the very young can bolster early childhood development throughout the city. “We will keep working to ensure every child has the tools that they need to develop a love of lifelong learning,” Chandra Gordon of the Library Foundation said on Wednesday.

The PNC grant announced today will help provide 35,000 books to children throughout Louisville.

“That is a lot of books!" Kristen Bryd of PNC said during a news conference.

Wednesday’s announcement also included remarks from Mayor Craig Greenberg who said providing universal pre-K for three- and four-year-olds is a top priority for his new administration.