In January 2026, Harrison County Public Library challenged the community to read 10,000 books together to raise funds for Harrison County Community Service. Eight schools participated in the challenge, with 2,385 students reading over 15,000 books. Lanesville Elementary was the top school this year, with full student participation and more than 3,000 books submitted. As a reward, Indiana author Janna Matthies visited the school and presented to pre-K through third grade. Ms. Matthies, who also teaches music at an Indianapolis elementary school, told students about her journey to becoming an author and gave interactive, musical presentations of her books Here We Come, My Towering Tree, and Baby, Let’s Go to the Orchestra. The visit was funded by HCPL and a grant from Indiana Humanities’ Indiana Author Awards Speaker Program.
2026 was the sixth annual Read to Feed Harrison County Winter Challenge. This year’s fundraiser was sponsored by Duke Energy, Lucas Oil, Caesars Southern Indiana, Eckart Supply, and Harrison REMC.
