The recent "Lobbying for libraries" article started with this statement: "Two numbers that concern Melissa Hostetter are 76% and zero. The first is the percentage of fourth-graders in Springfield School District 186 who aren't proficient in reading. The second is the number of librarians in the district's elementary schools" (Sept. 5).
I disagree with the second statement. While there are no paid librarians in District 186 elementary schools, there are schools with libraries staffed by volunteers.I would like to tell you about the library at Graham Elementary School. More than 10 years ago, Central Baptist Church partnered with Graham and asked what the church members could do for the school. One thing that was needed was a functioning library. The members of Central Baptist opened the library and staffed it one day a week, using the books that were already there.
Fast forward 10 years and the church still staffs the library one day a week, but many improvements have been made over the years. There is now one volunteer librarian and 18 dedicated assistants (church members, parents and community members) who do much more than just help check out books.
Since we can only have library one day a week and there are 14 classes that come to check out books, we have to squeeze a lot into that time. The second- through fifth-grade classes have 20 minutes to browse and check out a book, but we get it done.
The two kindergarten classes and three first-grade classes get to spend a half hour in the library. In the first 15 minutes, there are volunteers who read a book to the students. We have enough volunteers that we have a ratio of one adult to three students. The students get more individual attention this way. This is not a quiet library – it gets very noisy when everyone is reading, but the kids love it. After the story, they get the opportunity to check out a book and get help reading it.
Since there are no paid librarians, there is no library budget, either. The school has a Title I grant with which they can order books, but that only happens once a year. The rest of the time, there is no money for the school to purchase books. Central Baptist Church takes up a collection several times a year for books, and over the years the church has purchased thousands of dollars' worth of books for the library. We have a request list, and if a student wants a certain book, we try to buy it.
We are also fortunate to have Nancy Huntley, the former Lincoln Library director, as one of our volunteers. She has helped revamp the library. We have recycled thousands of old books that hadn't been checked out in years. Who wants a world atlas with many countries that no longer exist?
We are very proud of the library at Graham School, as is the principal, Chris Hood, and all of the teachers. We feel that the students are getting a positive library experience and have many good books to choose from, at all reading levels.
Sharon Smith retired in 2007 and started doing volunteer work with Central Baptist Church, first at an after-school program through Compass for Kids and then helping to launch a library at Graham Elementary School staffed by church volunteers. The library, which started in 2013, has grown substantially over the years, thanks to many volunteers. Smith has served as the head librarian since 2016.