Joshua Hall, a North Brook Elementary School student, reads one of the new books he wants to check out. His school, along with Rock Springs Elementary, Union Elementary and West Lincoln High School received large grants to go toward new books.
Jenny Walling / Lincoln Times-News
North Brook Elementary School’s library has had a massive overhaul after receiving $20,000 to go towards books.
“I got rid of more than 1,000 books in the fall,” said Kathy Robinson, the school’s media specialist.
“The books were so unattractive, nobody was using them.
Those empty shelves have started to fill up due to a library collection development grant from Library Services and Technology Association (LSTA).
West Lincoln High, Union Elementary and Rock Springs Elementary also received their own grants from LSTA.
LSTA matched money that the schools raised up to $10,000. Rock Springs raised $5,000, and therefore received an additional $5,000 from LSTA. The other three schools raised $10,000.
Having $20,000 for new books creates quite a change in a media center.
The average age for science books at the media center was 23 years old. That number has since changed to 10 years old.
“Beefing up science has really been the first priority,” said Robinson. “I just want to have the most current information we can have for the kids who go to school here.”
Parting with old books has not been an easy process for Robinson, who has worked at North Brook’s library for 29 years.
“I’m trying to get over the attachment to books,” said Robinson. “There are some I’m a little bit slower to get rid of.”
As for new books, students understandably prefer them to the old ones.
Third-grader Chase Beasley’s favorite new book is about spiders.
“I like the pictures,” said Chase. “I like to gross out the girls.”
Books on deer hunting and dinosaurs also get students excited.
“These little boys are just going bananas,” said Robinson. “They just about kill over deer hunting.”
Other students prefer to learn about animals running free.
“I learn how wild horses live their lives and what they eat,” said Megan Bumgarner, a third-grade student. “They’re pretty.”
Because the school does not have much diversity, Robinson made sure to buy some multi-cultural books.
“When you’re dealing with a school that’s over 90 percent Caucasian, they need to see other faces,” Robinson said.
Robinson purchased many of the books at a Scholastic warehouse sale in which the books were half price.
Usually she spends a few hundred dollars at the sale, but this year she had more to work with.
“I got a grocery cart, and by the time I got through, that thing was full,” Robinson said.
The final total when the books had been tallied up was $908.
Because Robinson has worked with the collection so long, she knows where it has gaps.
She has been working to fill them in since early June when she found out the school had received the grant.
“I got to work right then,” Robinson said. “I didn’t have much of a summer.”
Even as the new books roll in, Robinson still has trouble parting with a few old favorites.
“‘Frog and Toad” is still holding together,” said Robinson. “There are some kids who still like this book.”
As for buying new books, Robinson still has thousands of dollars left to spend, and by the time she’s done her school library will have around 2,000 new books.
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Staff Writer Sarah Grano can be reached at 704-735-3031 or sgrano@ltnews.comby Sarah Grano
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