Recently, I was presenting on books, children and teaching at the Virginia Reading Association Conference. I was brainstorming with other teachers, trying to think of ways to get books for their students. Of course, the public library came up. You know how sometimes we can operate in a bubble? When a teacher stated that she lives in a town without a library, my heart dropped.

I was taken back to the small town in Alabama where I grew up that did not have a public library, and where the books in my house included only a set of encyclopedias. Oh, how my family leaned heavily on the Bookmobile, an extension of the public library which is literally a library on wheels. My mom took my sister and me to meet the Bookmobile every two weeks, and we would get enough books to last until the Bookmobile returned. The sky was the limit; we could read any book that was supplied by the Bookmobile without restrictions. That is how I fell in love with reading.

Book Access Makes a Difference

I know that having access and lots of access to books really makes a difference. If we want students to be lifelong readers and thinkers, we must be intentional about getting books into their hands. Not every child comes from a home that is filled with books or has parents who value reading. Also, many parents may absolutely love reading, but they may need our help to plant that seed of love in their children.

“If we want students to be lifelong readers and thinkers, we must be intentional about getting books into their hands.”

I am fortunate to work in a school with tons of books and a great library staffed by librarians, and I never take this blessing for granted. However, even in a school that is blessed with books, I still know the value of access to even more books. That is why I take my students on a field trip yearly, and sometimes twice a year, to the public library. Yep, the public library.

About Our Annual Library Trip

Before we embark on our trip to the library, I have every student fill out an application for a library card, and I drop the applications off at the library so that the cards will be ready when we get there. AND, I talk about the public library, show videos about people’s feelings about public libraries and recall the story of United States House Representative, John Lewis, being denied a public library card and access to public libraries because of his race. Google stories about public libraries, and you will be surprised!

This year during our field trip, three of the most wonderful librarians on the planet, had all their favorite books on tables, and they did the most fascinating book talks. Librarians ROCK. Then the librarians turned to the students, my co-teacher and me, and asked us what we have been reading. I got both nervous and excited at the same time; I was wondering what my students were going to say.

Hearing my tenth graders talk about the books that they have been reading warmed my heart. It also eased the insecurities that I have at times about giving them complete choice. One student stated that he had only read one book, Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds, and four of the Walking Dead graphic novels. He went on to state that he is a slow reader. I instantly thought of the writer Jacqueline Woodson, who has stated that she was a slow reader, and in that moment, we talked about Jacqueline and the fact that some folks read slower than others and so what? Readers read at their own pace.

After the book talks, the students were given a tour of the library, told about all the resources the library has to offer, shown how to download Overdrive on their phones to access public libraries’ books, and got to browse and check out books. Students checked out books such as Sophomores and Other Oxymorons by David Lubar, Angels and Devils by Dan Brown, Gucci Mane by Gucci Mane and Neil Martinez-Belkin, 1-800-MICE by Matthew Thurber, Where She Went by Gayle Forman, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, The Deadman Wonderland Series by Jinsei Kataoka and books from the Walking Dead Series.

Do Required Reading Lists Limit Book Choice and Access?

Book deserts, places where perhaps the students were given limited or no access to books, are real. I once went to work with a teacher in a school with no books in the classroom and no school library. I went to that school to get the students excited about books and reading. As I was talking, one student pulled his library card out of his pocket, and excitedly exclaimed: “I got mine.” Other students got excited and started to declare that they were going to get their library cards soon. The teacher had included getting a library card on her back-to-school supply list, and the students were getting them. AND, these students were given free choice, read tons of books that school year and even had a skype session with the writer, Jason Reynolds.

If we only teach whole class novels and never make time for choice, there is no need to take students to the public library or to the school library, because sadly, we are limiting our students’ access to books on purpose. Whether intentional or unintentional, when only reading books selected by teachers, our students may possibly not be having all the rich experiences that can be gained from reading books. I wonder how many students across this country are not having rich experiences with books and libraries, because teachers and folks who select the books that are on those required reading lists, are limiting their reading experiences.

“Young people will read if we will give them as much access to books as possible.”

Young people will read if we will give them as much access to books as possible. We have to continue to push systems to do better by our students. We must continue to talk about the importance of libraries and librarians. We must continue to grow our classroom libraries. We must never, ever be okay with students not having rich experiences with literature. However, in the meantime, we can talk about books, give students’ choice, go to public libraries, show them how to use Overdrive and give students as much access to books as possible.

ACCESS MATTERS!

About the Author:

Jacqueline Stallworth is the founder of Stallworth Educational Consulting Team, a company that is doing the work to ensure that schools’ curriculum reflect our diverse world. She’s also an Advanced Placement literature consultant for College Board, and a high school English teacher in Northern Virginia. She writes about her love for books and life on her blog The Big Sea. You can also find her on twitter (@thebigseablog) and Instagram (the_big_sea_blog).