PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Dozens of new books have been added to the library shelves at Pine Street, Zippel, Mapleton and Easton elementary schools.
Back in March, the Presque Isle Rotary Club initiated a Children’s Book of the Month Club. Sharon Campbell, chair of the book distribution committee, and fellow committee members Darrell White, June Gallant, Brett Varnum, Lehrle Kieffer, Jason Parent and Ellen Schneider asked Rotarians to contribute personal dollars that would be used to purchase the books.
“The original idea was that we would deliver two books a month to the different schools through February 2011,” said Campbell. “However, the timing didn’t work out exactly as we had planned. We wanted to purchase better books through Perma-Bound, which took a little more time. They rebind the books and basically guarantee them for life. We didn’t get the books in until May, which is a busy time with all of the end-of-the-year activities, so the decision was made to present them all at once; two books a month just didn’t seem to have the impact for the children.
“We opted for a special one-time delivery,” she said. “We had it at our Oct. 25 meeting which was based around the children. Karen McCosker from the University of Maine at Presque Isle read poetry, while Sheila Lyons from Masardis did storytelling at our luncheon. The children had a special meal delivered to their table; we really tried to make them feel comfortable and special. We – as Rotarians – are all kids at heart, so we were mesmerized by the storytelling and poetry, which were on the children’s level. It was a great time.”
Through the generous giving of Rotarians, more than $2,000 was collected for the book distribution drive.
“This book order was just over $1,000, and we saved the other half to do a similar project next March,” said Campbell, noting that March is Rotary Literacy Month. “I think the key to this project was that the school librarians really chose the books. We feel very confident that the books are ones that will be the most useful either in recreational reading or supplementing their schoolwork.
“We also feel really good about the quality of the books,” she said. “The binding is really good and we’re confident that the books are going to last and be in the hands of the schools for a long time.”
Because the cost of the books varied, all of the schools received 24, while two schools received an additional book.
Mary Graham, fourth-grade teacher and librarian at Zippel Elementary School, said the donation will benefit both students and teachers alike.
“This donation can only help all of our students. A book that they see that’s part of their reading series can be checked out of the library and read in its entirety or a story they enjoyed can be checked out and enjoyed again or shared with family members,” she said. “The donation provides a component to our reading level that will not only benefit students, but teachers, as well.”
All genres were included in the recent donation.
“Teachers at each grade level chose a wish list of books associated with our reading series that they would like to see available in our library,” said Graham. “The Rotarians selected books for each grade level based on those lists. All genres were included … there are fictional books, biographies and non-fiction books.
“I am so excited about the new books! They will certainly improve and update our library,” she said. “I cannot thank the Rotarians enough for such a huge donation to our library. It will impact students for years to come.”
The local club’s literacy committee is still deciding what Rotarians will do to observe literacy month next year.