It's remarkable to think how life has changed for us all in the past 12 weeks. Our school doors and library doors are closed with all learning happening at home. Add upon that a country which is grappling with violent hatred and an awful inequality of justice. Now, more than ever, children need their libraries.
They need access to books and articles which address racism and hate groups.
They need access to books which are authored by people of color - whether to mirror their own or to help them understand those of a different color.
They need access to books which give them hope, help them escape, and help them heal.
They need librarians who are constantly keeping a pulse on the world around them and curating new titles and materials to help them cope, understand, learn and perhaps become charged to change the world.
I feel blessed that we can make all of the above happen thanks to our consortium. Closed library doors does not mean closed access to books and librarians. From kindergarten to high school, students continue their learning and exploration with our robust collection of ebooks and audiobooks.
From the elementary audiobook, The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, the middle school ebook, Booked by Kwame Alexander, to the high school ebook, Dear Martin by Nic Stone - the collection includes many books about and written by people of color.
From humorous books to inspirational books to self-help books, the collection has many titles to make students laugh, escape and heal. Such as ebooks,The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island by Dana Alison Levy (ES), Unsinkable by Jessica Tatiana Long (MS) and Mindfulness and Meditation by Blaise A. Aguirre (HS).
And from books about pandemics to books about social change, the collection helps to educate and motivate our students. Such as the ebooks, Who Was Rosa Parks by Yona Zeldis McDonough (ES), Bubonic Panic: When Plague Invaded America by Gail Jarrow (MS) and The Black Lives Matter Movement by Peggy J. Parks (HS).
We, as Connected Library Consortium participants, have always recognized the advantage of having access to a wonderful collection of ebooks and audiobooks. It's tragic to have such ugliness and uncertainty in the world today, but the good that has resulted from it is that our teachers, students and parents are now realizing the tremendous power of a digital library and of the school librarians who create it.