Two local schools receive $5,000 library grants to purchase new books

Two Cape Girardeau school libraries in need of new materials have gained the purchasing power to update their collections.

Central Middle School and Jefferson Elementary have each received a $5,000 grant from the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries to help buy new books for their libraries.

The foundation, named after the former first lady, who was once a librarian and teacher, has given away more than $19 million in grants to more than 3,000 schools since 2002, according to the foundation website. Central and Jefferson are among the 40 awarded this year.

The grants are to be spent solely on books, and schools must be Title 1 eligible — a federal education program that gives money to schools with lower-income students — to receive the grant.

"It's important, in that, we're going to be able to get all of the things that are most popular right now and get it right on the shelves instead of dividing that out year after year," said Jennifer Wilson, the Central Middle School librarian.

The majority of the grant will be spent on audiobooks and acquiring new manga. Manga — graphic novels from Japan — have become increasingly popular among students, Wilson said. Many of the most popular manga available have been picked up by streaming services and turned into popular anime.

"I just went to my library conference in April, and it became a topic of conversation with all the librarians from the state that this has just been what all the kids are asking for," she added.

Wilson plans to use any leftover money to bolster the library's nonfiction section with newer titles.

The middle school librarian said she doesn't remember how exactly she learned about the grant, chalking it up, most likely, to one of the numerous professional groups she's a part of, but Wilson said she's glad she did.

Whitney Choate, project-based learning coach for Jefferson, said she first found out about the grant while Googling for any library-related one she could possibly find.

Jefferson suffers, as many school libraries do, with a dated collection. The average publication date for a library book in the school's collection is 1996.

The elementary school's grant will be used primarily for nonfiction books on topics such as careers, animals and famous individuals, among other things.

"Obviously famous individuals, even in the world of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) have changed radically in the last 25 years," Choate said. "So, we're needing to definitely update those so they're more relevant to the students in our time."

The new book purchases for both schools will be completed in the summer in time for the beginning of next school year.