The school-library connection

By York Public Library Director Robert Waldman

YORK VILLAGE - Last September, library board members and I stood in front of students and their families, at the school open houses. After introducing ourselves, we stated that we were on the program because of the shared mission of the library and the schools to "provide the finest education possible for the students and their families" and the finest library services and lifelong learning opportunities for our community.

Since I arrived in York as director of the York Public Library, I have worked with Liz Reisz, the coordinator of Library Media Services for the schools in York. This article is based on a report Liz and I made to the School Committee this past November, which motivated me to look back over the relationship between the York Public Library and the York Schools in the past five years.

It has become a dynamic, productive relationship that contributes significantly to the quality of the education.

The relationship between the York Public Library and the York public schools is blossoming. Here are just a few of ways the library and schools have joined to provide service to our community:
  • Sentry Hill residents have met with first-graders to read together.
  • Summer School reference workshops have been provided.
  • Library hours and services have been expanded with students and families in mind.
  • Wireless internet access is available for use by students with their school computers.
  • Students volunteer as part of their community service.
  • Art from the schools is exhibited with a special annual art exhibit in February, which includes projects from kindergarteners through high school seniors.
  • We work with Adult and Community Education to meet the lifelong learning needs of our citizens by providing book discussions and more.
  • We collaborate with the schools to share resources including joint membership in electricity cooperatives, and building our collections together.
  • The Friends of the York Public Library offer an annual scholarship to a qualified student.
  • We cooperate on literacy initiatives that have included "Ready, Set, Go," a school readiness event, a Middle School Story-telling Festival, "York Reads - One Book, One Town," the series of events centered around one book read by many people in the community, and the annual Literacy Fair. (The sixth Fair is coming up on Friday, Nov. 3.)
  • Library Assistant Kate Bell has been hired to serve the needs of young adults. Kate has visited the middle school, reorganized our young adult collection and planned activities for teens.
  • Last spring, York Middle School science teacher Jeff Wilford initiated a live internet broadcast to the library from the Pantanal in Brazil, where he and several high school students spent time in environmental studies.
One of the most significant cooperative school/library initiatives to serve York students is that the York Schools are joining the statewide library consortium, Minerva, this fall. Joining Minerva fosters cooperation and resource sharing. The catalog of materials available from both the public library and the schools will be visible online, from home, school or business, and accessible from one school to another and/or from the library to any of the schools.

These examples demonstrate the important role the York Public Library has come to play in the lives of our schools; students, teachers, staff and administration to benefit our whole community.

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