On their own turf: Vernon Area librarians visit schools
Every academic year, Vernon Area Public Library staff make more than 100 visits to area schools to talk to nearly 9,000 students in preschool through the eighth grade. Each grade-specific library presentation showcases an array of books and in so doing reminds students of the public library's extensive resources for learning and leisure. The visits are a break in the school day for students and an opportunity for the library to demonstrate its usefulness and relevance to young patrons.
On a Thursday afternoon in February, fourth-graders at Tripp School in Buffalo Grove gathered shoulder to shoulder on the floor of their school library to hear from Vernon Area Public Library youth services librarian Maggie Kutsunis. Her topic? The Dewey Decimal system and how it works. It might seem like material to make a student's eyes glaze over but Kutsunis immediately engaged the children.
Over the next 40 minutes, she maintained a regular back and forth with the students as she walked them through each section of the nonfiction catalog, pulling out shining examples of the information they can find on the library's shelves. As she revealed gem after gem of nonfiction books, the venture felt more like a treasure hunt than an explanation of a 140-year-old cataloging system.
The goal of the fourth-grade presentation is to demystify the library by showing students how to find exactly what they're looking for. "The collection can seem intimidating to students," explained Kutsunis. "We help them see it as accessible."
To support the message of the presentations, each student leaves with a library-created bookmark highlighting titles that were talked about that day. "We are very intentional about choosing books that represent everyone in our community," said Kutsunis. But that's not until they've had a chance to ask questions of the presenter, which Kutsunis admits is one of her favorite parts of the program. "They come up with some really spectacular questions and it's a wonderful way to get instant feedback," said Kutsunis.
The librarians also become familiar faces to the youngsters. "When a student who saw me at their school sees me again at the library and recognize me, they say hi. It happens a lot!" said Kutsunis. "It's rewarding to talk with them and help them find the books we talked about, and to find out what they remembered from the presentation."
While most of Vernon Area Public Library's presentations to district students happen on the students' turf, kindergartners are hosted at the library. Over the course of a few days in September and December, school buses deliver five- and six-year-olds from Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 and Lincolnshire-Prairie View School District 103 to the library's doors on Olde Half Day Road in Lincolnshire.
The kindergartners gather with their teachers in the library meeting room to learn good habits for taking care of books and to hear a story. Then they're taken on an interactive tour of the library, which includes a behind-the-scenes view of the book return. "We want to make these young students feel welcome in the building," said Kutsunis.
The school visits help students realize there is something for them at the library. "Even reluctant readers can be engaged if you find the right books for them," said Rachel Shulman, the library's head of youth services. For example, the library offers a wide selection of graphic novels: illustrated stories (both fiction and nonfiction) that are popular with many young readers and teens. The growing genre is often misunderstood or unappreciated by parents, but educators agree that graphic novels are useful for teaching new vocabulary, visual literacy and reading skills.
In communities that place great emphasis on education, the Vernon Area Public Library's roster of school visits help connect students to resources for lifelong learning and enrichment. The robust library-school partnership reinforces the message boldly displayed on the Tripp School library wall, "Unleash your superpowers: read."