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Welcome to Open Library's Student Library, a School Library designed for a k-12 audience. For more student-friendly material, please visit our resource guides .

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18 Free (or Cheap) Ways to Stock Your Classroom Library

Fill the shelves, foster a love of reading.

There is no better way to encourage classroom reading than to give your students books. Yet, we know you don’t have the funds to constantly buy books with your own money. Here are some of our best tricks for finding cheap or free books. 

1. Create an Amazon wish list.

Have you ever used Amazon’s Wish List feature? You can create a list of books you would love to receive for the classroom and share with families or simply add a link to your email signature. Ask and (maybe) you shall receive! 

2. Visit the marketplace at First Book.

If at least 70 percent of the students in your class come from low-income families, check out First Book for your classroom library needs.  First Book offers a marketplace where teachers can find new books at 50 to 90 percent off retail prices. Additionally First Book has a National Book Bank offering free books. The only catch is that you pay the shipping of between $0.35 and $0.50 per book. First Book has a huge selection, with Spanish language titles, music and arts books, global stories, STEM books, as well as ordinary fiction and nonfiction.

3. Check out Kids Need to Read.

Kids Need to Read is another program that provides free books and literary resources to schools and libraries. To be eligible for the program, 50 percent of your school population must be children living at or below the national poverty line. There is no guarantee of acceptance. However, unlike some programs that only target early readers, Kids Need to Read serves middle readers and young adults as well.

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4. Apply for book grants.

There are also a number of grant opportunities available that provide funding for the purchase of children’s books. Some of these include the Snapdragon Book Foundation , The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries  and the  Dollar General Literacy Foundation . Work together with other teachers at your school to write a killer grant and let your classroom libraries reap the benefits.

5. Tap into the Reading Resource Project.

The Literacy Empowerment Foundation sponsors the  Reading Resource Project , an ongoing program that distributes softcover books to support literacy programs. Reading levels are available for pre-K through second grade. The Reading Resource Project offers book sets in Spanish as well as English, in various subjects. Recipients are required to pay shipping and handling of $0.78 per book. Team up with other grade level teachers and split the 100-book box among several classrooms!

6. See what the The Library of Congress has to offer.

For teachers in the DC-area or those already planning a trip to our nation’s capital, don’t miss The Library of Congress surplus books program to stock your classroom library. While the selection of early-level books is limited, the supply is constantly changing. The surplus books can only be received in person. However, you can send an authorized representative for your organization. If you have friends or another teacher planning a trip to the DC area, you could ask them to pick out some books for your classroom.

7. Scour resale shops.

Goodwill and children’s consignment stores are fabulous resources for inexpensive books. It can sometimes be a scavenger hunt, but you should be able to find some fun titles to add to your classroom library. You can also shop annual consignment sales as well. These typically have lower prices than stores. Find a consignment sale happening near you.

8. Look for online bargains.

In addition to finding bargain book deals at your local stores, it also helps to know where to find them online. Some of the ones you might want to check out include: Thrift Books ,  Better World Books  and  Books A Million .

9. Use your social media to have your own book drive. 

People who are readers universally love other readers. They want to spread the love of reading to others, and they’re usually more than willing to share books. So create your own little book drive with a call-out on social media. Be as specific as possible and be sure to emphasize they should be gently used books. You could even hold a book drive with a group of teachers or your entire school. Then you can sort them as a group and distribute evenly. 

10. Go to warehouse sales.

Periodically Scholastic Book Fairs hosts warehouse sales . This is a great way to purchase books and activity sets for your classroom library at up to 80 percent off the published price. Most books are at least 50 percent off, and there are hundreds of items priced at $2 or less. Some locations even offer a build-a-box option! Grab a box, pack it with books from a selected collection of clearance items, and pay only $24.95. To find a warehouse sale in your state, just enter your zip code . Also, once you find your local event, be sure to register online to receive a special coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase or $25 off a $100 purchase.

You can also shop the online Scholastic Teacher Store . They have deals specifically for educators with hundreds of titles as low as $1. Occasionally they offer free shipping days to make it even more affordable.

11. Join a classroom reading club.

The Scholastic Reading Program is a fabulous source for acquiring books for your classroom. When parents purchase books through your classroom catalogue, you earn bonus points to spend on books for your class library. The more parents order, the more free books you receive. There are options for all parent budgets. The catalogue even features a $1 book each month. We also found this blog post that has some fabulous ideas for boosting parent purchases !

12. Sign up for BookBub deal notifications. 

If you would rather have the free books for your classroom library come to you instead of hunting for them, check out BookBub . This is a free daily email that notifies you about limited-time, free and discounted bestselling e-book titles in genres you choose. 

13. Request free books through Half Price Books.

Half Price Books donates books to classrooms and school libraries. Make a request online  and cross your fingers! Half Price Books also offers a 10-percent-off educator discount to help you save on books throughout the year.

14. Visit your local library sale.

Public libraries receive book donations on a regular basis. Most of these titles do not actually land on library shelves but instead are saved for book sales. The majority of these sales are sponsored by Friends of the Library volunteer groups. You will typically find books priced from $0.25 to $1 in a wide range of subjects and genres.

These sales are a win-win since your money goes back to supporting public library programs. Call your local library to find out when they will hold their next sale. You can also check Book Sale Finder to find sales in your state.

15. Peruse garage sales.

People often sell children’s books they no longer need or want at garage sales. The prices vary, but usually you can negotiate and purchase them very inexpensively. Your best bet is to search for neighborhood-wide garage sales so you can visit a large number in the same area. Grab some teacher friends and make a fun morning out of it!

16. Ask parents for donations.

You can post a sign-up sheet during open house times and parent-teacher conferences. If parents know that donating books to the classroom is an option, they may choose your classroom over donating book they no longer want to a resale shop. Put a sticker inside donated books. Kids will love when their donated book is being enjoyed by their friends.

17. Ask the middle school or high school students to get involved.

Many middle school and high school students need service hours, and they can feel good knowing they’re bringing in books for younger kids in their district. They might even remember going to school at the same elementary school that they’re getting books for. Ask organizations like the national honor society or others if they want to hold a book drive for your class or school. Students can bring in a book or two that they enjoyed in the previous grade. Then have a buddy day where her students can read the donated books to your class. Reciprocate with a book drive for another teacher in a younger grade.

18. Go digital to find free (and great) deals.

If you have tablets in your classroom, a digital classroom library can be a great resource for students as well. There are a number of sites that are exceptionally helpful for finding free e-books. The most comprehensive is the Digital Book Index . This is a catalogue of all the major e-book sites, university collections, and other smaller publishers. Also be sure to check the International Children’s Digital Library . This is the world’s largest digital collection of children’s books. They have thousands of books in a variety of languages.

The Library of Congress also has a selection of free books that have been digitized. These include many illustrated children’s classics. Project Gutenberg is a collection of free electronic books. The site boasts more than 40,000 free titles. The site features all types of e-books, but there are titles for children.

Come share your best tips for getting free or cheap books in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.  

 Plus, more ways to find cheap or free stuff for your classroom . 

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How to Get Free Books For Your School Library (and Use Them to Host a Book Fair)

Lucas Maxwell

Lucas Maxwell has been working with youth in libraries for over fifteen years. Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, he's been a high school librarian in London, UK for over a decade. In 2017 he won the UK's School Librarian of the Year award and in 2022 he was named the UK Literacy Association's Reading For Pleasure Teacher Champion. He loves Dungeons & Dragons and is the author of Let's Roll: A Guide for Setting up Tabletop Roleplaying Games in Your School or Public Library. You can follow him on Twitter and on his blog .

View All posts by Lucas Maxwell

There is growing research to show that book ownership can have a huge impact on a child’s life, even after they reach adulthood. I’ve written before on running our amazing Book Award which highlights great “under the radar” books and gets the entire school reading them. On top of this, we also run book fairs in our schools once a year. Book fairs often leave a bad taste in my mouth because they are exclusionary in many ways . Students might feel left out because they can’t afford the books and might also be hesitant to come to the library for future events if they think there is a cost to taking part. I never liked the idea of making kids pay money for books, that’s a book store’s priority, not mine.

This is why I decided to try and create a free book fair for our Year 8 students (ages 12-13). Why this age group? Getting these books for free was no easy feat, really. It took 10+ years for me to be able to be in a position to receive them. This age group was chosen because it’s a big group (300 + students) and because the books I was receiving were aimed at that group, I had little to no control over the kinds of books I was getting. I will explain all of this…right now!

The Free Book Fair for Year 8 took place through their dedicated library lessons. They get these lessons once every two weeks. They simply get to choose from a huge range of free books that I’ve been collecting.

It wasn’t easy to run a book fair like this and there is no magic button to press that allowed me to do this. I have spent almost 10 years cultivating and building up a reading for pleasure community in the school and on top of this I’ve built relationships with publishers and authors which has resulted in this book fair taking off. I can say that social media played a huge role in this achievement. As much as I despise it, platforms like Twitter have done a lot of good for both myself and the students in the school. 

Everything I’m about to mention takes your own personal time away from you. There is no easy way to do it, there is no quick road to getting sent free books. I never set out to receive free books or be a book blogger or even be a librarian. I didn’t expect any of this, but I’m very proud of this moment and wanted to try and share some ways that I feel have helped. 

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Write book reviews

You might not enjoy writing book reviews, but starting your own blog and writing your thoughts, however quick, about the books you’ve been reading can make a huge difference. When I say “your books,” I mean books you’ve bought or books you already have in your library. I would suggest doing this if you aren’t already as no one is going to send you free books out of the blue. One, it will get you in the mindset of reading daily which librarians typically do not have time for. Writing book reviews and tagging the author, illustrator if they have one, publishers, anyone involved in the book will only end up being a good thing. It goes without saying that you should never tag authors in negative reviews and in my opinion, unless your career is a professional reviewer, we as laymen should not be writing negative reviews online at all. I’ve done this in the past, before I was a librarian and quickly learned it was a shallow game that no one should play. Again, my opinion.

Build a social media following

I would strongly suggest following authors and publishers on social media. This will help you find out about new books that are coming out but also just to have a contact. I have found that authors love being tagged in supportive, positive messages about their books. I mean who wouldn’t want that? Even if it’s just to show the book in the library, you never know what will come of it. The first author I ever tagged in a tweet was Holly Bourne because we had a group of students (and still do) obsessed with her and when she tweeted back at me to say thank you, I showed it to the students and they lost their minds. This resulted in me booking Holly for a visit which was really amazing. 

Go to conferences

Attending conferences through the School Library Association, CILIP, YLG, LILAC and others can put you in touch with publishers and send you home with tons of great books (I am based in the UK — these will be different depending on where you live). This is on top of meeting great people and learning tons of new things about librarianship. Even better, apply to speak at a conference, this is something I love doing. I can’t speak to people well one on one but I can speak to a room full of people and not have a second thought about it. This has resulted in more speaking opportunities and quite frankly more attention on social media which in turn has resulted in free books. 

Give Students a Voice

This is my favourite one. I love hearing what students say about books, even if it’s one sentence. I’m not expecting a dissertation on the themes of the book, I just enjoy hearing the students talk about the books they’re returning or reading at the tables. I will often say to them, “that’s great, do you mind if I tell the author on social media?” and they always say yes. Does this result in free books? No, but if you are starting out as someone who is championing reading for pleasure, capturing students’ voices is essential. And authors love hearing from students just as much as they love hearing from librarians. 

That’s it! It’s taken a long time to do but it’s one of the proudest things I’ve accomplished in the school to date!

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How to Find Free Books for Your School or Classroom Library

• May 3, 2022

Building a school or classroom library can be difficult, especially if your school’s funding is low. Before you spend your own money on books, look into organizations that provide teachers with free classroom books. Many of these programs are open specifically to educators from schools with a demonstrated need to improve literacy access.

If you’re wondering how to get free books for your classroom, check out these eight educational programs. Application and eligibility information are provided so that you can apply for the donation programs that best suit your school’s needs.

8 Free Book Donation Programs for Schools

First book book bank.

First Book is an organization that removes financial barriers to accessing books and school supplies. Through their Book Bank, educators who teach at an organization that meets the eligibility criteria can request free class sets of children’s books for their classroom, with no charge other than shipping and handling.

If they do not meet eligibility requirements, teachers can also purchase cheap book bundles from First Book.

How to Apply : Sign up for an account, then visit the Book Bank to see what is currently available.

Book Trust is a nonprofit that offers free books for students in Title I schools to encourage a love of reading at school and at home.

How to Apply : If you are an educator who works in a Title I school, click here to learn more about the program and application process.

Kids Need to Read

Kids Need to Read provides free books for teachers who work at underfunded schools, libraries, or other organizations. On a rolling basis, educators can request book donations for their school or classroom.

How to Apply : Fill out an application here to determine if you meet the eligibility requirements and request book donations. This application form is closed four months during the year: May, July, November, and December.

Lisa Libraries

The Lisa Libraries program offers free book donations to underfunded schools, libraries, and other children’s organizations across the United States.

How to Apply : Applicants must write an email to the Lisa Libraries program with information about their organization, number of children served, and demonstrated need. You can view the eligibility criteria and application information here .

Library of Congress

Through the Library of Congress Surplus Books Program , educators can request free books for their school or classroom.

How to Apply : Follow the application instructions , which will walk you through submitting a donation request to the Library of Congress.

We Need Diverse Books in the Classroom

We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) provides free books to underfunded schools. As of 2022, WNDB in the Classroom has donated over 70,000 books to classrooms across the country.

How to Apply : Subscribe to their Off the Shelf newsletter to learn about and apply for current initiatives and giveaways.

Better World Books

Better World Books donates free books to schools, libraries, and other organizations across the world.

How to Apply : Fill out the application form with details about your school and the number of books you need.

International Book Program

Through the International Book Program, educators at Title I schools can request a donation of free books for their school or classroom. Books can be mailed to you (even internationally), or you can pick them up if you’re in Kentucky.

How to Apply : Click here to apply for a book donation.

Half Price Books

Half Price Books (HPB) is a used bookstore chain that offers free book donations for educators who are able to pick up the donations from a local HPB store or facility.

How to Apply: Fill out the Book Donations request form on their website. You can use this store locator to find a book donation pick-up site near you.

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School Libraries and Controversial Books: Tips From the Front Lines

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Around the country, school librarians have found themselves on the front lines of the culture wars. As states pass laws that restrict teaching of “controversial” or “divisive” subjects, school libraries have seen calls to remove books about issues like race, gender, and sexuality from their shelves.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, for example, wrote to his state’s school boards association this month, saying districts should remove “pornographic or obscene material” from school library shelves. That letter came after a state senator launched an inquiry into whether schools shelve a list 850 books titles about issues like transgender identity, AIDS, the history of the abortion debate, and racial justice.

In Utah, one district immediately removed nine books — including The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison— from school libraries after a parent said she grew concerned about them after watching videos on social media.

But school librarians have a responsibility to assemble collections that represent all students, helping them to learn about themselves and the world around them, said Jennisen Lucas, the president of the American Association of School Librarians.

In a tense political climate, school and district administrators should prepare for challenges to books before they happen, said Lucas, who is also the library director for Park County School District 6 in Cody, Wyo.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What is it like to be a school librarian in this moment?

In a word, it’s a little scary.

It can be seen as an opportunity for us to really talk about what it is that we do. But, because the discussion is being led by an opposition of sorts, that makes it a little bit more difficult to really put the positive spin on what it means to actually have materials available for all people in our society. It’s not just whoever happens to speak the loudest or who has the majority of community members as part of their group.

It feels it’s a lot like it’s essential to our democracy to make sure that we have understandings of multiple viewpoints from multiple people. We believe that in our hearts, but the controversy ends up being a little bit difficult in practice, especially when you think about the fact that the people who are speaking out have children’s best interests in their hearts as well.

Tell me more about what you mean by that.

A lot of people who are a lot of the parents who are speaking out— they’re trying to protect their children, and that is a good and noble thing. We should always be protecting our children.

It’s great if you’re protecting your own child; it becomes a censorship issue when you are trying to decide for everyone else what is and is not appropriate for them.

We’ve seen controversies over library books from authors like Judy Blume and Toni Morrison for years. Does this moment feel different from the discussions about library content in the past?

It does feel different ... it is a lot more national in scope. It’s not individual schools that are facing this. We know that there are some some groups providing information on a national scale about some of these materials that go against certain viewpoints and certain beliefs.

In the past [the conversation] has been: “We object to this book. We would like to have it reviewed. We would like to have it removed from the library.” But now it seems to be escalating ... it’s not just about the [individual] books anymore. It’s about access to information. And there are [school librarians] who are receiving threatening messages on social media. That crosses a line. We would rather have a civil discourse.

What are some ways that school districts can anticipate these discussions before they arise in a letter from a parent or a tense school board meeting?

Double-check your policies and make sure that you know them.

We ran into this in my district a few years ago ... We ended up with a policy for how to select learning materials that did not address how to select library books. And so when we did have a book challenge, the committee that was looking at the books was confused about that difference between instructional materials—those that are assigned to students—and library books, which are available to students, but nobody’s forcing you to read them. That was an eye-opener to us that it was time to go back and look at our policies in this climate.

So make sure there is a policy [for selecting books], double-check that you are following that policy, and make sure everybody knows about it. And make sure that there is a policy for reconsideration [of a book’s inclusion in a school library], because part of the conflict is going to be when a parent who is trying to voice their opinions doesn’t have a process by which they can be heard. Having that policy in place helps parents navigate this as well.

I’ve been keeping my administration abreast of what’s going on nationally. We don’t always pay attention to small things that are happening in other districts, but this has become really big. This very well might come our way, so we have to know are we going to address this and talk about it in a way that is respectful and positive and non-adversarial.

Advice for School and District Administrators

• Review your policies on library materials before books are challenged. Don’t wait until there’s an active controversy, said Jennisen Lucas, president of the American Association of School Librarians. Policies on selecting library books should be distinct from policies on textbooks and classroom materials. They should also include a clear process for reviewing materials so that parents and librarians know that any complaints are handled consistently and transparently.
• Consider the context. A good district policy will encourage the complainant to read the entire work to put any concerning content into context, Lucas said. “In anything, if you just pull out one or two sentences, it may be very controversial.”
• Build trust with parents. Parents’ concerns about their own children can often be handled on an individual basis, and that often starts with a call to the school librarian, Lucas said.

How do you think about what to include in a school library collection, and what should parents understand about that?

We think a lot about the age-appropriateness and what we know about child development, because school librarians are also trained teachers. And so we have kind of gone through that process of thinking, “OK ... this book might have a difficult topic, but it’s designed for children this age.” And then we look at our communities as well and say, “Is this book going to be appropriate to my community?”

And we also then look to make sure that it is connected, in that we can connect it to curriculum. So if there are topics that are being taught in our school, we want to make sure that we have the materials that are needed for kids to explore beyond what they talk about in their class.

Some of the murkiness might come from when we’re providing materials for fun reading. For example, our 2nd grade boys are very, very into dirt bikes. That’s not taught in our curriculum, but we want to make sure we have that interest material because that’s how they’re actually going to learn how to read. Dirt bikes are not controversial, but it turns out that in my area, zombies are.

So many of these issues in education right now feel like they’re exacerbated by distrust of schools or institutions in general. Is there anything school libraries can do to build trust with parents?

In our district, we have specifically written it in the beginning of our [policy for challenging a library book] that [a parent] should come to talk to me... Sometimes they have a concern for their child, and that we can address. We will always back up a parent about their own child.

We can put a note in the child’s record in our circulation system that says that per parent request they’re not allowed to check out certain books. For instance, that [the child] is not allowed to read about zombies, witches, and ghosts. And that can be for a variety of reasons. It could be because of parental concerns based on religion, or just the fact that their child gets nightmares.

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Excellent dip-in tome that children could pore over for hours. Illustrations are great and the facts are genuinely fascinating. Great resource.

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Unlikely friendship is hugely endearing & the characters are great - it's easy to read & pretty tame while still getting to grips with a few issues. Great stuff - an author to watch

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In the same vein as the first vol. this is a classic historical adventure with an interesting premise and lots of twists and turns. Well-written and tightly-plotted. Series knowledge would add a little to the enjoyment but can be read as standalone

Gripping from the start. The foreboding circumstances Faye finds herself in are well realised. Children are treated badly but Faye's connection to nature gives her inner strength for an escape plan. Full of mystery and tension, a brilliant read

Cheery, inclusive illustrations and straightforward text make for a lovely introduction to the PSHE aspects of human bodies. Perfect for sharing with an adult.

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A twisty, turny thriller with an appealing framing device of a true crime documentary. Bel is dogged, resilient and refuses to be a victim despite the most toxic of family situations. A real page turner, perfect for fans, and will win new ones.

A beautiful and emotional verse novel which explores the challenges faced by many families. Told with empathy and compassion, it highlights how being surrounded by nature and kindness gives an inner strength. Dyslexia-friendly and an amazing read.

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Censorship by the Numbers

ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed with its Office for Intellectual Freedom by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States. Because many book challenges are not reported to the ALA or covered by the press, the 2023 data compiled by ALA represents only a snapshot of book censorship throughout the year. A challenge to a book may be resolved in favor of retaining the book in the collection, or it can result in a book being restricted or withdrawn from the library.

ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books and resources in 2023 . The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by OIF in more than 20 years of tracking: 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for removal from schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship. Titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals made up 47% of those targeted in censorship attempts.

Groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often dozens or hundreds at a time, drove this surge in 2023. Attempts to censor more than 100 titles occurred in 17 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Get digital assets for Censoship by the Numbers in our Free Downloads , and find additional social media assets on the Book Ban Data page.

Books and Beyond

Books are not the sole target of attacks orchestrated by conservative parent groups and right-wing media. Both school and public librarians are increasingly in the crosshairs of conservative groups during book challenges and subject to defamatory name-calling, online harassment, social media attacks, and doxxing, as well as direct threats to their safety, their employment, and their very liberty.

Who Initiates Challenges?

Prior to 2020, the vast majority of challenges to library books and resources were brought by a single parent who sought to remove or restrict access to a book their child was reading. Recent censorship data are evidence of a growing, well-organized, conservative political movement, the goals of which include removing books about race, history, gender identity, sexuality, and reproductive health from America's public and school libraries that do not meet their approval. Using social media and other channels, these groups distribute book lists to their local chapters and individual adherents, who then utilize the lists to initiate a mass challenge that can empty the shelves of a library.

Where Do Challenges Take Place?

Pressure groups in 2023 focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year; school libraries saw an 11% increase.

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Post-Tribune | Free books boost literacy skills at Gary school

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“I like Dr. Seuss and I feel like it’s a good book,” said Aujunique. “I like to read and I have a lot of books at home.”

Kaylani agreed. “Dr. Seuss is cool. I always love non-fiction books. It’s like real people,” she said.

The youngsters sat next to each other gazing at their books Friday in the Glen Park Academy library where they received a free book as part of School House Children’s Charities’ Mother’s Day Book Give Away.

Students in each grade took turns filing into the library and choosing a book from tables scattered about the colorful space. About 650 books were available.

“Every child and teacher is getting a book to build their home library to promote literacy,” said Brian Andreshak, founder and executive director of School House Children’s Charities and also a first-grade teacher at the school.

Andreshak said he purchased the books with grants from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the Legacy Foundation.

This year’s book give-a-way coincides with new Indiana reading mandates that call for the retention of third graders who don’t pass the I-READ annual assessment exam and requires elementary teachers to take an 80-hour professional development course on the science of reading and then pass an exam themselves.

“We’re not happy with it,” Andreshak said the new laws. “It’s just a money-making play. We have to pay $400 if we don’t pass, to take it again.”

Andreshak signed up for the course online and said it took about an hour to get onto the state website.

Instead of the mandates, Andreshak said Indiana should offer universal pre-K. “Build the core skills early on,” he said.

Last year, 52% of the school’s third graders passed the I-READ, the second-best total of Gary’s five elementary schools. Indiana’s statewide pass rate was 82%.

The school’s library was shuttered as part of a wave of cost-cutting moves after the Gary Community School Corp. fell under state control in 2017 because of its dire financial status.

The wave of layoffs and cost cuts helped trim the budget deficit, but left students with shrinking literacy options at their schools.

When Glen Park Academy Principal Eric Worthington arrived in 2021, he made reviving the dormant school library a condition of his hiring.

“I said you can’t have a school with a single-digit reading score and not offer literacy,” Worthington said while watching students choose their books.

He spent about $20,000 of school improvement money to buy books. A vendor, Half Price Books in Orland Park, Illinois, donated 20 cases of new books to restock the shelves.

School officials said last year each elementary was reviving its library with redesigns to highlight a theme. In 2023, just 47% of Gary third graders passed the state reading exam.

Housing challenges, poverty, and relationship breakdowns all lead to more transient children in urban districts like Gary.

Worthington said the high student mobility impacts test scores.

Like Andreshak, Worthington thinks holding back third-graders who don’t pass the I-READ is bad policy that will lead to more dropouts.

“Give us the resources to remediate kids,” Worthington said, citing decreased state funding.

Despite the financial struggles, Worthington is proud of the resurrected library that’s seen the addition of hundreds more books in recent years.

“We probably put $60,000 in books into the library. It’s a showcase. It’s the heart of the school,” Worthington said.

“This room is alive. This was a labor of love,” he said of its return.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter at the Post-Tribune.

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2024 Summer Reading Programs: Elementary Summer Reading

• Elementary Summer Reading
• Middle School Summer Reading
• High School Summer Reading

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• Kentucky Bluegrass Award K-2 Nominees
• Kentucky Bluegrass Award 3-5 Nominees
• Association for Library Service to Children K-2
• Association for Library Service to Children 3-5
• K-2 Summer Reading List This list is full of book titles to keep children engaged in reading throughout the summer. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to explore these titles to find resources that may match or spark their child's interest.
• Grade 3-5 Summer Reading List This list is full of book titles to keep children engaged in reading throughout the summer. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to explore these titles to find resources that may match or spark their child's interest.

Half-Price Books

​Starting June 1, registered participants have access to printable camp components all summer, including reading lists, activity ideas, and coloring sheets. You can also visit your local HPB to receive a copy of your camper's Summer Reading Log, cool camp stickers, and information on how to earn $5 Bookworm Bucks in June and July!

Kentucky Department of Education Summer Read Aloud Series

The virtual read aloud series offers opportunities to enjoy hearing a story read by a guest. Guest readers will include leaders from the KDE, Kentucky high school graduates, as well as authors. 

Book It Program

Camp BOOK IT! is open to all families with PreK-6th grade students (ages 4-12). Parents set goals, track reading and reward their students, all in our digital dashboard.

Louisville Free Public Library

The Summer Reading adventure begins June 1st! Free to all youth, newborns through 12th graders. The Louisville Free Public Library's annual 10-week summer reading program encourages children and teens to read for fun over the summer and helps them avoid summer learning loss. You can register online or by downloading the Beanstack Tracker app.

Capstpne's Virtual Summer Camp Adventure

From April 2024 through September 2024, children can participate in Capstone’s Virtual Summer Camp Adventure through the bi-weekly choice boards. The choice boards are filled with activities around reading, learning, creating, coding, science, moving, technology and more.  

There is something for everyone and every age.  The awesome thing about a choice board is every child can choose their very own summer camp adventure.  Talk through the different choices they have for learning, reading, creating and more. 

Note that some of the activities may require additional materials and resources if your child chooses to do that particular   activity. We recommend that you look through the choice board beforehand to get an idea of what the activities may involve.  And many require no additional materials. Read the Family Letter for more information. 

Scholastic Read-A-Palooza

From May 9 through August 19 the Scholastic Summer Reading program offers kids an exciting, free, and safe summer reading experience, while helping to provide books to kids with limited or no access over the summer, keeping every child reading.

Books A Million

Choose four books from the Summer Reading Adventure section in store or online. Write about each book in your summer reading adventure logbook. Visit any Books-a-Million store and show your completed logbook to a store associate to get your free pencil pouch. 

Barnes & Noble

​Record at least 8 books you have read and write your favorite part on their Summer Reading Journal and earn a free book!

Britannica Summer Reading Elementary

Explore intriguing topics with these books available from the Louisville Free Public Library. Then enhance your understanding by accessing Britannica articles on the same topics complementing your reading adventure. Britannica is available through KYVL using your JCPS email information.

Chuck E. Cheese's

​Record your reading for two weeks and return your calendar for 10 free play points or tokens as a reward. Calendar is also available in Spanish from their website.

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• Last Updated: May 13, 2024 7:53 AM
• URL: https://jcpsky.libguides.com/SR2024

Don't think fascism could happen here? You haven't tracked the school book bans. | Opinion

Book bans are democracy’s poison pills. wisconsin had 43 book bans in the 2022-23 schoolyear, according to pen america..

I had my sanctuary at Greenland Elementary School in Oconomowoc in 1960. That was the school library. I can smell those books still, lined up like so many magical doors through which a child might enter. The words, “you may go to the shelves and browse” were like being handed a golden key. By reading, the world outside the Oconomowoc of the 1960s came to us. Harriet Beecher Stowe meant reading about slavery, so did Huck Finn, and Pippi Longstocking meant you didn’t need parents: You just needed to be a strong and independent girl.

These days, the encouragement to “go to the shelves and browse” is tainted by well-financed, organized MAGA fearmongering. Students are told that for their protection, we must purge library shelves . Restrict reading. E rase the complexity of history . We at the Wisconsin chapter of Writers for Democratic Action , a national pro-democracy volunteer effort of over 3,000 writers, readers, bookstores, and partner organizations, are working to alert book ban folk that we know it’s never about the books — it is about suppressing the liberty of others, most especially our youth. Such bans contravene core democracy.

Milwaukee needs the connection. Real estate boom is no reason to tear down I-794.

Wisconsin Writers for Democratic Action is keeping track of each book ban. We’re doing it because we know that these book banning efforts are  about sowing distrust in the very idea of public education and all of our public institutions. These organized MAGA campaigns promote a white nationalism view of the country that sees the LGBTQ community as a scapegoat, and sees a misunderstood, seldom taught critical race theory as a bogus plot against America. Parents who do not want children to read specific books have always been able to control what their children read, in school, or at the library. As it should be. That’s not what this is about.

We are tracking each and every book ban in Wisconsin

This is authoritarian thinking. Book bans are democracy’s poison pills. Wisconsin had 43 book bans in the 2022-23 schoolyear, according to PEN America .

The Wisconsin Idea (1904) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison is our home grown state philosophy that education should improve government and public policy through enlightenment, far beyond the boundaries of the classroom. The freedom to read and write is thus part of our state’s DNA. One example of the Wisconsin Idea in action is the Wisconsin Writers Association, a 75-year-old vibrant and growing organization that educates and supports writers, authors, and readers across the state. Our children become readers, and those young readers become citizens, writers, and authors. Erecting spurious barriers and roadblocks to the freedom to go to the shelves and browse, to read and write, has no place in the land of the Wisconsin Idea.

Beginning in 1930, WHA began a statewide broadcast for rural Wisconsin  school children called “School of the Air.” Within it was the radio show, “Let’s Write.” It was a marvelous way to tell children that they too could be writers, and essays were read in class – at the grade school level. I’ll never forget hearing mine in 1960 in Delafield.

Freedom to read is a key issue in the elections this year. How did the book ban supporters fare in the recent Spring election?

While some school districts in Southeastern Wisconsin held off challenges by right wing extremists (Mequon-Thiensville, Elmbrook) and even unseated them (Stone Bank), other communities saw GOP-backed candidates tighten their grip on school boards (Waukesha, Arrowhead) or take full-control (Kettle Moraine). Overall, the threats to public education in the state will continue into 2025. The election this November decides whether we can keep ideas flowing, our schools thriving, and support for public education and public libraries alive.

Sinclair Lewis's 1936 play talks about fascism in America

Writers for Democratic Action will be working to promote forums that push back against autocratic thinking for children. To that end, we will be announcing a project called “It Can’t Happen Here,” based on the Sinclair Lewis play of 1936 which talks about fascism in America.

2024 election: GOP ought to be encouraging folks to serve as poll workers, not observers

On July 19, we will stage scores of community dramatic readings (Milwaukee being the flagship production) of a play adapted from the book. We learned about this play because we read it in our library. Public libraries hold our nation’s creativity, and they hold our history. They won’t let us forget — and they will let us thrive. Sinclair Lewis, a revered American mind, has much to tell us today, just as the thousands upon thousands of other authors found in our precious public libraries.

The forces behind book bans must be exposed. So, too, must efforts to sustain public faith in literature, and democracy. Just as books are the key to opening up minds, we can be the keys to keeping our libraries open and our bookshelves stacked.

Authors Jacki Lyden, OHS’ 71 and a former NPR host, and Barry Wightman, past president of the Wisconsin Writers Association, are the co-chairs of Wisconsin Writers for Democratic Action, the state chapter of Writers for Democratic Action. John Norcross, on our state steering committee, is a writer and blogger based in Oconomowoc. You can find them at WritersforDemocraticAction.org [email protected] , [email protected] and [email protected].

A teacher spoke out against offering 'opposing' views on the Holocaust. It derailed her career.

Editor’s Note: The following is adapted from “They Came for the Schools: One Town’s Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America’s Classrooms,” a book by NBC News senior reporter Mike Hixenbaugh that will be published by Mariner Books on May 14.

Christina McGuirk felt as if she might throw up as she pulled up to a Dallas-area hotel in October 2021. That might have been nerves, or because the fourth grade teacher was newly pregnant; she could not say which.

McGuirk had gone back and forth all week on whether she wanted to tell her story on national television. Even with her voice and face obscured to protect her from being identifiable, she worried about the blowback if anyone found out she’d talked. Her mother, a career educator, helped her decide. “Everyone needs to know what’s happening to teachers,” she’d told her daughter. “If you don’t speak up, then who will?”

An NBC News producer let McGuirk in through a side door and led her to a private conference room where a film crew was waiting.

My colleague Antonia Hylton and I had spent a year by then reporting on the revolt against a school diversity plan in the affluent and fast-diversifying Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, Texas .  The city had become a national poster child — or cautionary tale — in the new campaign to rid schools of programs, books and lessons that conservative activists were attacking under a distorted and ever-expanding definition of “critical race theory.”

That spring, candidates vehemently opposed to new diversity education programs at Southlake’s Carroll Independent School District had won seats on the school board, and in the months since, they’d begun enacting their agenda.

Now McGuirk was about to blow the whistle on what she viewed as the corrosive consequences.

Only a few days earlier a senior Carroll administrator had advised McGuirk and her colleagues to balance any classroom books depicting the horrors of the Holocaust by also providing titles written from an “opposing” perspective.

“What?!” one teacher said, incredulous.

“How do you give opposing views on the Holocaust?” said another.

“Believe me,” the administrator responded through the shocked commotion. “That’s come up.” 

Another teacher wondered aloud if she would have to pull down the children’s classic “Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry, or other historical novels that tell the story of the Holocaust from the perspective of its victims. Was she supposed to find a story told from the perspective of Nazis? Or one from the point of view of Holocaust deniers? Should they also balance accounts about the horrors of slavery by adding books written from the perspective of white supremacists?

The administrator’s instruction — which had been secretly recorded and provided to NBC News — was meant to help teachers comply with a new Texas law that required schools to present both sides of any “currently controversial” subject. But to McGuirk, 28 at the time, the Holocaust guidance was the latest and most disturbing sign of the far-right’s tightening grip on her school district — and a warning of what could be coming to schools across the country.

Her fears would prove warranted. A recent nationwide survey of teachers revealed the toll exacted by three years of partisan attacks on public education. Two-thirds of U.S. teachers told the Rand Corp. that they had limited discussions of political and social issues — including racism and LGBTQ topics — in their classrooms. Many said they self-censored because they feared losing their teaching licenses, or because they did not trust that administrators would defend them from parent complaints.

In this climate, some teachers have left education entirely.

McGuirk, who’d gotten into teaching as a way of living out her Christian faith, by showing kindness and compassion to children, had decided to stay and fight for what she believed was right.

Her hands were shaking, but once in the interview chair that afternoon in October 2021, she felt a rush of confidence that she was making the right choice. Another teacher, one of at least six Carroll educators who spoke to reporters that week to voice concerns, was seated next to her.

“The district says that they have not told teachers to ban books,” Hylton, my colleague, said in an exchange that would make it into a piece that aired that week on “NBC Nightly News.” “What are you seeing?”

“That’s a lie,” McGuirk responded sharply. “It is a flat-out lie.”

Later in the interview, in a moment that didn’t make it into the final cut, McGuirk explained why she and other teachers were willing to put their jobs on the line to bring this situation to light.

“We felt like no one was going to listen,” she said, “until a teacher spoke up.”

But in the end, only one person suffered formal consequences because of the Southlake Holocaust fiasco: McGuirk.

On the afternoon of Oct. 14, Hylton and I published an article headlined “Southlake school leader tells teachers to balance Holocaust books with ‘opposing’ views.” That evening, McGuirk’s interview aired on “Nightly News.” Very quickly, the story went international.

The words “Holocaust” and “Southlake” became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter, and to some the story became a symbol of the overreach of the conservative movement against diversity, equity and inclusion. The story got picked up by nearly every major news outlet in the country. The Auschwitz Memorial responded by posting tips for teaching about the Holocaust on social media and tagged the Carroll district’s Twitter account.

Jewish authors and descendants of Holocaust survivors went on cable news and wrote scathing editorials. Lowry, the “Number the Stars” author, appeared on CNN the next morning, telling anchor John Berman that she’d initially chuckled when she heard the audio from the teacher training on NBC News. “It seemed silly,” Lowry said. “But the more I thought about it, it wasn’t laughable. It was ignorant. And ignorance so easily morphs into evil.”

Carroll’s school superintendent, Lane Ledbetter, apologized for the comments by one of his administrators in a statement and acknowledged that “there are not two sides of the Holocaust.”

At a tense school board meeting the next week, residents came forward to express their outrage. More than 50 people addressed the board, many of them demanding that the district take steps to repair its reputation. Teachers teared up as they described feeling unsupported and under attack. For some, the episode had ripped open old wounds. A Jewish former student gave testimony about antisemitic bullying that he’d endured at Carroll in the early 2000s.

One of the final speakers of the night approached the microphone and drew in a deep breath. In a shaky voice, she opened by explaining that she’d known ever since she was a little girl that she wanted to be a teacher.

“Teaching is what I know I have been called to do,” McGuirk said as tears formed in her eyes, speaking out publicly after having secretly done so on national television. “I love your kids, and they are my ‘why?’ My goal as their teacher is to make sure I provide an environment that allows them to learn, grow and have fun daily — to provide a space where all students feel safe. And I wish some of you made me feel safe in return.”

When McGuirk returned to her seat, she glanced at her phone.

While she was speaking, she’d received a text from a conservative parent who’d once had a child in her class. The woman also had spoken during public comments that night and was seated nearby.

The parent’s message sent a rush of panic through McGuirk: “I am so disappointed you went to NBC.”

The fourth grade teacher took another deep breath, then closed the text without responding. That mom was probably just guessing. There’s no way, McGuirk reassured herself, that she had evidence to back up her accusation.

In the end , after the media firestorm died down, the controversy over the Holocaust remarks inspired just one concrete policy change in Southlake, but not one the whistleblower teachers had hoped for. The school board voted that winter to prohibit employees from secretly recording district business. The administrator’s instruction wasn’t the problem in need of solving, it seemed; the publication of it was.

For the rest of that school year, survival became McGuirk’s mantra. She’d seen how attacks by newly empowered activists had upended other teachers’ lives and careers. McGuirk, who was due to give birth the following summer, just needed to keep her head down. To avoid conflict, like so many other teachers nationally, she removed every book from her classroom library and avoided discussing subjects that might upset conservatives — becoming, in some ways, a shell of the teacher she’d hoped to be.

Then, in April 2022, as the school year was winding down, she received an email from a mother and activist who’d been among the most outspoken opponents of diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Carroll. McGuirk’s heart was racing as she opened the email. The parent had copied senior district administrators and a pair of like-minded school board members. “Did you know April is contract negotiation month?!?” the parent wrote, and then shared a link to an audio file.

When McGuirk clicked play on the file, she immediately recognized it as a recording of her anonymous interview with “NBC Nightly News” from the previous fall. Someone, it seems, had managed to undo the complex digital distortion that our audio engineers had applied to mask her voice and the voice of another Carroll teacher who’d spoken to us.

“Oh my God,” McGuirk thought as she played the clip again, recognizing her own voice with near-complete clarity. The audio still sounded slightly distorted, making clear this wasn’t a leak of our raw footage, but instead a feat of digital wizardry.

Exactly how this was possible, and who did it, remains a mystery. Audio experts said it likely would have required sophisticated software and someone with advanced technical knowledge to reverse the distortion techniques used by major broadcast outlets to mask the voices of confidential sources. The audio file linked in the email also included the unscrambled voice of a third Carroll educator who’d spoken anonymously to CNN in a separate interview about the Holocaust controversy.

Based on the other names copied on the parent’s email, it did not appear she or other conservative activists had successfully identified the two other teachers who’d given television interviews. In McGuirk’s case, they’d compared the unscrambled audio of her October interview with a recording of her public school board comments.

“I never in a million years would have imagined people would go to such extreme lengths to punish a teacher,” McGuirk said.

Her initial plan was to ignore the email and hope that school officials would do the same. She hadn’t done anything wrong, she reminded herself. There was no rule in her contract that said teachers couldn’t talk to reporters. But at school the next morning, McGuirk received another email that made her start to panic. This one was from Ledbetter’s assistant; the Carroll superintendent wanted McGuirk to meet him at his office after school that afternoon.

McGuirk’s principal was stunned; normally staffing issues were handled at the campus level. “You have to be strong,” the administrator encouraged her. But McGuirk, nearly seven months pregnant, wasn’t feeling very strong as she arrived at Carroll’s central administrative offices that afternoon, accompanied by a lawyer from a state teachers union.

“How’s your pregnancy going?” she recalled one of Ledbetter’s deputies asking, making small talk as McGuirk sat down across from them.

“Not good,” McGuirk replied. “I’m stressed out.”

Ledbetter, who didn’t respond to a request for comment, cut to the chase, McGuirk said. He told her that the school board — now fully in the control of conservative members who promised to purge the district of “woke” books and lessons — had voted the night before to approve annual contracts for all the district’s teachers. But the members had set hers aside for special consideration.

Before the board voted on whether to bring McGuirk back for the following school year, there was one question that needed to be answered, Ledbetter said. Then he set his phone on the table and hit play on the same audio file that the parent activist had emailed. McGuirk’s lawyer had advised her not to show emotion during the meeting, but as she sat across from her superintendent and listened to the recording of herself criticizing his administration on national television, she began to cry.

After the audio file finished playing, McGuirk says Ledbetter asked, “Are you telling me this isn’t your voice?” Before she could answer, the union lawyer interjected.

“I have advised her not to answer that question.”

“This is your chance,” Ledbetter said to McGuirk. “Is this your voice?” She took her lawyer’s advice and declined to answer, although the tears streaming down her cheeks must have signaled the truth. “OK,” Ledbetter responded. “That’s all we needed to know.” He said that he would pass this information along to the school board and that they would decide what to do with her contract at the next meeting.

But as she walked out of the superintendent’s office that afternoon, feeling depressed and defeated, McGuirk’s future at Carroll had already been decided — by her.

The majority in town no longer wanted people like her teaching their children, she told herself, polluting their minds with what she considered irrefutable truths. Yes, racism exists. No, there is nothing to debate about the horrors of the Holocaust. Yes, some kids have two dads. It’s OK to be different. She still believed every child deserved to learn those lessons. But with her own baby on the way, she was too tired to keep fighting.

Four years after accepting what she thought was her dream job teaching fourth grade in the elite suburb of Southlake, McGuirk resigned.

The only question now was whether she would ever teach again.

Mike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigative reporter for NBC News, based in Maryland, and author of "They Came for the Schools." 

What's in the same-sex parenting book banned by Cumberland City councillors in Western Sydney

A children's book at the centre of a controversial decision by a Western Sydney council to remove same-sex parenting literature from libraries is part of a series designed to help children navigate the "difficult realities in today's world".

Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig has been removed from libraries run by Cumberland City Council  following a heated council vote last week.

A slim majority of councillors voted for the book ban after the motion was brought by former mayor, Councillor Steve Christou, who told the council meeting he had been contacted by "distraught local parents" who found a book on same-sex parenting in the "toddler section".

What is the book about?

The book, published in 2018, is part of a series which tackles topics and situations that can be challenging for children, including step parenting, death and bullying.

A version of the book remains publicly available at other public libraries in Sydney.

It is recommended for children aged five to seven.

The book explains that there are "many different types of family" and canvases topics including how some children in the book refer to their parents and surrogacy in general terms.

One chapter says "people may be unkind" if you are a child in a same-sex family. 

"Most people are very supportive of same-sex families," it says.  "A small number of people might treat people from same-sex families unfairly. This is not OK. All loving families are good. "Remember, as long as you are happy, it doesn't matter what other people think."

Cumberland Mayor Lisa Lake said the content of the book, as with others in the series, was "age appropriate" and did not include any sexual content.

There is currently a process underway to determine how many books will be banned to meet the requirements of the controversial resolution.

Ban equated to 'book burning' 

Cr Christou, who moved the amendment to ban children's books on same-sex parenting and families in its eight public libraries, said it was inappropriate in the "very religious" "very family-orientated community".

"Our kids shouldn't be sexualised, it's that simple, what would a two-, three-, four-year-old know about that? A parent is a parent, why do we have to ingrain that?" he said.

"This community is a very religious community, a very family-orientated community."

The other councillors who voted in favour of the motion declined to speak to the ABC but Cr Mohamad Hussein said he backed the move because it was "in line with my religious beliefs".

The state government has indicated the council may face financial consequences, including the loss of state funding for the libraries.

In a letter to the Cumberland City Council, Arts Minister John Graham advised that the resolution contravened the Library Council of NSW Guideline on Freedom of Access of Information, which is issued under the Library Act 1939.

Excluding books or materials based on the views of councillors "amounts to a denial of access", Mr Graham said. 

"It is not the role of councillors to decide what people may read."

Cr Lake said council was evaluating any other risks the ban presented, including any breach to anti-discrimination legislation.

She said she will seek to have the ban reviewed by councillors, saying the she has received "countless" emails expressing "disappointment" about the ban.

"I think it's a serious issue about censorship," she said.

"It's important that information is available to anyone who wants to look at that information."

Mr Graham said it should be for readers to decide what book they select from the shelves. 

"When civilisations turn to book burning books or banning books it is a very bad sign," he said.

"That is equally true for local councils."

Councillor Diane Colman condemned the move as "book burning".

"It's a sweet little book that is written specifically for children who have same-sex parents, so that they know that their parents are OK, that their family's OK," she said.

Earlier this year, Cumberland City Council passed a motion to ban drag queen "story time" events, where drag queens read books to children, at its facilities.

Hundreds of locals attended the meeting in support of the ban.

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Western sydney libraries could lose state funding after council votes to ban same-sex parenting book.

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