CATCH WHILE YOU CAN

THEM Wells Community High School

Chicago, Illinois
Student population: 600
Bateman Elementary School
Chicago, Illinois
Li br ar i a n Student population: 1,000
e r L or e nz , Kay Stepkin, L
Je nni f
licy ibrarian
p o st: 4 t ion P o Hours of operation: 7:30-3 Years at post: 7
Years at al s S ele c
e Mate r i Library open: Before school,
- Wid
Hours of operation: 8:30-2:45 CPS
during lunch, and 5 of 8 periods
& occasionally after school 5,000 20
Bu Co Te
●
● ●
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●$1,000 +
Volumes computer
Library open: All periods except Ms. Lorenz’s lunch $1,000
matching
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s in
~25
Bud
C 10
Te
$3,000 6,000 ●
grant from library
dg lle ch
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magazines
(+1,000 Volumes CPS
comp ●Subscriptio
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get ●for
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CPS databases

et cti nol
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in Libraries through to teach
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Dept. oks, ago: $5,000

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ed to
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ntly ●Uses
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holdings:
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matching VHS &
grants from comp databases

n gy
grant DVD
students
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and uter ●Uses
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instead
purchas leftover from of
Booklist skills Principal is sensitive
●

about books in collection students

e ●Healthy funds from Google
Not about gangs
●

emphasis
●
Issue teachers
But many students have
●
and library
volume experience with friends or
journals
●Used
●

s on non- used ●Must

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buy
family members in gangs

only at end
●Non-fiction
●
primarily
through
fiction during receives by
& of year—
out the learning librar no funds To raise awareness about
little use
students
outside of
●

year Dewey y time for ongoing gangs and why they are bad
while in
●
Promote open discussion curricular
Balancing Goal
purchases on ●
the dangers of gangs
School librarian
collaborates with principal
obligations library
Balancing
to move initiative forward

positives & negatives A

c ●
Invest in a small collection of books
positives & negatives
dealing with personal accounts and stories
of life in gangs and escaping gang life Is now
Art
Art projects
t required to
Bring in famous ex-gang member from

Plan
●

projects Humboldt Park who is now author and

incorporated
incorporated
into
speaker to speak to kids about his teach a class
into library
library time
time experiences
due
●
Timeline: by end of school year Runs a three periods
Low levels of due to
to lack
lack of
of art
art ●
Budget: $300 ($200 for books, $100 for
Mayor Daley a day
i
collaboration teacher
teacher speaker)

with reluctant after-school

teachers book club

Battle of the
o
Books as Low levels of
library
extracurricula
r
n collaboration
with reluctant
teachers

P
l
Enthusiastic students eager to come to
a ROSE SCHREIER
the library and check out books, do
projects and participate in activities
n Limited access and lack of teacher
DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY
support make he library—and reading in
general—a hard sell to nearly all students
FALL 2010