Many people remember their first trip to the library. The books stacked row upon row, that feeling of independence when you learned to use the card catalog and the pleasure of bringing a book of your choice home for the very first time.
Many people remember their first trip to the library. The books stacked row upon row, that feeling of independence when you learned to use the card catalog and the pleasure of bringing a book of your choice home for the very first time.
But for many schools, the vast well of knowledge that libraries represent has all but dried up. With public schools so underfunded these days, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for school libraries to offer an array of books that can open young minds to the world around them.
This term, Portland State’s Leadership & Mentoring Capstone Class organized a book drive this month for just such a school.
Young Women’s Leadership Academy at Harriet Tubman, a North Portland public school for girls from sixth through twelfth grade, caters to a wide variety of backgrounds. Harriet Tubman is known for accommodating the unique behavioral and developmental needs of its students.
But because of its financial constraints, the academy struggles to maintain such resources as a well-stocked library.
“They have all this space but only a handful of books,” said Angel Stutzman, a 22-year-old sociology senior in the capstone course.
The course, taught by Sarah Bunton, has students spend time in the academy’s classroom developing their communication, relationship-building and leadership skills.
While working with the students at Harriet Tubman, PSU students Stutzman and Eli Dapolonia noticed the alarming scarcity of books available at the academy’s library. Stutzman then came up with the idea for the book drive.
“When I saw the library, I couldn’t believe it,” Stutzman said. “The school is so under-budgeted. They have so many needs that I think books just get overlooked in the grand scheme of things.”
So far, the group has collected almost 400 books from donations and with the help of Portland State professor Andy Flight, who gave his non-business statistics class extra credit for bringing in donations.
“We are hoping for a lot more [books]. It hasn’t been easy,” said Dapolonia, a 41-year-old psychology senior. “With the economy down, I think people are more likely to try and sell their books than to give them away.”
While Stutzman launched the book drive idea, she credits all members of the book drive group for putting it together. In addition to Stutzman and Dapolonia, fellow seniors Russell Sims, Tracy Hearne, Tony Crisofulli and Rachel Nicholas all helped to organize the drive.
The poverty of books isn’t just a problem in the library. Many of the girls are reading Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games in their English classes with a field trip planned for those who complete the book.
“Some of the girls are heartbroken because they can’t afford to buy the book and may not get a chance to read it before the field trip,” Dapolonia said. “The teachers do the best they can spending their own money and loaning out their own copies of the book, but it’s sad.”
The partnership between the Academy and Portland State benefits both institutions and instills in the university students a sense of social responsibility, which is one of the course goals. The book drive is scheduled to end Thursday, March 1, so dig into your old boxes and scan your bookshelf to find volumes you can bear to part with.
The group has placed drop off boxes at Tiny’s Coffee locations at 1412 SE 12th Ave. and 2031 NE MLK Blvd., and at Portland State’s Cramer Hall in the University Studies office.
If you have a large donation, please contact Dapolonia directly at [email protected] or 503-544-7798. They will be happy to come pick it up anywhere in the Portland Metro area.
