D70 Libraries Get $5K Grant for Narrative Nonfiction

Libertyville School District 70 libraries are being awarded a $5,000 state grant for a project to entice young readers with narrative nonfiction reading books.

The school district’s project, called “Enticing Readers with Narrative Nonfiction: Building Skills, Strengthening Relationships, and Enhancing Learning,” was allotted $5,000 from the Illinois State Library’s Back 2 Books Grants.

District 70’s initiative involves stocking school libraries with nonfiction narrative books and providing students with incentives to read the books, said Highland Middle School Learning Center Director Dr. Erin Wyatt.

“Narrative nonfiction, informational texts written with a compelling storytelling style, holds great appeal for readers and fits the emphasis on nonfiction text in the Common Core State Standards,” Dr. Wyatt said. “This project aims to build the collection of materials available to the third through eighth graders of Libertyville District 70.

“The library staff will use the expertise they gain in developing this collection of narrative nonfiction to work with their classroom teacher colleagues to promote the use of high quality nonfiction with students, strengthen collaborative teaching relationships, and most importantly, get students interacting with informational texts for learning and enjoyment.

“This grant opportunity was a great way to meet the need for materials and build a project that would help impact student learning and increase collaboration between classroom teachers and teacher-librarians.”

Supt. Dr. Guy Schumacher said he is proud of the Learning Center directors and their work on the grant.

“I appreciate your efforts in offering high quality books and extraordinary learning opportunities for the children of Libertyville School District 70,” Supt. Dr. Guy Schumacher.

The state’s Book 2 Book pairs collection development with programming or an activity to engage the target audience in reading, learning or using new library resources. Overall, the projects support people reading and learning at the library, with an emphasis on areas such as early childhood literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), employment and workforce readiness, and reading enrichment.

Altogether, 159 libraries were awarded a total of $678,410: 91 public; 52 school district; 14 academic and college; and 2 special libraries.