The First (Official) Day!

I have decided to start this blog to track our progress, share thoughts on Library Build and school libraries in general and give updates to our supporters. Over the first few weeks of this blog, I hope to give readers a sense of why I am working on Library Build, who Library Build is helping, and the challenges that face both those that we serve and our organization. I will also be addressing some common suggestions and critiques that we receive and delving into the rationale of why we believe so strongly in our model and how we will be measuring our results and refining our model.

For those who don't already know, Library Build is a nonprofit that provides working libraries to America's public schools so that all children will have access to books, media resources, research programs and to dedicated librarians. Library Build was founded by our CEO (and my wife), Callie Hammond last December. It is the result of the realization that very few nonprofits are trying to give students the literary, media and teaching resources that are so sorely lacking in both Philadelphia and the United States as a whole. Library Build is unique because we believe that a holistic approach is key to providing libraries to students. In order to obtain the largest benefit from the books, e-resources and media equipment that we provide to school libraries, we will also train Library Fellows to work in our libraries as full time, certified librarians. Library Fellows are recent college graduates who are responsible for managing the library, working with teachers to maximize library utilization, teaching students basic research and computer skills, and creating enrichment and after school programs for students. By providing both the resources and the teaching capacity, we hope to maximize the benefit to students.

In Philadelphia alone, 131 of 208 elementary and middle schools (63%) do not have libraries or a certified librarian. 23% of public schools in the US as a whole do not have a library. 23%. Almost one quarter. One more time - almost one quarter of US public school children do not have access to a basic school library. These statistics shock many people that we talk to. Most recall having a library in their elementary, middle and high school while growing up. Yet this is clearly not the case today. Unfortunately, for a myriad of reasons that I will elaborate on in the coming posts, children today simply do not have access to some of the most basic tools of learning. Frequently the children lacking these resources already face the hurdles of poverty, broken homes and parents who are too overburdened before they even arrive at school. It is these children that we hope to help - by giving them the resources that we hope will inspire them and make it simply possible for them to learn to love to read.

More in the next few days!

Library Build's Website (Still largely a work in progress at this point): www.librarybuild.org