Titan Hill Library Benefits from Birthday Books!

Sydney Skokan, Titan Hill 2nd grader, donated 27 titles to the Titan Hill Library.

She has a history of giving.

When Sydney Skokan was 2 1/2 she donated her piggy bank to the Red Cross because workers took the time to talk to her and explain their role and why the Red Cross needs people to donate money.

When she was 7, Sydney donated over half of her birthday presents to the MOHM's Place Christmas event.

"It was not because she didn't want them. It was because she knew she did not need them. She loved the thought of the kids, who may not get anything on Christmas morning, waking up to some pretty awesome gifts under their tree," said Mindi Skokan, Sydney's mother. "She's had a passion for giving to those in need for as long as I can remember."

This year, for Sydney's 8th birthday, she decided to give back in a different way. Sydney told her mom that she wanted to donate something somewhere again. After careful consideration, she decided to donate to the Titan Hill Library.

When the birthday invitations went out, Sydney requested that instead of birthday presents, she wanted her guests to pick out books that they'd like to donate to the Titan Hill Library.

"I knew if kids were having trouble finding books, then if they donated the books they wanted to read, they could check them out here," Sydney said.

Sydney said that her favorite thing about the Titan Hill Library is all the books. Now thanks to Sydney's thoughtfulness, the Titan Hill Library has 27 more titles.

"To say that her dad and I are proud of her would be a true understatement. I hope this girl never loses her passion for giving and for always seeing the best in people," Mindi says.

How Our School Library Transforms Learning . . . And Learners

If you weren't already aware, it's School Library Appreciation Month.

This year's theme is School Libraries Transform Learning.

It seems like an obvious choice to those of us in the library world. It's what we do. Libraries empower learners. Yet there are still some who picture libraries of yesteryear, not quite sure what it is that happens in the library. They're unsure of how libraries have transformed and are transforming.

So I decided to ask some of my students to help tell our library's story. After all, it's their story to tell. In two different projects, I asked my students to share what it is that we do in the library and what impact it has on their learning. Here's some of their thoughts:

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And this just a small sampling of the answers I received. But the message is loud and clear: What we do transforms learners.

Happy School Library Month!