Open Books Open Minds

What We Do

During the 2008-09 school year, more than 4,000 students in West Philadelphia’s 23 elementary schools were without a school library. In 2009-10, through its innovative Open Books Open Minds initiative, WePAC cut that number in half by opening and staffing libraries in schools serving 2,080 students. An additional 4,000 students had only limited school library access. WePAC served more than 1,050 of them by increasing their school library hours. All told, in just one academic year, Open Books Open Minds provided more than 3,100 students with their first, or increased, access to a school library.

Open Books Open Minds renovates school library spaces, collects and donates books, and provides trained volunteers to staff and run the libraries. Our volunteers help students select and check out books, conduct literacy-related activities, guide research, and read to students. WePAC encourages curiosity and seeks to foster a life-long love of reading. During its first year (2009-10), Open Books Open Minds opened four closed libraries, staffed two more which had limited hours, catalogued and donated more than 25,000 books, and circulated 2,500 books per month to students.

The Lewis Cassidy School Before and After WePAC Renovations

Why We Do It

Only about 20% of elementary school libraries in Philadelphia are staffed by librarians. This means that the great majority of school children do not have the opportunity to check out books or conduct library research. WePAC is helping to fill this void until all schools have professional librarians.

Access to school libraries at a young age improves a child’s educational achievement and chances for long-term academic success. According to the School Library Systems Association, “School libraries are a stronger indicator of student success than class size, experience of teacher, number of computers, or location of school.” The Pennsylvania Department of Education, in its research study of 400 schools entitled "Measuring Up to Standards: The Impact of School Library Programs & Information Literacy in Pennsylvania Schools", concluded that: (1) the size of a school library’s staff and collection is the best predictor of academic achievement; (2) students who score higher on standardized tests come from schools with more library staff and more books, periodicals, and videos regardless of other factors, including economic ones; (3) among school and community predictors, the size of the school library staff and collection is second only to the absence of at-risk conditions, particularly poverty; and (4) reading scores tend to increase by 10-15 points when all school library predictors are maximized .

Stephen Krashen, in The Power of Reading writes, "Voluntary reading is the best predictor of reading comprehension, vocabulary growth, spelling ability, grammatical usage and writing style. Access to school library media centers results in voluntary reading by students." Yet another survey concluded that, “The extent to which books are borrowed from school libraries shows a strong relationship with reading achievement.” Newsletter of the Council for Educational Research.

Where We Are Going

WePAC is now expanding Open Books Open Minds so that it can (1) operate its current libraries more than their current one or two days a week, and (2) bring Open Books Open Minds to additional schools. Because our partner schools have 20-30 classes each, WePAC cannot see each class more than once every three or four weeks, nor can it fulfill requests to bring Open Books Open Minds to additional schools. In addition,WePAC plans to conduct special programs in the libraries, such as bringing in authors and illustrators to teach and encourage students about the joys of reading and writing.

One of the greatest needs for school libraries in Philadelphia is the equipment and technology to turn them into true 21st Century learning centers. While most modern libraries use technology to enhance literacy and learning, the school libraries in West Philadelphia are falling behind. To the extent possible, and with your help and support, WePAC hopes to close that gap.