Best Seller List: Parent groups buy books for school libraries

As schools trim their budgets here and there to make ends meet, the selection of books available in their libraries is getting thinner.

Some parent groups are helping to replenish library stacks by sponsoring fund raisers specifically for books. Here are two ideas that might work for your school.

The Birthday Book Club at Miramar Ranch Elementary School in San Diego was started nine years ago by Lori Erlenbach. She got the idea from a friend with children at a school in Carlsbad. Since she started it, the club sponsored by the school’s Family Faculty Association has raised at least $9,000 and purchased hundreds of books. (My kids attended the school. And, yes, we donated to the cause.)

Flyers are sent out to families early in the year, encouraging them to support the library. To thank each family for its donation, the name of the child and his or her birthdate are written on small birthday cake cutouts placed on a colorful bulletin board that students walk by every day on their way to lunch. (And the name of the child is written on a nameplate placed inside a new book.)

The bulletin board also includes the book jackets of many recent purchases, including “How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night,” “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,” and “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” And extra donation forms are available there, too.

Mrs. Erlenbach said she makes a point of buying the winners and nominees of the prestigious Newbery and Caldecott awards for children’s literature. She said she also spends a lot of time reviewing recommended books on the Barnes & Noble Web site. And this year, she’s replacing the library’s collection of Dr. Seuss books, some of which were purchased back in the early 1970s, when the school opened.

“Kids don’t like to check out old books,” Mrs. Erlenbach said. “They don’t look appealing.”

She buys books that are specially bound to withstand heavy use. They may cost a little extra, but they are worth it, she said.

The Willow Glen Foundation in San Jose started its Growing Readers program in the fall for libraries at the Willow Glen middle and high schools. Barbara Bremner, vice president of the foundation, said the schools asked parents to concentrate their efforts this year in supporting literacy.

“Libraries are the first to get knocked when budgets are cut,” Mrs. Bremner said.

Families are encouraged to donate $10 for a book. They can do so online. To thank families, the name of the child is written on a nameplate placed inside a new book. So far, about 150 books have been purchased.

Mrs. Bremner said the high school librarian had kept lists of books requested by students and teachers but were not in the inventory. The books on the list and others are being purchased at an independently owned bookstore in town that is offering the foundation a discount

The foundation’s annual wine tasting and auction last fall was also built around the theme Growing Readers. Proceeds from the event allowed the foundation to donate $2,000 to each of the school libraries for even more books.

And additional donations are being made to help teachers at both schools purchase new books for their classrooms. Some grade levels are using the money to expand classroom libraries, while some are using the money to buy sets of books that classes can read together, Mrs. Bremner said.

For more information on the Willow Glen Foundation’s “Growing Readers” program, go to willowglenfoundation.org.