Summary of Scholastic Library/Grolier Grant Proposals
from School Library Media Centers
2001-2004
Since 2001, the Scholastic Library/Grolier National Library Week Grant, which annually awards
$5,000 to a single library for the best public awareness campaign during National Library Week,
has been affiliated with the @ your library® campaign. Even though there is only a single
winner each year, the hundreds of applications received from libraries and library organizations
of all types offer countless ideas from which other libraries can draw inspiration.
Below are summaries of applications submitted by school library media specialists since 2001.
In the proposals, you’ll not only learn ways your colleagues found to adapt the @ your library
brand locally, but strategies for collaboration and outreach that you can use @ your library.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Bethune Elementary School (2003)
College Park, GA
Theme: Where Can You Find It?: @ your library
The programming for National Library Week will be to promote family literacy, impact student
achievement and introduce the school’s parent population to the media ceneter, enjoyable
reading and the Internet. Activities would include introducing parents to Accelerated Reader, a
“Read-In” with area business partners, talks by local authors and a family “Read-In” with
parents, students and school staff.
Howevalley Elementary (2003)
Cecilia, KY
Theme: A love for literacy @ your library
During National Library Week, local authors would be invited to the school, students and staff
would dress up as their favorite storybook characters, and a school-wide pajama party would be
held. The goal of these activities would be to promote the value and effectiveness of today’s
librarians through support and enhancement of the school curriculum.
Hilltop Elementary School (2003)
Glen Burnie, MD
Theme: TLC—Head in the right direction @ your library
The library would reach out to every child at school to promote lifelong learners during National
Library Week by engaging them in creating a video to promote TLC (the library card.) The
video would connect with the entire school community to increase understanding of the
resources @ your library. Students would also be taken on field trips to the local public library
to increase the number of students from the school that use the public library on a regular basis.
C.P. Squires Elementary School (2002)
North Las Vegas, NV
Theme: Art @ your library
The library will kick off its year-long “Art @ your library” program during National Library
Week 2002. The program will have students study various illustrators’ techniques and will lead
students through a discussion of the different roles that illustrations have in books.
C.H. Stillman School Library (2003)
Plainfield, NJ
Theme: Connecting to the future begins @ your library
The campaign would be a collaborative effort between the city of Plainfield and two flexible
scheduled library programs at an elementary and a high school. The goal of the program would
be to foster relationships with community institutions in order to be advocates for literacy by
highlighting the various connections that are made at the library: human connections and
connections with information. The high school students would meet with their library media
specialists to augment their storytelling abilities and strategies for solving information problems.
They would then visit the elementary school and read to the students and help them with
information problem solving. Posters using the slogan would appear in community institutions,
such as city hall and the post office
Eggert Elementary School Library Media Center and Orchard Park Central School
District (2003)
Orchard Park, NY
Theme: B.E.A.R.S. @ your library
B.E.A.R.S. @ your library (Be Excited About Reading/ Be Eager About Research) has been the
school library’s theme for two years. The theme would continue during National Library Week
when the school’s new videoconference equipment would be used to show presentations made
by experts in the community, like at the Buffalo Zoo and the science museum. The presentations
would also be shown a the school’s Learners’ Fair, which is open to students and their families.
M.S. Bailey Elementary (2003)
Clinton, SC
Theme: Check it out @ your library
The program is designed to increase student interest and participation in reading books and
materials in all curricular areas and would seek to motivate kindergarten through fifth grade
students’ reading interests in all of the curriculum areas. Students would check out books, write
a summary and keep a journal of all of the subjects in the books that interested them. Parents
would also be encouraged to participate by keeping journals of things their students are
interested in to get ideas for summer reading and further research.
Burkeville Elementary School Library (2001)
Burkeville, TX
Theme: Families Reading Together @ the library
This program is focused on encouraging family reading in the community. The goals of the
program are to implement a Family Reading Night at the school library, distribute free reading
materials to the students and community, create a place in the library dedicated to displaying and
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loaning tools for parents to encourage family reading, and provide training for parents and the
community to assist them in encouraging reading at home.
MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR HIGH
Homestead Middle School (2001)
Homestead, FL
Theme: Ride the Reading Rocket @ your library
This program seeks to empower the students of the school and the people of the surrounding
community, which was devastated by Hurricane Andrew, by emphasizing the free resources
available at the library. Three separate open houses that will offer a tour of the facility, an
opportunity to meet staff, and a discussion on reading with children and will target the different
minority communities in Homestead. They will hang posters and banners, work with local
newspapers, and display a rocket with the theme, “Ride the Reading Rocket” in the library/media
center, supermarket, and parades.
Chief Moses Middle School (2002)
Moses Lake, WA
Theme: Improving literacy @ your library
“Improving literacy @ your library” is an incentive program to improve student reading.
National Library Week 2002 will feature drawings for students who complete the reading criteria
and authors will be invited in to host workshops.
Nooksack Valley Middle School Library (2002)
Everson, WA
Theme: 100% @ your library
“100% @ your library” will partner the Nooksack Valley Middle School Library with four other
area school libraries to help the target and achieve their goals. Goals can include 100% of
students checking out books to 100% of students’ grandparents participating in a read-a-thon.
Media coverage for the program will be coordinated for National Library Week 2002.
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HIGH SCHOOL
St. Clair County High School Library/Media Center (2001)
Odenville, AL
Theme: Access Your World @ your library
This program focuses on getting more patrons into the library to use their media center and other
resources. Posters would be hung in the school and community and bulletins board displays and
a library web site would be created to let audiences know about the library’s resources.
O’Connell High School Library (2004)
San Francisco, CA
Theme: Reading Together @ your library
“Reading Together @ your Library” will focus on read-aloud skills and present materials in
English and Spanish if needed. Teen Library Advisors will participate in a “Raising a Reader”
workshop and learn about current brain theory as well as tips and techniques for reading aloud.
They will plan read-aloud events for an African American Read In and Dia de los Ninos.
Duke Ellington School of the Arts (2002)
Washington, DC
Theme: multiple themes using @ your library
The school’s National Library Week activities will focus on broadening horizons through the
library, specifically focusing on the history, geography and cultural resources of Washington,
DC and how users can find information about DC at the library. Programs will include: “Real
Like Stories of Notable Washingtonians @ your library;” “Everything you wanted to know about
Washington DC artists @ your library;” “Make History Come Alive @ your library;” and
“Explore Washington Opera @ your library.” They plan to use the @ your library campaign as a
springboard to seek additional funding for library services and enhancing awareness about
libraries. They plan to work with the DC Public Library, the DC Council of the Humanities and
In2Books Literacy Project in the DC Public Schools to implement the program.
Paul Robeson High School (2002)
Chicago, IL
Theme: Paul Robeson @ your library
The library’s theme of “Paul Robeson @ your library” will take student’s from the familiar
school namesake into a journey of reading. The library will spearhead an effort to improve the
reading skills of students by developing a three-week unit on the life of Paul Robeson that will
include creating skits and reading a book about his life. The culmination of the program will be
a performance on Paul Robeson’s life at the library.
Argo High School Library (2002)
Summit, IL
Theme: Argonauts United for America @ your library
The library will encourage understanding of different ethnic groups during the 2002 National
Library Week under the theme of, “Argonauts United for America @ your library.” Each day
will cover a different ethic group represented by the student body: Hispanic, African American,
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Arabic, etc. @ your library. They will conclude the week with a cultural fair with ethnic food
and music.
Lincoln Way Central High School (2003)
New Lenox, IL
Theme: Storytellers @ your library
The Storytellers @ your library program would show students that librarians do more than find
books, fix computers and check out books and that many librarians have a second life as
storytellers. During National Library Week, all 2500 students would be invited to the library
during their lunch or study hall to hear their librarians’ favorite stories. Students would also be
encouraged to present stories and monologues.
Belfry High School Library Media (2002)
Belfry, KY
Theme: Drive to read @ your library
“Drive to read @ your library” will be the theme for a school-wide read-a-thon that will take
place during National Library Week 2002. Students will form teams within their classes, each
team consisting of a “driver,” “crew chief,” and “pit crew.”
Austin High School (2003)
Austin, MN
Theme: Get a job @ your library
The focus of the library’s National Library Week programming would be on the changing role of
today’s librarians and the need for more people to enter the profession. The major push would
be public awareness through radio, television and newspaper advertising. During the week, the
library would invite two prominent local librarians to speak about librarianship as a career and
the library would be open for extended hours. Students would work with the media specialist to
create a PSA and the school’s art club would be responsible for designing the t-shirts and posters
using the week’s theme.
Holland District Library (2001)
Holland, NY
Theme: The Unveiling @ your library
The goal of this program is to bring more of the community into the library, as it is a high school
library that is also open to the public. The proposal calls on students to create a mural (earning
them community service credits required to graduate) on the library wall that depicts the history
of Holland, and its historical sites. The mural would be “unveiled” at a reception that the entire
community, including town representatives, the library board, and school board, would be
encouraged to attend.
St. Ursula Academy Library (2001)
Cincinnati, OH
Theme: Talking is required @ your library
This program focuses on encouraging library patrons (students, administration, parents, teachers)
to communicate their ideas and suggestions to the library in order to build a feeling of
ownership. It also takes the theme to other levels, encouraging all forms of communication,
encouraging young women to find their voices, and developing an overall atmosphere of
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comfort, accessibility, and a safe space for ideas, opinions, and expression. The plan includes
highlighting various communication media to demonstrate libraries’ technological savvy as well
as to allow patrons to choose their preferred method of communicating. It also involves an
Open Lip Coffee House for students of this and other community all-girl schools to present
original poetry and literal on the topic of speaking out about libraries.
Mayo High School for Math Science and Technology (2003)
Darlington, SC
Theme: A latte Ultimate Search Engines @ your library
A latte Ultimate Search Engines @ your library is a gala event to make the community aware of
the programs and services available in both the school and local public library. There would be
multi-media presentations, hands-on activities, handouts, brochures, bookmarks and other
promotional materials. Free lattes and other refreshments would be served at the events and
promotional items would include the theme.
China Spring WebMasters/ China Spring PALs (2001)
China Spring, TX
Theme: Find Power @ your library
This plans seeks to take the momentum already generated by students’ interest in the library’s
technology courses and extend it to the community to gain more funding. These
“WebMastering” students will create on-line surveys, information pages, and promotional
activities. The main theme of this program will have smaller sub-themes, such as “power to
create/change/learn/discover/influence others/share/grow/dispel myths/control @ your library.”
Programming will stem from these sub-themes (ex: power to control your destiny) and these
themes can be used by teachers and other community members.
DISTRICT LEVEL
Albuquerque Public Schools (2002)
Albuquerque, NM
Theme: Become an Ambassador of Public Policy @ your library
The “Become an Ambassador of Public Policy @ your library” program will encourage students
and adults of all ages to become active in our democratic process through researching of public
events and a letter writing campaign. Students will read excerpts from books on terrorism and
the library will highlight all of the resources it has to research current events and public policy.
Rio Linda Union School District (2002)
Sacramento, CA
Theme: Make Friends @ your library
“Make Friends @ your library” will link three new RLUSD campaigns: literacy, tolerance and
library awareness and use. The tool to link the three together will be a series of read-a-thons that
will demonstrate libraries as safe havens and places of imagination and resources for everyone in
the community. The read-a-thons will feature local celebrities, including city officials and local
artists and authors.
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Metropolitan School Dist of Perry Township, Center for Education Technology
and Media (2002)
Indianapolis, IN
Theme: multiple using @ your library
The library is hosting “A Community United @ your library” during National Library Week
2002 with special programs including, “Read-In @ your library,” “Get creative @ your library,”
“Get Wired @ your library,” and “Get Carded @ your library.”
New Bedford Public Schools (2003)
New Bedford, MA
Three schools would collaborate to promote the @ your library brand and to promote awareness
and value of libraries by creating an @ your library slogan and having it printed on t-shirts that
the students would wear on various field trips. The slogan would also be used in a newsletter
distributed to the community and selected 6th graders would be interviewed by a parent that
works for a local radio station to discuss how they’ve helped promote libraries during the week.
Students would be involved in evaluating the overall effectiveness of the campaign.
Lackawanna City School District (2004)
Lackawanna, NY
Theme: Connect to your neighbors by connecting @ your library
The primary goal of the program is to introduce all ethnic groups and residents to the resources
and materials available at the library. The library is to be promoted as a gathering place to
exchange ideas in hopes of bringing neighbors closer.
Ohio Central School System (2004)
Orient, OH
Theme: Beyond Bars @ your library
The project “Beyond Bars @ your library” is a first-time effort of the Ohio Central School
System and the prison libraries of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to
actively promote awareness of the library services to 44,602 inmates incarcerated as of this date.
The activities will culminate during National Library Week. The goal of “Beyond Bars @ your
library” is three-fold: (1) encourage greater use of the institutional libraries and their various
offerings; (2) create a logo giving new representation to the libraries;(3) show a different side of
libraries.
OTHER
Lukachukai Community School, Inc. (2002)
Lukachukai, AZ
Theme: Discover Harry Potter @ your library
“Discover Harry Potter @ your library” will encourage students to read the Harry Potter series,
learn science experiments and encourage parent involvement in the school library. Students will
write in “Wizard Reading Logs,” participate in oral discussions, conduct “Wizard experiments,”
and write poetry, stories and books.
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Miami Country Day School (K-12) (2002)
Miami, FL
Theme: fREADom @ your library
Under the theme of, “FREADom @ your library,” the Miami Country Day School will partner
with local universities, school and public libraries to promote libraries as cornerstones of
democracy. “READ” is an acronym meaning, “Respect Education in America’s Democracy.”
They will publicize through billboards, bookmarks, postcards and letters to the editor.
Lockwood School Library (K-8) (2001)
East Billings, MT
Theme: Discover @ your library
The focus of this program is to encourage students to express their personal stories in a variety of
ways and to explore ways that personal stories have been expressed orally, in print, by media,
and through performance. The goals are to improve the library’s visibility, actively promote
their patron services, and foster a mutually beneficial relationship with the public library in the
community. A series of workshops throughout National Library Week focusing on different
means to tell personal stories will call on local librarians, authors, university professionals, and
performers to lead these workshops.
Keefe Library, North Salem Middle/High School (2001)
North Salem, NY
Theme: @ your library/The New Keefe Library
This program uses the “@ your library/The New Keefe Library” theme in its promotions for the
kick-off of its newly revamped facility. To let the community know about its new facility, the
library will host a ribbon cutting (“Celebrate @ your library”), feature an historical display
(“Meet the Past @ your library”), host a virtual tour on its Web site (“Tour @ your library”),
host a book fair (“Book Fair @ your library”), and introduce remote database access so that
patrons can access the many databases to which the library subscribes (“Database Access @ your
library”).
Norfolk Academy Batten Library and Lower School Library (Grades 1-12) (2001)
Norfolk, VA
Theme: Discover What’s Available @ your library
This program seeks to pool together the resources of all area libraries (including law, university,
and a library on a Naval Base) and make those resources known not only to the public but also to
those in the library community. This will be achieved through a library fair, featuring a library
card drive, and creating a directory of local library staff people, listing their specialties. The fair
will have a booth for each participating library to show its wares.
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