2008 Woodie Awards
Graduate students fill Gompers library through service project
Kate MacAllister '11
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: News
This year, students at Gompers Elementary School are able to enjoy something they never could before: a library filled with books. The Honor Society, linked with the five-year Masters program in education with a reading specialist degree, Alpha Upsilon Alpha, requires its members to become involved in a service project related to literacy. This year, Alpha Upsilon Alpha has agreed to focus on the Gompers Library.
"Gompers had a room for their library, but it was always locked and never used because they did not have many books to fill it," said Renee Spangler,'07, vice president of the society.
Before Saint Joseph's students entered the picture, the room was primarily used as a storage room. Filled with empty shelves, the dusty room was not often ventured into by students. Virtually, the school had no library.
"A school without a library is such an unfortunate thing," said Spangler.
Once the officers of Alpha Upsilon Alpha decided to re-vamp the library at the adjacent school, they began a campaign that called for the donation of money and books. After only three weeks, the society has collected about 2,000 books and hundreds of dollars.
Members of the society have also been shelving the books, categorizing them by fiction, non-fiction, and grade level.
"We've been busy with cleaning the entire library, as well as with putting up posters and bulletin boards to make the space more attractive," said Spangler. "Most importantly, we've been making an inventory of all the books that are in the library now. Once we are done [with] this, we will be able to make a card catalog to assist with the finding of books."
"No one in the Graduate Program or Alpha Upsilon Alpha has ever done such a large service project before," said Althier Lazar, Ph.D., director of reading and the five year program.
With the help of the Saint Joseph's Graduate students, Gompers how has a functional library full of books. "We wanted to make the library a functional place for students and teachers to spend time in," said Spangler. "This is just an example of what happens when SJU students come together and work hard to accomplish a goal."
"Gompers had a room for their library, but it was always locked and never used because they did not have many books to fill it," said Renee Spangler,'07, vice president of the society.
Before Saint Joseph's students entered the picture, the room was primarily used as a storage room. Filled with empty shelves, the dusty room was not often ventured into by students. Virtually, the school had no library.
"A school without a library is such an unfortunate thing," said Spangler.
Once the officers of Alpha Upsilon Alpha decided to re-vamp the library at the adjacent school, they began a campaign that called for the donation of money and books. After only three weeks, the society has collected about 2,000 books and hundreds of dollars.
Members of the society have also been shelving the books, categorizing them by fiction, non-fiction, and grade level.
"We've been busy with cleaning the entire library, as well as with putting up posters and bulletin boards to make the space more attractive," said Spangler. "Most importantly, we've been making an inventory of all the books that are in the library now. Once we are done [with] this, we will be able to make a card catalog to assist with the finding of books."
"No one in the Graduate Program or Alpha Upsilon Alpha has ever done such a large service project before," said Althier Lazar, Ph.D., director of reading and the five year program.
With the help of the Saint Joseph's Graduate students, Gompers how has a functional library full of books. "We wanted to make the library a functional place for students and teachers to spend time in," said Spangler. "This is just an example of what happens when SJU students come together and work hard to accomplish a goal."
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