Annually, the American Library Association (ALA) hosts National Library Week. The event is taking place on April 3-9. This year’s theme is “Connect with your Library.”
Approximately 5,700 book titles decorate the library shelves inside Legacy Traditional School – Southwest Las Vegas. That’s where you’ll find Karlee Atkinson-Divich, Southwest’s Library Aide, doing what she loves most – supporting children’s literature. Since 2019, Karlee has grown the Southwest Las Vegas library into a central hub for student learning, collaboration, and events.
“When Southwest opened a few years ago, we held an incredible book fair and raised more money than we could have imagined,” said Karlee. “It was one of the most successful book fairs that Scholastic had seen for a new school. We had a lot of fun with raffles.”
Karlee and the campus have also played host to multiple authors, including New York Times Best Selling Author Troy Cummings. Last year, the school hosted a virtual author visit with highly esteemed, and renowned author Jennifer Nielsen. Nielsen discussed The False Prince, a book in Legacy’s curriculum, and her other newly released titles, with sixth-graders.
Karlee says every dollar that she raises through book fairs, read-a-thons, or family donations goes directly to purchasing books for the library. Due to the pandemic and school space restrictions, the school was unable to hold book fairs, but they adapted and held two successful Read-a-Thons in the past two years. “This year, we brought in over $38,000. I spend every dollar on new books” she added.
During school closures and hybrid learning, Karlee even requested the right to read and record books from the largest publishing houses in the business. “With their permission, I posted my recordings on YouTube and our school’s Google platform so the students could watch me read the picture books they were used to me reading in person. Students still comment on watching those recordings.”
This year’s National Library Week theme is “Connect with your Library.” Karlee encourages students and families to get out and explore our local public libraries’ media, programs, ideas, and classes—in addition to books. Outside of Legacy – Southwest’s library, you might find Karlee at the Windmill Public Library checking out her favorite historical fiction novels.