Literacy is the Heart of Hartem
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[January 30, 2024]
The goal of literacy education is not only to
raise students who CAN read, but who WANT to read. Mrs. Folkman
takes this job seriously for all students from early childhood
education to graduating seniors. Over the past 18 years in
education, 6 of those in the library, she has worked to build a
community of readers, not just in the school and classroom, but in
the community at large, as well. |
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 Getting
people to want to read starts with choice. People of all ages are
more likely to read if they are given a choice in WHAT they read. In
2017, Mrs. Folkman was awarded the prestigious Book Love Grant from
the Penny Kittle Foundation to help support reading choice in her
classroom. From there, her desire to share book love and choice
reading only grew. She decided to become a school librarian and
promote books for all ages. Volunteers made and purchased little
free libraries that Mrs. Folkman stocks with books for all ages in
Hartsburg and Emden to make sure that the whole community has access
to books at all times. She also visits little free libraries
throughout Logan County and central IL to donate books.
Some major projects Mrs. Folkman has undertaken in the school
library include genrefying the fiction section at the junior
high/high school to make the books more browsable, like you might
see in a bookstore. Students are enjoying it and circulation has
increased since this change. She has also added manga and comics
sections to the junior high/high school library. Last year she won a
grant to refresh the science section of the junior high/high school
library to update the very old volumes the school had before.
At the elementary school, Mrs. Folkman worked to weed
and refresh the nonfiction section of the library. She has also been
weeding the picture books while reading each of them. (She just
finished the letter W and should finish all the picture books by the
end of January!) The chapter book section is also getting a refresh
with genre stickers on the spines to help students find their
favorites.
Mrs. Folkman is recently the recipient of the First
Page Award from AISLE (Association of Illinois School Library
Educators) for contributions to the organization and librarianship
in IL within her first 5 years of membership. She also received the
Cart-Campbell grant from ALAN (Assembly on Literature for
Adolescents of NCTE) which allowed her to attend the ALAN conference
in Columbus, Ohio and meet and learn from over 200 authors.
This fall, Mrs. Folkman represented Hartsburg-Emden and Logan County
at the Governor’s press conference announcing the expansion of the
Dolly Parton Imagination Library throughout the state. She also
represented her school and AISLE at the Lieutenant Governor’s
inaugural Tea with the LG to discuss topics relevant to libraries
and library patrons across the state. One major issue she brought up
to both the Governor and Lt. Governor is how many rural communities,
like Hartsburg-Emden, have no membership in a public library. Recent
closings of local campuses and their libraries further restrict
access to resources not only for Hartsburg-Emden, but for the county
as a whole.
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At numerous conferences, both state and national,
Mrs. Folkman shares her ideas and curriculum with teachers and
librarians. She has created a curriculum she calls Postcard Field
Trip where students travel to all the US states and territories as
well as countries of the world through books and lessons during
library time and displays in the library. She and the students have
received packages and postcards from US ambassadors and Foreign
Service workers from around the world to help supplement this
curriculum.
Each year, Mrs. Folkman hosts two book fairs. Last spring, the
school was able to host author David Biedrzycki all day and for
Family Reading Night so that students could meet a famous author.
Through grants, Mrs. Folkman was able to provide each student with a
signed copy of Breaking News: Bear Alert.
Mrs. Folkman is always looking for ways to spread
Book Love and Book Joy. Keep an eye out for community outreach
events around the county and check your local little free libraries
for new books to read! (If you have an event that you’d like Mrs.
Folkman to distribute books at or a little free library that needs
filled, please feel free to email her! nfolkman@hartem.org.)
[Nichole Folkman]
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