The Hopkins School District is aiming to put a library card into every student's hand by the end of the school year, through a partnership with the Hennepin County Library and a White House initiative.
The ConnectED Library Challenge is President Obama's goal to have libraries pair up with schools so every child enrolled can get a library card. Hopkins is the first district in Minnesota to participate, and Hennepin County represents one of about 50 communities taking up the challenge to increase access to learning resources and library books.
"There's a wealth of value in the public libraries," said Ivar Nelson, the district's technology director.
The district of approximately 7,000 students has had a "strong foundation" of technology in classrooms, Nelson said. It dubs its technology devices program "1:1" because it gives iPads to every student in grades seven through nine and Chromebooks to every high school student.
The district's intention in its "Power Up: Libraries" program isn't just handing out districtwide library cards, Nelson said, but creating opportunities outside of the traditional classroom. "We hope to take it beyond that," he said.
The Hennepin County Library wants to support students in discovering the power of the library card, said Katherine Debertin, the library's youth programs and services manager.
"The White House recognized the strong role that libraries are already playing, and then challenged us to take it to the next level and partner with entire school districts," she said.
BEENA RAGHAVENDRAN