Tricia Frank’s car breaking down this spring was a good thing: Now she has more storage space in her new, larger vehicle.
Frank is using that new car to deliver books to four apartment complexes in the northern part of the Parkway School District in lieu of the St. Louis County Library branch, which is closed this summer for renovation.
Frank, an English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher at Parkway North High School, learned this winter the Thornhill library branch would be closed for about year.
“And then my teacher mode kicked in and I thought ‘oh my gosh, so many of kids go there after school. How will they study longer, how will they check out books that we don’t have at school?’” she said.
Frank checked out more than 100 books from school librarians, boxed them up, and loaded them into her car.
“I feel like I was living the dream of my 10-year-old self because I honestly remember wanting to be the bookmobile person when I was 10,” Frank said.
She’s been visiting four apartment complexes in Maryland Heights this month, letting students who live there check out books. Participation has been a little low, which Frank said may be because of the late start getting the word out.
“But I figure if one kid gets a book that’s amazing and it’s definitely been more than one kid,” she said.
Frank will continue shuttling the books through early next month.
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