Reviewing more ways to earn volunteer hours
The removal of library books due to inappropriate material has been a nationwide trend, and it has landed in FISD. The FISD Board of Trustees have voted on the removal of books, and Frisco citizens, such as State Representative Jared Patterson, have challenged books in schools.
February 11, 2020
Whether it’s reading a book for class, or reading for pleasure, students can earn volunteer hours by writing book reviews for the library.
“I think it’s just going to boost what people are reading,” librarian Chelsea Hamilton said. “Adults can tell you all the time, ‘you should read this book. He’s read this book, I really liked it.’ But we have a different perspective on books than students do. So if you’re hearing it firsthand, from somebody your age, somebody who has your same interests, you’re probably going to be a little bit more likely to read that book.”
By writing a short review and submitting it, students can earn an hour of volunteer service per review.
“If you go on to the library website, and you can find that on the regular Liberty website under Resources,” Hamilton said. “And if you go on there, it’ll have the guidelines for the book reviews, and then the book review blog so you can see all the ones that have already been reviewed.
By writing a short review of 300 to 400 words on a book that can be accessed in the library, students can earn an hour of volunteer service per review.
“So the whole thing is, you have to review a book from the library that you can access in the library,” Hamilton said. “It has to be one that has not already been reviewed. And then your review essentially is going to be a short review, about 300 to 400 words. So you would write like What’s the book about? What would you like to know about it? What did you not like about it? Would you recommend it to a friend? and then just send it to me and then you get your hour once I put it on the blog.”
This could benefit students in many ways with volunteer hours, reading, and learning about more books.
“I just want more people to read and to get lost in a whole different world that you never knew existed,” Hamilton said. “So I just really want people to come in and read more books and it’s a lot easier to read a book if like one of your friends has read it like, ‘Oh, I know somebody from you know who, whatever class, they read that book and they really liked it. Maybe I could read it.”
