The quad filled quickly with the sounds of laughter and music as students milled about, interacting with the tables of book themed activities, food and prizes. On Wednesday, May 28, the Student Library Advisory Board held their end-of-year party celebrating their monthly book challenge, giving out raffle-based prizes from water bottles to airpods.
According to Senior Joan Zipursky, a member of the Library Advisory Board, the Board was founded by librarian Molly Wallner this year after observing that the high school lacked a board similar to one at her previous job.
“Ms. Wallner had a student advisory at her last job and there wasn’t one here, and she was like, ‘Hey, let’s make one here.’ So she joined last year and then it got established so people would read more for fun and enrich their own lives. I also feel like the point is that people get to hang out,” Zipursky said.
Wallner said that the Student Library Advisory Board wanted to encourage a love of reading and reinvigorate the reading community and culture that Brookline had in the past.
“I was so worried about it because it’s my first big event here at the high school but it was such a success,” Wallner said. “It was so nice to see the people that we’ve been seeing come into the library to submit their books finally get to come and celebrate how much they’ve accomplished in their reading journeys, and then also just seeing the Student Library Advisory board come together and really pull it off. It was so gratifying.”
Kim Barnum, executive director of the Brookline Education Foundation, said that after librarians and members of the library Student Advisory Board pitched the idea of a reading challenge, the foundation funded the idea so that they could buy prizes, pizza and more as incentives for students to read at the high school.
“It was an idea and we fund ideas, so we didn’t know how it was going to work. We were like, ‘Sounds cool. Let’s try it.’ And so [the Student Library Advisory Board] did it, and that’s why I’m here to see like, ‘Wow, it worked. This was awesome,’” Barnum said.
Junior Bethany Dykstra said that she first learned about the event after seeing signs for it around the high school, as well as from her English teacher’s announcement. Dykstra said she enjoyed the event because of the opportunity to share a love of books.
“Honestly, I enjoyed everything. It was a really fun experience. I liked that it helped me to choose which books to read off my [to-e-read list], and also that there were other people reading along with me, so it was exciting to be able to put the little tickets in the jar every month and be like, ‘I read those books,’” Dykstra said.
Dykstra said that she enjoyed being able to experience a school-wide event focused on books after noticing a decline in reading among teenagers at the high school.
“I am so thankful for [the Student Library Advisory Board], because I think we need more bookish events at this school,” Dykstra said. “And I was glad to see that there was a schoolwide event for it, because I feel like a lot of teenagers are like, ‘Oh, I haven’t read a book since third grade.’ And they think it’s cool. And I read every single day. That’s what I do for fun. So I think it’s great to have an event for it.”
Wallner said that she was proud that the members stepped up and were able to successfully take the initiative to create the monthly challenges in addition to the final event.
“I am so proud. [Members of the Library Advisory board] always laugh at me because I’m very sappy, but it’s just been so amazing watching them blossom and grow,” Wallner said. “So the fact that they were able to put together this incredible event is just awe inspiring, and I’m just amazed by them every day. I love them all so much.”
