The decline in school libraries noted by Jonathan Kozol (see p. 66) led to a national initiative that began in the late 1980s called Library Power. The Dewitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund invested more than dollar 40 million in the project, matched by an additional dollar 25 project. The Library Power Initiative began in 1988 in New York City and continued over the next decade, in partnership with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Public Education Network. By the time it was over, school libraries in these communities had full-time staff, improved facilities, and increased holdings, but the initiative also focused on less tangible goals such as fostering and strengthening learning and cooperation within schools and engaging the larger community to sustain and expand these resources.
展开▼
