On July 9, the Minnesota Legislature enacted a policy allowing school districts to donate surplus books to individuals or organizations rather than disposing of them. This policy puts Park in a position to give textbooks and surplus library books to local organizations and students if they need them.
Junior Sage Murray said the surplus book law could be beneficial for lower-income families to have opportunities to get new books while also being environmentally friendly by reducing the school’s paper waste. They said a downside is that the books being donated are usually of lower quality because they are used and outdated.
“If our school is doing (the surplus book law), I think that’s a good direction for us and is a way to help with sustainability. For a lot of people of lower income, being able to have access (to books) is very important,” Murray said. “However, (donated books) won’t be as modern or up to date, and I worry that people of lower income and resources won’t get the high-quality books that they deserve.”
According to English teacher Lindsey Meyer, the surplus books law is a good idea, but the books being donated could be outdated and less desirable, which she has experienced when the English department donates its old books. She said she hopes that the donation of books will help expose students to new books that they don’t read in English class.
“I do think it has potential. I think it’s a great idea, but we typically find when we are getting rid of books as a department, they are not that interesting to a lot of other people because they’re so old or outdated,” Meyer said. “I see the benefit of it for sure. I would also love it if more people could donate books to the school in terms of helping students access other book titles as well, outside of just the English department.”
Junior Krychell Smith said the surplus books law increases access to books across all income levels. She said greater access to books makes it more important to read, including reading fiction books, which can teach students about mental health awareness.
“I see the law as making it even more important to read and more important to ingest as much as you can with the books that are available to us. Even fiction books can find a more beneficial and interesting way to look at life, and (it) can show children different ways to cure diseases of the mind,” Smith said. “This legislation shows how important books are and how effective they are.”
According to Murray, the school’s use of the surplus book law shows the consideration they put into making sure every student is able to have the resources they need to be educated.
“(Donating surplus books) sends a message that a school cares about their community and students, and is making sure everyone has an equal education access,” Murray said.
Meyer said the surplus books law is a good way to promote collaboration between the school and the community. She said by providing free books for students, it will help with literacy and partnering with families by giving them opportunities to communicate with the school.
“I can imagine that any opportunity for more partnership with communities and schools is important, and I think that if we can provide anything for free for families, that’s a positive. I think that it creates a more intuitive system of literacy where families have access to books and we have more communication with families,” Meyer said.
Murray said it’s important for everyone to have access to books so they can learn about various subjects and groups of people around the world.
“Books are an important resource for learning and also give a global understanding of different topics and cultures. They should be shared with everyone,” Murray said.
