For the Love of Books
Librarian ensures students don’t lose access to books
By Monica Royer, OEA Communications Staff
Picture it: it’s one of the most exciting days at the school library. Students file in to find shelves and colorful displays of the latest books, bookmarks, toys, activities, and more. What is this? The book fair, of course. While many students have fond memories of the book fair, others might remember the disappointment of not being able to afford to buy anything. This was especially felt in Muskogee Public Schools, a Title I district with 100% free-and reduced lunch and breakfast programs.
After a nearby school shut down, Gina Batie made the switch from classroom teacher to librarian when she began working at Cherokee Elementary School in 2010. Batie hosted two bookfairs a year and realized over time that they would not be able to meet the sales quota to continue to host book fairs. The problem, she recognized, was bigger than losing the book fair. It meant kids would have less access to books at home and during breaks.
“The overarching goal for me as a librarian is to get books in the hands of children,” Batie stated. “Our district teacher-librarian team embraces the motto: ‘If you can’t bring the children to the books, bring the books to the children.’”
Thus, Batie started the “Adopt-a-Class” project in 2017, which allowed donors to help pay for books for students. At first, it was a daunting task to find donors, but the payoff was worth it. Batie reached out to over 100 businesses, organizations and individuals for donations. Her efforts paid off as members of the community flooded to support this program.
“Since the project’s inception, I have received over $47,000 in donations from 417 donors, ensuring that my readers have the opportunity to choose a free book from the book fair twice a year,” Batie shared.
Support for the project has only increased over the years.
“We have been able to reach our goal every year, and it blows my mind every time,” Batie exclaimed. “For this last book fair, we got the most donations we’ve ever received.”
Typically, they run the book fair as usual and then on the last day, the students are given a wide selection of books that they can choose from for free. Following, Batie makes sure all donors receive thank you letters from herself, teachers and students to show the impact their donations have. Most donors do not get to see the fruits of their labor, but one group had a special surprise this year.
“A local church volunteers their time every other week to read to two third grade classes,” Batie explained. “This year, the kids brought the books that they got the day before and asked the volunteers to read them. Some of those volunteers were donors for those books and were able to see the kid’s excitement for them. It was a really special moment!”
Batie’s efforts did not stop there. She wanted to give the kids even more opportunities to receive books and grow their love for them.
In 2021, Batie started the “Birthday Book” program funded by an education grant. During their birthday month, students visit the library to select a birthday book, bookmark, pencil and tote bag.
“This project is crucial because it allows readers to feel acknowledged and celebrated on their special day,” Batie shared. “Most importantly, they get to choose the book they get for their birthday.”
With the help of office staff, Batie created a bulletin board in the hallway displaying birthdays for the month and called them in every week through the intercom. She said students often stop and look for their names and are eager to be called.
“The kids really look forward to it,” Batie started. “Building connections at school is essential, and research supports that these relationships significantly contribute to students’ retention in school.”
With the success and support of these two programs, Batie has been able to team up with the eight other librarians in the district for an even bigger project this year. With the support of their district and grant funding, the librarians were able to achieve their goal of creating a “Read, play, talk” bus.
“Once a week during the summer, we will go to a park in town for two hours at a time and invite families to come,” Beatie explained. “They can get on the bus and grab a book to read while we’re there.”
In addition to the books, they plan to have games and activities for the kids and volunteers from high school organizations to play with them.
“It’s really about making reading a family engagement,” Batie said.
Through all three programs, Batie has gone above and beyond to help students not only have access to books at school and at home but foster a true love for them. Although these efforts were years in the making and met with challenges, she encourages all librarians to stand up for what they believe in and give it a try.
“Sometimes as librarians we are not seen and a lot of the time it’s not understood what we do,” Batie shared. “Often people still think of librarians as just being the person who says, ‘Shh’ or just checks out books, but we teach lessons and create relationships with everyone in our school.”
Batie truly believes in advocating for the profession as much as she believes in advocating for her students. She often posts about her library adventures on her Facebook page for the community to see.
“My advice is to talk to people and let them know how amazing you are because everyone has something that they bring to the table,” Batie said. “I think I am where I am because I tell everyone all the time, ‘We are doing amazing things in my library and at my school!’ and people have really started to pick up on that.”
Batie proves that being a librarian is so much more than people think. She does not simply provide books for kids; she instills in them a love for learning while making sure everyone feels seen, loved, and supported at school.
This story was a part of the 2025 Spring edition of OEA’s Education Focus magazine.