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Ashland Middle School Plans for New Book Vending Machine

Ashland Middle School Plans

for New Book Vending Machine

Gwen Akers

Ashland Beacon

 

Everyone loves the satisfying thump of a Pepsi bottle rolling out of a vending machine, but what if instead of an ice-cold drink, you could have a book perfectly suited to your tastes? This is the goal for Ashland Middle School library media specialist Tami Cook, who is pleased to be announcing AMS’s very own Book Vending Machine. 

After several months of talking to representatives and working with scholastic, Ashland Middle School will soon be getting their own book vending machine, stocked with classics and a variety of books to please every sort of reader. This all began at the suggestion of Dr. Howell, the principal at Ashland Middle School who had helped two other schools obtain vending machines in the past. Cook took this idea and ran with it. 

“I talked to a representative, and after talking to everybody, I really felt like it was going to be an exciting thing to offer the students and help promote literacy. To get them excited about reading and getting a book in their hands,” Cook detailed. “I think my absolute favorite part of the job is matching books with kids.” 

Cook has been working in the Ashland school systems since 2017 and has loved the opportunity to get to work with the kids to find the books for them. Cook described the book matching process as one that requires her to know the student well, and also the student to trust her to select something they will like. All it takes is this one small moment for a child to become a reader. 

Born in Ashland, Kentucky and raised in mostly Southern West Virginia, Cook has always loved the area and even more the possibilities that libraries open the students up to. “I think I love everything about the library, and I love education. School was always kind of a safe place as a kid, and reading was an escape for me. We didn't have a very good library where I grew up in West Virginia, so we relied a lot on the bookmobile, and books just kind of opened a whole New World that allowed me to have a bigger dream for myself. I really thought about what I wanted to do, and I really wanted to give that experience to our kids and show them the joy and the possibility that comes from reading,” said Cook. 

Courtney Gilbert, Library Media Specialist at Oakview Elementary School has also always loved the opportunities books can present to her students and has been working with a book vending machine of her own for around three years. In that time, she has seen the spark of motivation that this program gives to her students. 

“The last two years, we had used it as an AR reward, which stands for accelerated reader program, our reading program that we had used, and if they had gotten 35 points, they got the reward of a gold coin for the vending machine, and that was pretty motivating for the students, “expressed Gilbert. 

Gilbert loves seeing the smiles on her kids’ faces when they can take home their very own book from the machine, and Cook cannot be more excited to see the same with her students at Ashland Middle School in the coming weeks. 

“They do get pretty excited about it [the book vending machine]. And the ones that have been here before and have gotten one, you know that they know what it's all about,” said Gilbert. Soon it will be Ashland Middle School’s chance to showcase their new book vending machine, and with it, even more opportunities for more young Tomcats to become great readers! 

 

 

 

 

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P.O. BOX 25

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The Ashland Beacon’s owners, Philip and Lora Stewart, Kimberly Smith, and Jason Smith, established The Greater Ashland Beacon in 2011 and over the years the Beacon has grown into what you see now… a feel-good, weekly newspaper that brings high quality news about local events, youth sports, and inspiring people that are important to you. The Greater Ashland Beacon prides itself in maintaining a close relationship with the community and love nothing more than to see businesses, youth, and civic organizations in the surrounding areas of Boyd and Greenup counties thrive. 

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