Library becomes increasingly vacant
By Trevon Pietz
Published Feb. 22, 2018
The library is rarely filled with students, especially those checking out books. Books on the shelves are accumulating dust over time, striving for someone to read them. A survey was released to obtain some information on library usage. Here are the results.
The first question: How often do you use the library in a week? resulted in 71.8 percent said they only go into the library 0-1 times per week, 14.1 percent 2-3 times, 8.2 percent 4-5 times, and 5.9 percent go six-plus times. “There are some kids we see a lot that are big readers,” Media Technologist Darla Croatt said, “and then there are some kids that we never see because they buy their own books.”
The second question: What do you use the library for and why? (Check all that apply) resulted in 82.4 percent said they use the library for the printer, 38.8 percent for books, 11.8 percent for a college/other presentation, 16.5 percent for online classes, and 25.9 percent for a technical issue/question. “We also have ebooks that some kids use and don’t come to the library at all and use the information online,” said Croatt.
The third question: How often do you read in one week including required reading? resulted in 58.8 percent said they read 0-1 hour, 28.2 percent 2-3 hours, 5.9 percent 4-5 hours, and 7.1 percent six-plus hours. Media Center Technician Kim Chalich’s first reaction to this statement was, “That’s sad.” Croatt agreed and added, “A lot of kids get totally consumed by Facebook and other things.”
The fourth question: Why do you read? (Check all that apply) resulted in 92.9 percent said they read for school and 36.5 percent read on their leisure time. There is a waiting list for books, but the list is only about 10 people on average, which is a lot smaller than at Rippleside Elementary School.
Do elementary students read more than high-schoolers? Have students switched to electronic reading? Do they only read for school? What has happened to using the library almost every day? Many questions and unknowns circle the vacancy of the library. We can only speculate at what the future usage of the library will be.
The survey is still open to all students of Aitkin High School and is available in your Google account or by clicking the link below:
Published Feb. 22, 2018
The library is rarely filled with students, especially those checking out books. Books on the shelves are accumulating dust over time, striving for someone to read them. A survey was released to obtain some information on library usage. Here are the results.
The first question: How often do you use the library in a week? resulted in 71.8 percent said they only go into the library 0-1 times per week, 14.1 percent 2-3 times, 8.2 percent 4-5 times, and 5.9 percent go six-plus times. “There are some kids we see a lot that are big readers,” Media Technologist Darla Croatt said, “and then there are some kids that we never see because they buy their own books.”
The second question: What do you use the library for and why? (Check all that apply) resulted in 82.4 percent said they use the library for the printer, 38.8 percent for books, 11.8 percent for a college/other presentation, 16.5 percent for online classes, and 25.9 percent for a technical issue/question. “We also have ebooks that some kids use and don’t come to the library at all and use the information online,” said Croatt.
The third question: How often do you read in one week including required reading? resulted in 58.8 percent said they read 0-1 hour, 28.2 percent 2-3 hours, 5.9 percent 4-5 hours, and 7.1 percent six-plus hours. Media Center Technician Kim Chalich’s first reaction to this statement was, “That’s sad.” Croatt agreed and added, “A lot of kids get totally consumed by Facebook and other things.”
The fourth question: Why do you read? (Check all that apply) resulted in 92.9 percent said they read for school and 36.5 percent read on their leisure time. There is a waiting list for books, but the list is only about 10 people on average, which is a lot smaller than at Rippleside Elementary School.
Do elementary students read more than high-schoolers? Have students switched to electronic reading? Do they only read for school? What has happened to using the library almost every day? Many questions and unknowns circle the vacancy of the library. We can only speculate at what the future usage of the library will be.
The survey is still open to all students of Aitkin High School and is available in your Google account or by clicking the link below: