Each month, Sarah Lavender visits every single kindergarten classroom in Ferndale School District – and it’s more than just a quick story time.

Lavender, the Youth Services Librarian for the Ferndale Library, engages the kids in lively songs and dances alongside Children’s Services Coordinator Theresa Morrison. She tells a story using a felt board. And of course, she reads books aloud, but does so in an interactive, high-energy way that keeps the antsy kindergarteners engaged.

For example, in front of Ms. Briggs’ and Ms. Beach’s classes at Custer Elementary School, Lavender read aloud a book about gardening (to celebrate Earth Day and springtime). During a section that showed the trials and errors of growing strawberries, she asked for the students’ input.

“See, this strawberry has fuzzy white spots. Is it good to eat?” Lavender asked the kindergarteners, who replied “NOOOO!” and giggled.

Lavender and Morrison’s kindergarten visits are an example of how public schools and public libraries have traditionally teamed up. But the Whatcom County Library System has gone far beyond that in recent years in Ferndale School District: an after-school club at Beach Elementary School. Pop-up libraries at Ferndale High School and the middle schools. Even book delivery to select Ferndale campuses!

“Ideally, we want all the kids to be able to come to (the library) and access books, but we know realistically, that’s not going to happen,” Lavender said. “So, to be able to bring the books to them at school and break down those barriers, we only want this program to get stronger and stronger.”

In the 2022-23 school year, the library system launched the ConnectED program, where students across the county could checkout books using their student ID in lieu of a library card. This opened the door for book delivery the next year, starting at Eagleridge Elementary and the two middle schools. This year, the delivery program expanded to FHS, along with Cascadia and Custer elementaries.

Here’s how it works: students log into their ConnectED account online using their school laptop, place a hold on a book, and a library van delivers books to schools every Friday. Not only does this make reading more convenient for students, but it also can help them with school assignments.

“Maybe their class is doing a project on the 50 states, or an animal project, so teachers will have everyone open up their laptops and place holds on books about those topics,” Lavender said.

Since this program was implemented, the number of books being checked out in these Ferndale elementary schools has gone through the roof. For example, more than 2,500 books have been checked out using Custer Elementary student IDs this school year so far, compared to 488 books in the 2023-24 school year.  

Ferndale School District leads the entire county in checking out books in the ConnectED system – nearly 19,000 over the past two years, compared to about 3,000 each in Lynden and Meridian school districts.

“It’s super exciting to see these numbers skyrocket!” Lavender said. “So many kids are able to access these books now.”

Sharon Lawler, the library paraeducator at Eagleridge Elementary, said book delivery has been a “huge game-changer” for students – especially for very popular books.

“Sometimes, our kids love a book, but I only have 1-2 copies (in the school library). With 500 kids, it could be a year before they read it!” Lawler said. “With the public library’s distribution, it can get to them in just a couple weeks.”

Lavender also visits each of Ferndale’s three secondary campuses once a month to set up a “pop-up library.” She brings a couple crates of books geared for teens, and students can check them out during lunch.

“I feel like, in the actual library, I don’t find many books I’d like,” said Anaya Lal, a Horizon sixth grader. “But here, I see more of the books I want to read. It’s cool.”

Beach Elementary School has a unique relationship with the Lummi Island library branch. Because there weren’t any after-school programs for kids on the island, branch manager Erin Suda and Beach administrative assistant Tammy Immer collaborated to start their own.

“What we wanted to do was bring more awareness about reading and books to the kids,” Suda said. “We also wanted to support the community with an after-school program that would give the kids enrichment and exposure to literature.”

At first, the school bus dropped off participating students in the library once a week. But the program grew so popular that it was shifted to the Beach Elementary campus, where Suda set up her own “pop-up library” and students participated in read-alouds, crafts, snacks (paid for by the Lummi Island Foundation for Education non-profit), and play. Teen volunteers from the island volunteer and serve as role models for the young students.

Suda said this program not only provides a safe activity for Lummi Island students but also strengthens their love of reading and their imaginations.

“It just builds this relationship where kids show up at the library, and they’re comfortable and it feels like home,” she said. “That’s what I really love.”

Lawler praised Whatcom County Library System’s efforts to make reading more accessible for Ferndale students.

“I think it’s a great partnership, and it’s going to help our kids be better readers after graduating school,” she said.