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HIGH SCHOOLERS, AND ALSO HOME TO THE SCHOOL’S ONLY LIBRARY. AND THAT’S THREE FLOORS UP, AND A HIKE DOWN THE HALL. ENGLISH TEACHER BEN SELF WANTS HIS STUDENTS ENGAGED, AND HALF THE BATTLE IS GETTING ONE OF THESE MANY BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS. >> IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO GET KIDS EXCITED TO READ AND EXCITED ABOUT BOOKS. BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE’RE ALWAYS FIGHTING AGAINST DIGITAL MEDIA NOWADAYS. JULIE: BUT TECHNOLOGY ISN’T THE ONLY BATTLE AT SHAWNEE MIDDLE. ACCESS TO BOOKS IS PART OF THE PROBLE >> THE ONLY REAL BIG LIBRARY IS ON THE HIGH SCHOOL SIDE OF OUR SCHOOL, AND WE DON’T REALLY GO TO OUR HIGH SCHOOL THAT MUCH SO WE CAN’T REALLY CHECK OUT BOOKS BECAUSE WE DONT GO THERE. >> IT’S BEEN FOREVER SINCE IVE GONE TO THE SCHOOL LIBRARY. -- SINCE I’VE GONE TO THE SCHOOL LIBRARY. JULIE: FRUSTRATED, SELF CAME UP WITH A WAY TO FIX THE PROBLEM. HE WANTS TO TURN THIS EMPTY SPACE ACROSS THE HALL INTO AN UNOFFICIAL MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY. AND HE’S ASKING FOR THE COMMUNITY’S HELP TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. >> THE CHALLENGE IS, WE’VE GOT TO COLLECT THE DONATIONS, THE BOOKS, WE HAVE TO BUILD THE BOOKSHELVES SO ALL OF THAT IS , NECESSARY TO TURN THAT GLOOMY DRAB ROOM IN A SPACE THE KIDS ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO ENJOY. JULIE: HE STARTED COLLECTING BOOKS IN THE FALL, AND THANKS TO A POST ON A NEIGHBORHOOD APP, THOUSANDS OF BOOKS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DONATED. >> SO THIS IS THE FICTION SECTION. JULIE: FOR NOW HE’S STORING THEM IN HIS CLASSROOM AND HOPES TO HAVE THE LIBRARY READY FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, AND HE SAYS THE KIDS ARE ALREADY EXCITED

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A Jefferson County Public School teacher is trying to make it easier for his students to pick up a book and read. Ben Self, who teaches sixth grade English at the Academy at Shawnee, wants his students engaged. Half the battle, he says, is getting a book in their hands. “It’s really important to get kids excited to read and excited about books. But the problem is that we're always fighting against digital media nowadays,” Self said.But technology isn’t the only battle at Shawnee Middle; access to books is part of the problem. The only library on campus is on the third floor of the high school wing which is about 20 minutes away from middle school classrooms. Sixth-grader Landon Johnson says, “The only real big library is on the high school side of our school and we can’t really check out books because we don’t go there.”Classmate Vincent Miller says, “It’s been forever since I’ve gone to the school library.”Frustrated, Self came up with a way to fix the problem. He wants to turn an empty, lower-level room into an unofficial middle school library, and he’s asking for the community’s help to make it happen. “The challenge is we've got to collect the donations, the books, the bookshelves, so all of that is necessary to turn that gloomy drab room in a space the kids are actually going to enjoy,” Self said.Self started collecting books in the fall, and thanks to a post on a neighborhood app, thousands of books have already come in. For now he’s storing them in his classroom and hopes to have the library ready for students this fall. Self is hoping to fund part of the project through donations. Click here for the GoFundMe page.You can also drop off books for sixth through eighth grade students at the Academy at Shawnee Campus.