Sigma Tau Delta is starting a new tradition this semester to increase free access to books at low-income schools by collecting books to donate.
This idea was created by Alyssa Rusciano, a junior English major and Sigma Tau Delta recruiter, noticed students at her local high school were not taking advantage of the school’s library.
As a consequence for not returning a book by the return date, students are fined. This penalty is designed to prevent future late returns. However, students are not always able to pay these fines.
“They’re a really low-income school so a lot of kids don’t use the library at the school because they’re afraid of getting fines,” said Hailey Slaughter, a senior English major and Sigma Tau Delta president.
Rusciano says she was driven by her love for literature and sharing it to find a solution that would allow students to read books without consequences. She wanted to give students and children the experience of having their own books.
Her idea was to donate books to schools in low-income areas that students could access and not have to pay a fine for using. Slaughter loved her idea so they organized a book donation to take place on campus.
“The books donated will be given to schools of low-income areas. They will be part of what we are calling a Sigma Tau Delta Library,” Rusciano said.
To accumulate a significant amount of books, Sigma Tau Delta will be accepting donations until the end of the semester.
The first library will be delivered in January and will include the book donations and a shelf for them to be stored on.
Sigma Tau Delta hopes to continue donating libraries to schools in low-income areas in years to come.
Any kind of book is an acceptable donation, but books that appeal to children and young adults are recommended.
Donations may be taken to the donation box in Room 130 of the Humanities building.
For more information about book donations, contact Slaughter at haieslau@ut.utm.edu
