Living Books in Dying Libraries?

[Jonas Sauder]

[books] rescued from the storage to which they were relegated from our school library a couple years ago because nobody was checking them out
I found that provocative statement in Peter Goertzen’s Feb. 28th post under “Inspiring Lifelong Reading.” I wonder how many “living books” (defined by C.Mason as a book written in a narrative style that pulls you into the subject and engages your emotions) languish on our library shelves collecting dust (or moved into out of sight storage because padding the shelves with apparent “dead wood” is deleterious to library vitality.)
For a list of “living books” see https://apps.simplycharlottemason.com/
Current cultural trends insulate our children from accessing the part of their heritage accessible through real books.
I wonder what anyone has to offer about how you include active use of the library (central or classroom collection) as an integral part of your curriculum? How do your students discover the riches accessible through reading? Is your library thriving or dying?

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