For children searching for their favorite stories, school libraries need more than a basic collection of books. Building a useful library requires funding for new titles, equipment maintenance, and reading materials that reflect students’ interests. In March 2015, best-selling author James Patterson pledged $1.25 million to support school libraries across the United States.
A Scholastic press release outlined Patterson’s partnership with the Scholastic Reading Club to provide grants to schools. Awards ranged from $1,000 to $10,000, depending on each school’s needs. Applications were accepted through Scholastic’s network, which included 62,000 schools and 800,000 teachers. Eligible requests covered books and reading projects, as well as practical needs such as computer repairs. Scholastic also offered matching value through Bonus Points, which teachers could use to purchase books and classroom materials.
How the original pledge grew
The program allowed schools to identify their own priorities instead of restricting funding to a single type of project. This flexibility helped libraries seek support for resources and improvements suited to their circumstances.
Demand for the grants prompted Patterson to increase his original pledge. The American Library Association reported that the donation had grown from $1.25 million to $1.75 million. By March 2016, 467 schools had received funding for library books, programs, technology, and repairs.
{{/usCountry}}Demand for the grants prompted Patterson to increase his original pledge. The American Library Association reported that the donation had grown from $1.25 million to $1.75 million. By March 2016, 467 schools had received funding for library books, programs, technology, and repairs.
{{/usCountry}}That year, Patterson also received the 2016 Crystal Apple Award from the American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association. The award recognizes individuals or groups whose contributions have significantly influenced school library programs and students. The association cited Patterson’s financial support and advocacy as important contributions to school libraries.
Extending the campaign to the classrooms
The initiative later expanded beyond school-wide libraries. In 2017, Scholastic announced a third phase of the campaign, supported by a further $1.75 million pledge from Patterson. The program offered $500 grants to 3,500 teachers to establish or improve classroom libraries. Scholastic Reading Club administered the initiative and provided teachers with Bonus Points.
The 2017 announcement explained why classroom collections were important. Some students, particularly those attending schools without a functioning central library, depended on books kept in their classrooms. The grants were intended to help teachers offer a broader selection of reading materials without relying entirely on a school-wide collection.
To illustrate the challenges teachers faced, Scholastic drew on findings from its Teacher & Principal School Report: Equity in Education. The report found that 31% of teachers had 50 or fewer books in their classroom libraries. It also reported that 56% of teachers paid for books out of their own pockets. These findings highlighted the resource constraints facing educators and the importance of making reading materials more accessible, particularly in schools with limited resources.
The announcement also highlighted the materials teachers needed most, including culturally relevant books, titles published within the previous three to five years, multiple copies of best-sellers, high-interest books written at lower reading levels, and magazines. A wider selection could give students more choices while helping teachers match reading materials to different abilities and interests.
A wider project to put books within reach
By April 2017, Patterson had donated $3.5 million to support school libraries, according to Scholastic’s announcement and campaign materials. Earlier grants had helped schools purchase books, install shelves, improve cataloging systems, and organize library programs. The later phase extended the effort by directing additional funding toward teachers building collections for everyday classroom use.
The grant figures document the campaign’s financial reach, but they do not establish that the funding directly improved reading scores or academic performance. Its immediate purpose was more practical: helping schools and teachers make books available to children.
A well-stocked library or classroom collection can give students more opportunities to explore unfamiliar subjects, discover new authors, and find stories that interest them. By extending his support from school libraries to individual classrooms, Patterson broadened the campaign’s reach and helped address the need for accessible reading materials in more learning environments.