Today, there is no dedicated state funding for school libraries. Schools may apply for general improvement grants, but those funds must compete with essential needs like facility repairs, classroom supplies, and playground equipment.
Libraries are rarely prioritized.
Over time, that adds up.
As a result, many public school libraries are:
- Understocked or outdated
- Unstaffed or inconsistently staffed
- Closed for long stretches of the school day
- Or nonexistent altogether
In many communities, the quality of a school library depends on parent fundraising.
That means access to books often depends on zip code.
And that shouldn’t be normal.
What This Looks Like in Real Schools
In under-resourced communities, some school libraries have as few as three books per child. Many of those books are decades old, damaged, or no longer relevant to students’ lives.
This isn’t about neglect by schools.
It’s about systems that haven’t kept pace.
Fifty years of underinvestment cannot be undone with a single grant or donation. A functioning library requires consistent support — high-quality, high-interest books, and a space that invites students to stay and read.
Why Schools Can’t Solve This Alone
Most public schools are required to purchase library books through district-approved vendors. These “shelf-ready” books often cost significantly more than list price, making even modest updates prohibitively expensive.
When limited funds are available, schools tend to prioritize reference materials. That leaves little room for the books children choose to read — the books that build confidence, fluency, and a love of reading.
Without outside support, many libraries simply remain stuck.
Why School Libraries Matter
The quality of a school library is one of the strongest predictors of reading achievement — especially when poverty is taken out of the equation.
Children in higher-income communities often have books at home, easy access to public libraries, and well-funded school libraries.
Many children in low-income communities have none of these advantages.
For them, the school library is often the only reliable place to find books.
A Note on Public Libraries
Public libraries matter — but they can’t fill this gap alone.
California ranks near the bottom nationally in public library funding and access. For many families, libraries are difficult to reach or not open when children are free.
For countless students, the school library is their only consistent access to books.
Why Pleasure Reading Matters
Pleasure reading isn’t extra. It’s foundational.
Research shows that reading for enjoyment is the strongest bridge from low reading levels to higher achievement. Yet nearly a quarter of California fourth graders read for pleasure once a month or less.
When children don’t have access to books they want to read, they read less.
When they read less, everything else becomes harder.
This is the Gap Access Books Fills
Access Books partners with public schools to restore and rebuild school libraries — putting thousands of new, diverse, high-interest books into students’ hands and transforming neglected spaces into places where reading happens every day.
We don’t drop off boxes of books.
We build collections.
We restore spaces.
We make libraries usable again.
This work is only possible through philanthropic support.