Excellence In Education Lincoln Daily News January 2024 Page 13 contributions to the organization and librarianship in IL within her first 5 years of membership. She also received the CartCampbell grant from ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE) which allowed her to attend the ALAN conference in Columbus, Ohio and meet and learn from over 200 authors. This fall, Mrs. Folkman represented Hartsburg-Emden and Logan County at the Governor’s press conference announcing the expansion of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library throughout the state. She also represented her school and AISLE at the Lieutenant Governor’s inaugural Tea with the LG to discuss topics relevant to libraries and library patrons across the state. One major issue she brought up to both the Governor and Lt. Governor is how many rural communities, like Hartsburg-Emden, have no membership in a public library. Recent closings of local campuses and their libraries further restrict access to resources not only for HartsburgEmden, but for the county as a whole. At numerous conferences, both state and national, Mrs. Folkman shares her ideas and curriculum with teachers and librarians. She has created a curriculum she calls Postcard Field Trip where students travel to all the US states and territories as well as countries of the world through books and lessons during library time and displays in the library. She and the students have received packages and postcards from US ambassadors and Foreign Service workers from around the world to help supplement this curriculum. Each year, Mrs. Folkman hosts two book fairs. Last spring, the school was able to host author David Biedrzycki all day and for Family Reading Night so that students could meet a famous author. Through grants, Mrs. Folkman was able to provide each student with a signed copy of Breaking News: Bear Alert. Mrs. Folkman is always looking for ways to spread Book Love and Book Joy. Keep an eye out for community outreach events around the county and check your local little free libraries for new books to read! (If you have an event that you’d like Mrs. Folkman to distribute books at or a little free library that needs filled, please feel free to email her! nfolkman@ hartem.org.) [Nichole Folkman]
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