At North Kansas City High School there is a very unique library experience. We share part of the public library, so we have nearly full-time access to books, magazines, movies, ebooks, food and more, but few people have taken full advantage of the library.

Over in the basement of the library, far more is offered than just books. The librarians, “do anything and everything, even if it has nothing to do with the library; they do not say no,” said junior Maddie Shumate. The librarians will order any books that any student wants and are not available, they help with eCampus classes, motivation, scholarships, they will write letters of recommendation, they can help with tutoring, organization, study skills, virtually anything you need from them.

Parker Harmon, junior, thinks Northtown’s library is unique because, “we actually have cool librarians!” The librarians do what they can to get kids involved and excited about reading. They offer a Book Club that reads 6 books each school year, which each student receives for free. During Thursday’s early release there is gaming, trivia, and crafts. There is a ping-pong table, a hamster named Marc, a popcorn maker, candy, and plenty of prizes to go around.

Most students realize that during one week in October there are food trucks on campus, but not many people know why. They are a part of Teen Read Week which hosts free giveaways as well as the food trucks; this week stands to get students to acknowledge the library and reading.

A typical library, especially a school library would never have this many exciting things happening year round, so many students don’t even realize all of the things offered to them. Beyond that, a lot of students are simply too busy to come over during or after school hours. Also, since the library is not in any of the school’s main buildings, our librarians fear it is forgotten about. A lot of students live with the connotation of a library being a place for nerds, so they don’t ever get to experience all the great things our library holds because they simply don’t want to. If the students at Northtown break that mold, the library would grow even greater with all the new people taking part in what it offers.

So, what if you are one of the students that is now interested by the library, but don’t know how to take advantage of it now that school is nearly out? It’s simple. Our library is making sure that students can stay involved throughout the summer. Do you plan on reading anything this summer? If you do, snap a selfie and send it to the library’s social media and you are automatically entered in a giveaway drawing.

The library stays open all summer since it is also a public library. You can stop by and still get far more than books this summer. There are magazines, ebooks, movies, research databases, and Internet all offered. Get connected with our library.

If you still find you do not have a reason to visit the library, go for social reasons. There are always people, most likely, even some of your friends hanging out in the library after school. A lot of people use the free, non-school Wi-Fi, that does not block all the websites the school does, to pass the time after school. Many students will choose to never visit the library, but that just leaves more prizes and food for the people who choose to go.

Or, you could always talk to the librarians around. Librarian Jessica Thomas said, “we love students and we love to talk about books and anything else with the students.”

Next year all of these events and possibly even more will be around, so if you did not get involved this year, next year you can become the library’s biggest fan.

Don’t know how to contact the library this summer for your chance to win prizes at the beginning of next year for your reading selfie? Here is a list of all of the ways you can find them:

facebook.com/nkclmc

twitter.com/nkclmc

nkclmc.weebly.com