Jemison Middle School’s library is about to continue its growth after receiving a $550 PEECh grant.

Jaime Nichole Kee, the school’s library and media specialist, applied for the grant in hopes of using it as a way of “increasing literacy through books.”

This is the first year that JMS has started a media center.

“Going a year without a media center, you would be surprised at how teachers become less dependant upon that,” Jackson said. “We’re having to shift the mindset.”

According to Kee, her goal is to use the grant to get some new book series.

“I actually already have them ready to purchase, just in case [she got the grant],” Kee chuckled.

Another need is the addition of bilingual books, to help students that are not fluent in English.

“We’re hovering between 25 and 30 percent Hispanic students, and there are varying levels of English proficiency,” JMS Principal Kendall Jackson said. “We have to keep that in mind. The point is to be reading, and we want to give them those resources.”

One of the things that initially helped the JMS library get its start were books donated by the Chilton/Clanton Public Library and Jemison High School.

“I want to reach as many students as possible,” Kee said. “We’re trying to make the library the central hub of the school.”