Thanks to a partnership with Teacher Chris Battle's building trades classes, the Jenison High School Media Center has eight new wooden bookshelves to house its growing collection.
The shelves, which were produced by the high school students earlier this spring, were installed as the school year ended in May.
This week library staff members have stocked the shelves with books and they couldn't be happier with the students' work.
"They did a fabulous job," said Molly Booth, a library media paraprofessional, noting the bookshelves blend in well with the existing bookcases in the Jenison High School Media Center.
Looking ahead, she said, this year's building trades classes are expected to help build even more bookcases for areas near the staircases and windows.
Staff have employed dynamic shelving on the new bookcases, which means displaying the books in a visually interesting way to attract readers. This strategy within the media center has helped increase circulation in the media center year over year, Booth said.