Unlocking New Opportunities With Library Donations

RECEIVE: This is a photo of Ms. Gannon and Mr. Erickson receiving a plaque from Ms. McCarty and Ms. Van. Ms. McCarty and Ms. Van made this generous donation in their sister, Peggy Kallsen’s memory. Photo courtesy of Vanessa Gannon.

The library at Vashon Island High School is a place where clubs and students go to study, talk, and do assignments in a quiet space. The library is also home to many books, whether that's fiction, non-fiction, romance or mysteries, there is always something that someone would like to read. The library at VHS has recently received a generous donation from a former librarian’s sisters and family in her memory, and it will help us get more books in our library.

This was a generous donation made in memory of former VHS librarian Peggy Kallsen, by her sisters, Muriel McCarty and Nora Van Iterson and their family. Kallsen worked hard to make the library a great place for kids to find books, hangout, be calm and always have fun. 

“She had a twinkle in her eye and came off really serious but once you got to know her she was a goofball. She had really high expectations of the people in the library and was not scared to call kids out on their behavior. She loved reading books and talking about them and I loved being in the library. I would get to school really early just to hangout with her” Special Education teacher, Theresa Leahey stated. 

She was devoted to her job and after working for 34 years she retired in 2014.  This donation ensures that Ms. Kallsen’s legacy will live on with a new generation of students.

This donation  is going to get more books and knowledge to work with at the Vashon High School library.

“The money will go to funding book purchases in the library,” librarian Ms. Gannon stated. 

Even though we have a lot of books already, there are a lot of kids who have put in 

recommendations for books they want to read, and the donation will help get those to students. Having access to a lot of literature is really important, especially in a school. Kids use their phones for everything, and sure people can read books on their phones, but actual books are important. Reading a book that's not digital helps get you away from the screen and more intact with the real world. Using this donation to get books students request is important because getting books that kids are definitely interested in will make them more interested in going to the library and checking them out. 

Over the years, with new technology and AI, we have much more access to knowledge than just books. Libraries have been getting used less due to everyone using their cell phones because now people can just look things up or even read on their phone or computer. 

“I would love input from students and teachers to help get in books that they would like to read,” Ms. Gannon said. 

If we can get books that kids are still feeling interested in, then that can help get kids to use the library more often than we already do. 

With things like school supplies getting more expensive, it's harder to get good education tools, grants and donations are really useful right now, and that's why this grant is so important. 

“In a time where funding for education is on shaky ground, this, along with the annual PIE (Partners in Education) grant the library receives, will ensure that there is a budget for the library to continue to buy new books and refresh the collection,” stated Ms. Gannon. 

Having access to this much money is a really big deal. Being a public high school, VHS relies on money from the government, and donations like this one are very helpful, everything we can get is important, especially when it comes to academics, such as books. 

The VHS library has been a place where so many people have gone over the years to read, talk, meet and study. 

“I like spending time in the library because it's a quiet and convenient place to do school work,” freshman Amelie Wiegner stated. 

Though over time our library has been less popular, some kids still love spending time there. This new donation should only make more people interested in checking books out and spending time there doing work.

REMEMBER: If you walk into the library you will see a plaque in the back. This is a plaque of the librarian Peggy Kallsen to remember her and her work. Photo courtesy of Vanessa Gannon.