Donation of Nearly 1,700 Books Allows Compton Elementary School to Reopen Library

A Compton elementary school finally has enough books to reopen its library after receiving 1,669 books donated Thursday by 300 Brentwood students.

Bursch Elementary students began reading almost as soon as the shipment arrived from Brentwood School’s elementary campus after a weeklong book drive aimed at helping improve Compton’s literacy rate.

“The kids were really excited,” said Brentwood librarian Yapha Mason, who oversaw the project. “Even though [the books] were used, they seemed considerably newer than the books that they had in their library.”

Workers at Bursch report turning up books 85 years old while sifting through a storage room that used to be the campus library.

“By the end of the year we should have a working library, which will be the first time in five years,” Bursch second-grade teacher Jonathan Racek said.

Racek proposed the book drive after talking with Danny Brassell, a second-grade teacher at Compton’s Anderson Elementary. Brassell organized a similar drive last year that became a model for a literacy project he calls “Assignment: Books.”

As part of his USC doctoral project on literacy, Brassell visits upper-income communities to solicit books for Compton schools. The project began last year when Brentwood School students donated 2,600 books to Anderson. Today Brassell plans to turn over 200 more books to Compton High that were donated by a person in Beverly Hills.

“Too often old books get dumped,” he said, adding that schools in Compton are desperate for all kinds of books. He said that California school libraries average 10 to 12 books per student, but in Compton, “it’s less than three books per student.”

Brassell has added a touch of cross-cultural dialogue to the project. The Brentwood students were required to attach a brief summary to at least one book they donated telling why they liked it, and Bursch students who read the books will be asked to write back with their comments.

“That’s my favorite part of the program,” Brassell said. “They get to communicate a little bit.”