Books Take Wing

When Google’s sister company Wing began using drones in 2019, Kelly Passek’s family was an early adopter. Passek realized the technology could help her meet library goals: She wanted to increase book checkouts and prevent summer slide.

Armed with research on the impact of reading on student success, she approached Wing to propose a partnership to deliver library books to students’ homes, just as the pandemic arrived and students moved to remote learning. “Our need to get resources to students became more important than ever. And our program took off, literally!” Passek says.

Receiving books by drone was so popular that it’s now an ongoing option for students, with Wing covering delivery costs. Students opt in to drone delivery when requesting books. Passek packages the books and delivers them to Wing, which flies the drone to a predetermined site. While the agreement between Wing and the school system prohibits Passek from sharing data, she affirms that both the company and Montgomery County Public Schools are pleased with students’ response. Her innovative drone deliveries captured the imaginations of the mainstream media, which profiled her inventive solution as a feel-good story during the pandemic. Passek capitalized on those interviews as a platform for advocacy, repeatedly stressing the importance of school libraries and full-time teacher librarians for student achievement. As a result, she was tapped by the Virginia Association of School Librarians as state legislative chair and now leads statewide advocacy efforts. “We need to make sure that those with decision-making power understand the roles that we fulfill and are making staffing decisions that reflect the data that show how essential a full-time, certified school librarian is to student success,” Passek says.