In the Blackwell library there are about 15,500 items for students to check out.  We have books, paperbacks, magazines, books-on-tape, and reference materials. The average number of library books for elementary schools, in LWSD, is 14,217 with 29 books per student. At Blackwell, we have about 29 books per student, so our collection is about average sized.   

Our books are frequently circulated.  On average, more than 3,000 items are checked out each month from our library, or more than 31,000 items per school year.   We have one of the highest checkout averages, per pupil, in the district. 

We also have more than 500 resources for teachers to use in the classsrooms.  Our parent collection, which is located in the school's main office, is growing and there are some great resources there for parents to borrow. 

Thanks to the wonderful support of our PTA and the funds earned from our book fair each year, our library is constantly growing with materials that students need for classroom assignments and pleasure reading!  Our per pupil budget last year was $5.41 including building funds, PTA donations, and book fair profits. This year our budget has increased to about $20 per pupil, thanks to a generous PTA grant, extra building budget funds, and a one time grant from Washington State.  This boost in our budget will allow us to begin updating our non-fiction collection and to keep up better with popular fiction titles. We all benefit from a quality library collection!

There are fifteen student computers in the Library.   Students may use the computers during their Library class, at lunch recess, or during the day if their teacher sends them to the Library. Students search for books in our Library, use the Internet and online databases to conduct research, work on classroom assignments, and much more!