Virginia librarian uses drones to drop books off at students' front doors


School librarian Kelly Passek is using the latest technology to deliver books directly to her students.
Passek works for the Montgomery County Public Schools in Virginia. Separated from students because of the coronavirus pandemic, she wanted to find a way to not only connect with them, but also make sure they still had access to educational resources. She has had packages delivered to her house via Wing drone, and thought she could use this same service to drop books off at her students' homes.
Her superintendent agreed to try a pilot program, and since last week, students have been able to go online and request books to check out, with more than 150,000 titles to choose from. Passek packs the books in special boxes, and leaves the rest up to Wing. "Our libraries are essential and unique parts of our community and it is extremely important for our students to continue to have access to the resources that are here in our libraries in order to guarantee their success," Passek said. Catherine Garcia
The Week
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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