New library has only a handful of books

The Miami Herald reports on the lack of books at a local library.

A new library has been built at Carol City Elementary after three years of construction. But it is missing one important component: books.

The Carol City Elementary School Parent Teacher Association said in a press release that bookshelves at the new library “stand 80 to 90 percent empty.\’\’

“The library\’s lack of materials is so stark as to be shocking for anyone entering for the first time,\’\’ the PTA said.


The group is holding an emergency meeting at the school at 7 tonight to plan strategy for getting books into the library.

The Miami Herald reports on the lack of books at a local library.

A new library has been built at Carol City Elementary after three years of construction. But it is missing one important component: books.

The Carol City Elementary School Parent Teacher Association said in a press release that bookshelves at the new library “stand 80 to 90 percent empty.\’\’

“The library\’s lack of materials is so stark as to be shocking for anyone entering for the first time,\’\’ the PTA said.


The group is holding an emergency meeting at the school at 7 tonight to plan strategy for getting books into the library.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools spokesman Henry Fraind is looking into the matter.

“Dr. Fraind is researching information regarding the lack of books in Carol City Elementary\’s school library,\’\’ an assistant to Fraind said Tuesday. “Time did not allow for adequate research to be done today.\’\’

Neither Carol City Elementary Principal Lawrence Crawford nor PTA President Shirley Garland returned calls for comment.

The school, at 4375 NW 173rd St., has over 800 students. According to the PTA press release, the library has been under construction for three “very difficult\’\’ years. The work has been plagued by delays, cost overruns and shoddy workmanship, the press release said.

Teachers and students say they have been forced to prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test without an adequate library as a resource. The literature section has only 81 books and the language section has eight, according to the press release.