FINDLAY, Ohio — Most vending machines offer snacks and drinks to those who pay money.
But Wilson Vance Intermediate School, part of the Findlay City School District, has a vending machine that offers books.
"Young kids really need the tangible books in their hands," said principal Lyndsey Stephenson.
The building is now one of six in the district that offers a book vending machine within its library. It arrived in February through a grant from the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation.
The machine can hold nearly 500 books that kids can earn and keep.
"This is just one strategy, of many, that we have to again, inspire a love of reading," said Kimberly Bash, the chief engagement officer for the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation. "These books have been carefully selected, there are a variety of topics, so we're sure to have something that interests all students."
Those behind the vending machine initiative hope to inspire reading and change a state-wide trajectory.
In the 2022-23 school year, 32% of kids on a reading improvement plan achieved on-track status, according to a 2024 report from the Ohio Department of Education.
This is still below the pre-COVID-19 pandemic, though, where 38% were progressing to on-track status.
"As students get older, that (literacy) tends to drop off a little bit," Stephenson said. "I'm hoping this will help students have books at home to read and also help build their excitement for earning those tokens to get a book for themselves."
Students from third to fifth grade at Wilson Vance, earn "Tommy Tickets" through good behavior. If a student earns 50 tickets, they can trade them in for a token worth one book from the machine.
"Next year I think that will change a little bit, so they'll just have to wait and see what we have in store for them," Stephenson said.