FINDLAY, Ohio-Wilson Vance Intermediate School in the Findlay City School District has introduced a unique vending machine that dispenses books instead of snacks or drinks. This initiative, funded by a grant from the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation, aims to promote a love for reading among students. The vending machine, located in the school library, offers nearly 500 carefully selected books that students can earn and keep.
Students from third to fifth grade earn “Tommy Tickets” through good behavior, which they can exchange for tokens to get books from the machine. The program is part of broader efforts to improve literacy rates, with hopes of inspiring reading among students and reversing a statewide decline in literacy. Similar book vending machines have been implemented in other districts in the county, including McComb and Van Buren school districts.
