I looked at an article in the Washington Post about the incredible difference in the amount of books at different schools in DC. At one school, Lafayette Elementary School, they have nearly 28,000 books in their school library. Only 12 miles away, at Drew Elementary, there are only 300 books that fill their shelves. The district doesn't fund annually for library collections, so schools such as Drew Elementary are literally only getting books as donations from parents and strangers. Studies show that two thirds of at-risk students are in schools with below average book counts. The reading proficiency rate for poor students was a shocking 37% as taken last year, but has remained relatively unchanged since 2008. There is a serious inequality here, and access to books really does matter. This article talks about parents reactions to the unequal learning opportunities, faulty inventory checking, and even protesting a ribbon cutting ceremony because it was celebrating something that was generally inaccurate and misleading. I thought it was a great article, here is the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/unequal-shelves-in-dc-school-libraries-benefit-wealthier-students/2015/03/09/f548db96-bd1f-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html