LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - District leaders are calling it a culture shift within Jefferson County Public Schools. Less than a month into the district’s first school year with a new cellphone ban, JCPS has found that students are checking out library books at a record rate.
“What I have found is that kids are rediscovering the library again, so we’re turning from phones to pages,” said Dr. Lynn Reynolds, the JCPS Executive Director of Library Media Services. “I see that there’s going to be a shift across the nation.”
The district’s cell phone ban was brought about after a new state law prohibiting cell phone use during class and lunch. Districts were tasked with creating their own plans before the new school year, and leaders say the surge in library visits has been a positive unintended consequence.
For example, JCPS said Pleasure Ridge Park High School students checked out more than 1,000 books during the first 17 days of the school year, yet during the entire 2024-2025 school year, only 2,104 books were checked out of the library.
Without students constantly checking their digital devices, the district said other schools have seen similar increases with books flying off the shelves, naming six high schools and two middle schools seeing this positive trend. Here is a closer look at that data:
- Ballard High - 798 checkouts this August, up from 341 last year
- Butler High - 40% of the student body currently has a book checked out, double the number who borrowed books all last year
- Central High - 857 checkouts this August, up from 341 last year
- Seneca High- 953 checkouts this August, up from 575 last year
- Waggener High - 1,069 checkouts this August, up from 232 last year
- Western High - 568 checkouts this August, up from 354 last year
- Crosby Middle - 1,085 checkouts this August, up from 570 last year
- Farnsley Middle - 1,003 checkouts this August, up from 92 last year
Reynolds said other districts from around the state have shared similar stories with her over the past several weeks.
A PRP senior named Michael told WAVE News he has noticed a major difference in the classroom.
“It’s made it a lot better, I feel like teachers are a little nicer this year because people are actually paying attention to what they’re saying and people are actually doing the work instead of being on their phones and just kind of tuning out what the teachers have to say to them,” Michael said. “Last year, during the school year, from 6:30 to 10:30 at night, I was on my phone pretty much. I was on it during class; I was on it in the hallways.”
Michael said he now reads between classes and has checked out six books in the first few weeks of the new year. He said he’s also seen a big impact on his social life.
“At first, I was real dramatic about the policy, I thought it was going to end my whole life,” he said. “I just realized this was a good chance for me to put my phone down and start focusing back in on school. (It) helps people socialize, because this year I have talked to people more than in all the 12 years of me being in school.”
According to the district, librarian Erin Reed has worked at PRP for 16 years and has found the increase in library visits invigorating.
“Many students have told me that since they cannot be looking at their cell phones during lunch or any other part of the school day, they are checking out books to read instead,” Reed said. “It’s wonderful!”
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