BOONE, N.C. — A book vending machine for students just arrived at Hillcrest Elementary in Burke County. Two employees spent months working to bring it to students. 


What You Need To Know

  • A book vending machine has been installed in Burke County

  • Two employees spent more than a year trying to bring it to students

  • Dolly Parton's Imagination Library donated to the vending machine

For the next 12 weeks, names are being picked out of a hat to introduce the machine to the school. Each students gets to vend a book. After that, students can earn tokens to purchase a book.

The tokens are based on each student and goals that they have, like a student being able to tie their shoes or read.

On the side of the machine is a cougar with several flags. The flags show the many places the students are from.

"It's very hard but its not only books. They come in here in winter time maybe wearing a spring shirt, or they will wear in spring time and summer they will have a Christmas shirt on because that's all they have to wear," said book keeper Penny Smith, one of the employees who spearheaded the book vending machine idea.

Smith went to Hillcrest Elementary.

"I was the low-income child," Smith said.

She remembers something special a teacher did for her when her purse was stolen.

"I remember her coming over to the apartment. She bought me a new pocketbook and put candy in it. I have never forgotten that, never," Smith said

It's now her time to give back, which she says is a full circle experience.

"They [the students] deserve the best and well I'm here and I'm breathing. I will keep pushing for the best for them," Smith said.

She raised more than $2,000 for books and reached out to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which donated books. Smith also reached out to Van Noppen Marketing, where two sisters that went to the school donated money for the machine.

"I have reached out to a company that's going to provide pencils and stickers," Smith said.

It's something media coordinator Star Baughman agrees with. She works in the library.

"They don't have a lot of things, and books are not a necessity at their home and we realized it, when COVID hit, was our babies did not have books at their home of their own," Baughman said.

She worked hard to bring the vending machine here. She knows each and every student by name, and has had many of them from the time they were preschoolers until fifth grade.

"You really get to know them on a personal basis. Like when they come in, I know Mario loves our graphic novel section. It's going to go straight to dog man every time," Baughman said.

She says it's important for them to have everything they need to succeed, even if they put others first. One student chose a book for his younger brother before himself.

"It just speaks volumes about these students," Baughman said.