Book Vending Machine Installed at Bessemer Family Court

By Adam Pope | UAB News The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Education has partnered with the Children’s Policy Council of Jefferson County to provide the CPC’s second children’s book vending machine at Bessemer Family Court. The children’s book vending machine is located on the second-floor family waiting area and provides age-appropriate books at no cost to families. UAB professors and teacher candidates provide guidance on the selection of book titles along with additional family resources to support reading. “Bessemer was the natural choice for a second vending machine since the Bessemer division is the only other Family Court in Jefferson County,” said Cora Causey, Ph.D., assistant professor of early childhood education in the UAB School of Education and Human Sciences. “We are grateful Commissioner Sheila Tyson was generous in providing the support and that Bessemer Family Court Judge Lorraine Pringle is helping get books in children’s hands. Ensuring that the first children’s book vending machine project launched smoothly was important.” To date, the first book vending machine at Jefferson County Family Court has provided just shy of 2,000 books to children. The funds were pledged at the initial ribbon-cutting a year ago by Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila...