The Sycamore Public Library received a $5,000 grant from the Illinois State Library Grant Program and plans to use the funds to purchase books that will add to its STEM selection this summer.

Jesse Butz, head of adult information services, said the library, 103 E. State St., is constantly looking for material to update its collection. The library plans to use the $5,000 to purchase books and materials for its patrons and will not be used for renovations.

“We have a non-fiction collection that is outdated in certain areas, The STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] collection was selected to have old books weeded out and then refill it,” Butz said.

Butz said the library hasn’t purchased any books yet because it hasn’t received the money for the grant, but it expects the money to arrive in June. Butz said staff members will wait until the beginning of the next fiscal year on May 1 before the library starts making purchases.

Butz said the library’s budget allows $50,000 to purchase materials, but it would be unfair to devote too much of that money to one subject of media.

The new books will be more accessible and understandable to readers than school textbooks and are intended for advanced middle school aged children up to seniors in the community.

Butz said the library will also redesign the signs that assist in directing the patrons through the STEM area of the library since many people do not have the Dewey Decimal System memorized.

Library youth assistant Megan Davis said she has noticed many more job opportunities are available these days for the youth who take an interest in STEM subjects.

“The more [books] the better. The kids don’t ask for books they find them on their own. For some of the younger kids we just got some science experiment books,” Davis said.

Cherie Hiland, 38, of Sycamore, said she and her children like the library because they have a nice selection of easy reader books for her oldest son Jack to practice his reading skills.

“I don’t know if the average household will have access to the [STEM] material, and the library is a great place for that,” Hiland said.

Hiland said while a lot of information can be found on the Internet, it is important to use books to find information.

“If you get them [reading] early and often, then it snowballs and you get them for the rest of their life,” Butz said.