SCSDB received a Jane Stauber grant, sponsored by the Beacon Society, to introduce our students to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. 

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character created by the Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes first appeared in Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet”, published in Beeton’s Christmas Annual of 1887. As the world’s first and only “consulting detective,” he pursued criminals throughout Victorian and Edwardian London, the south of England, and continental Europe. 

The grant provided the funding to purchase Sherlock Holmes titles in accessible reading formats (i.e., braille, adapted stories, large print, graphic novels) for students. We were also able to add many new titles to our library’s collection, as well as fingerprinting kits and magnifiers. 

At the Sherlock Holmes preview party, students enjoyed becoming junior sleuths while learning about the detective himself. In the words of Sherlock Holmes, when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. The “suspects” were fingerprinted and photographed, as they searched for additional culprits. 

“Many teachers and students checked out Sherlock Holmes mysteries during the preview party,” said Galena Gaw, Director of Library Services. “Our students realized that reading is so much more than ‘elementary’!”