Libraries offer a lot more than just books, and there’s even more that’s coming thanks to a huge multi-million-dollar grant.

Geraldine Swann, director of community outreach at Hampstead Hill Academy in Baltimore, poses for a photograph Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, in Baltimore. The pandemic has Geri Swann working her cell phone constantly, as she gets up to 100 emails a day seeking help for students and their families. “Your community schools person is that hand, because if they’re truly doing their job they know the community. The widening opportunity gaps between low-income and affluent jurisdictions have “come full force to our attention through this pandemic,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat. But he called these Band Aids compared to what Kirwan could mean for his students, let alone for K-12 education statewide.