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Last year I discovered the 3rd Annual Future Ready Librarians Digital App Smash where around 25 librarians from across the country contributed to a webinar where each person gave a two-minute description of a digital tool and told how they use it in the library. This year I had the opportunity to not only attend the webinar but also to be one of the presenters! Here is the 4th Annual Digital App Smash webpage where you can view the recorded webinar and access the slides so you can click on links and take more time to explore some of the tools. If you follow Future Ready Schools on social media, they are sharing the apps from the webinar as part of their "25 Days of Digital Tools and Apps Sharing" campaign. You can find me on Day 9 sharing information about Chrome Music Lab.musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/ I came away from the webinar with a list of tools I wanted to try and share with my teachers. I loved being able to learn about the apps and websites being used by other librarians around the country. I think this webinar is well worth your time if you want to take a look. 
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Thanks for taking a look at my new blog. I have been a school librarian for over 25 years and also give frequent presentations. After being inspired by other librarians I know in person and through social media, I decided I wanted to start a blog to have a place to share thoughts, experiences, book, lessons, and projects.
I will also post occasional press releases here as well. Our local newspaper requires a subscription to see their digital edition, and our district newsletter isn't always posted on the website (it's more often emailed to stakeholders), so I wanted a place to share and archive library-related news and articles. In October, I attended my first AASL National Conference and found it to be a fantastic and inspiring experience. That experience has spurred me to get more involved in school librarianship on a national level. As a result, I have some new professional activities on the horizon: I am writing an article for Knowledge Quest, an AASL journal, which is slated for publication in the March/April 2024 issue. I will also be writing some guest posts for the Teen Librarian Toolbox blog sponsored by School Library Journal. The TLT blog posts will be coming out in 2024. I will share more information here when these things are posted. I was looking for a catchy name for my blog and liked the idea of alliteration. Biblio means "connected with books," so I decided BiblioBrownlee was perfect! I am excited about using this blog as an avenue of connection with other librarians and book lovers. I am looking forward to sharing with and learning from all of you. Sterling Jr./Sr. High School Library, Sterling, KS, was awarded a $20,000 Libraries Transform Grant from the South Central Kansas Library System. The grant, along with matching funds from the district, was used to update the library space. According to librarian Amy Brownlee, “our vision was to transform our dated 1980s library into a 21st century learning commons to provide space for innovation and collaboration and to facilitate our mission of equipping students as lifelong learners who solve problems, achieve and grow.” Grant funds were used to purchase tables and chairs on wheels to facilitate flexible seating arrangements. The project also included new carpet and paint as well as expanded wall shelving that eliminated three large freestanding bookcases and opened up the library space and showcased the library’s genre-based, fully browseable fiction collection. The library received new carpet and paint after flooding in 2002 but otherwise had not been updated since being built in 1985. The need for flexible furniture had been evident for years but was especially noticeable since the library began hosting monthly school board meetings a number of years ago. The large, heavy tables and chairs were not conducive to being rearranged, yet they were moved every month. “A fixture update will enhance the space’s ability to host an increased number of events,” said principal Phil Bressler. “We foresee the space being used primarily by students, but also by adults in the form of meetings and planning sessions. The library reconfiguration and update will enable us to meet important needs.” The update was an 18-month process beginning with planning the new library space and preparing the application. After being notified of the grant award, vendors were contacted and orders were placed. In May, all the books and furnishings were packed and moved out and renovations began. Books were moved back into the “new and improved” space in August just in time for the beginning of school. “We were able to invite the community to an Open House event in September to coincide with the first school board meeting taking place in the newly updated space,” Brownlee said.  Sterling’s grant application was chosen on the basis of meeting the Libraries Transform grant program’s key objectives, which are to:
1) Increase awareness and support for transforming the local library. 2) Further the perception of the library as essential to the community. 3) Energize library advocates to influence local, state and national decision-makers. The project increased the library’s visibility and usefulness to the community and shared in these key messages: 1) Libraries transform lives. 2) Libraries transform communities. 3) Libraries are community centers for lifelong learning. 4) Libraries are a smart investment. The updated library space has already been used dozens of times for such activities as: staff training and meetings; instruction, cooperative learning, and testing; “Apply Day” facilitated by the school counselor where seniors were walked through the college application process; student work on Individual Plans of Study; parent and club meetings; resume preparation and mock interviews, and much more. The competitive grant application was written by librarian Amy Brownlee with support from library assistant Michelle Miller. “The Libraries Transform Grant was a catalyst to get administrator buy-in to spend capital outlay funds to update the library,” Brownlee said. “I first heard about the grant opportunity in 2019 and have been speaking with administrators since then, working on finding a year when they would prioritize a library update in their budget plans. Without the matching grant from SCKLS, I don't know when or if this project ever would have happened for us. This grant was truly transformative for USD 376.” Throughout her 25+ years with the district, Brownlee has secured more than 70 grants for USD 376 totaling over $90,000. “I appreciate the time and energy Mrs. Brownlee spends on getting funding to keep our library programs top notch,” said superintendent Jim Goracke. One of the grant requirements is employing a certified librarian like Brownlee. In a letter to the grant selection committee, Principal Bressler wrote: “Despite many of our peer school districts cutting these positions, we see the library and our professional staff as a key cog in the learning process.” This project is funded in part by the South Central Kansas Library System. SCKLS serves 144 participating public libraries, school districts, academic libraries and special libraries in 12 counties. The mission of the South Central Kansas Library System is to assist member libraries to provide excellent service to their communities. |
Amy BrownleeLibrarian, reading teacher, presenter. Archives
February 2026
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