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District librarians report 213,000 books, 12,000 devices and 1.5 million minutes logged in reading app
Summary
Topeka Public Schools’ library and media staff told the board the district collection exceeds 213,000 books, manages almost 12,000 Chromebooks and iPads, hosted seven author visits, raised over $70,000 via book fairs and logged 1.5 million reading minutes in Beanstack.
Miss Sinclair, head of library media services, presented district library metrics to the Topeka Public Schools Board of Education and introduced librarians from multiple schools.
Sinclair told the board the district collection has more than 213,000 books and that librarians help manage nearly 12,000 student Chromebooks and iPads. The district hosted seven author visits this year and raised more than $70,000 for new books and materials through book fairs, she said.
Library staff also reported reading metrics collected through the Beanstack tracking app: students and staff logged 1.5 million minutes, 14,000 books read and 38,000 milestone badges. Top Beanstack participation rates by school were McCarter (99%), Chase Middle School (84%) and HPC (80%), and librarians from those schools introduced themselves at the meeting.
Sinclair described librarians’ day‑to‑day work—story time, technology troubleshooting, collection curation and creating inclusive spaces—and noted librarians presented at state and regional library conferences. The board discussed circulation and digital citizenship; Sinclair proposed distributing a copy of The Anxious Generation, a book on social media’s risks for children, as part of the district conversation about phones and student wellbeing.
The board accepted the presentation. No purchase approvals or policy changes were made during the report; librarians and media videos shown at the meeting will be posted to the district YouTube channel.
