Changemaker Angie Miller, Executive Director, BookLoop

What happens when access to books becomes a daily habit, not a special occasion?

In this episode of Agency for Change, Lyn Wineman talks with Angie Miller, Executive Director of BookLoop (formerly DIBS for Kids), about the power of consistent book access and the organization’s recent rebrand.

BookLoop provides custom-curated classroom libraries and a unique “looping” system that allows thousands of elementary students to take home a new book every single day. Angie shares why tactile reading still matters in a digital world, how the program supports teachers, and what’s next for this growing nonprofit.

🎧 A thoughtful conversation about literacy, equity, and believing in the power of books.

Connect with Angie and BookLoop at:
·       Website – https://book-loop.org/
·       LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/bookloop-us/
·       Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/BookLoopOrg
·       Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/readwithbookloop/

Transcript

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Connect with Angie and BookLoop at: 

·       Website – https://book-loop.org/

·       LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/bookloop-us/

·       Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/BookLoopOrg

·       Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/readwithbookloop/

Angie Miller: 0:01

Believe in you, believe in your dreams, believe in your own power.

Announcer: 0:09

Welcome to Agency for Change, a podcast from KidGlov that brings you the stories of change makers who are actively working to improve our community. In every episode, we'll meet with people who are making a lasting impact in the places we call homes.

Lyn Wineman: 0:32

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Agency for Change podcast. This is Lyn Wineman, president and chief strategist of KidGlov. Today's conversation is one that I have really been looking forward to. My guest, and I'm not going to tell you her name or her organization just yet, she leads a nonprofit dedicated to something beautifully simple and also incredibly powerful. They make sure kids have access to books that they can take home to read every single day. And this nonprofit has recently gone through an exciting rebrand that reflects both their growth and their mission. And we're going to talk about what inspired the change, why access to books matters so much, and what's next for this nonprofit. I can't wait for you to hear this story. Angie Miller, welcome to the podcast.

Angie Miller: 1:38

Well, thank you for having me, Lyn. I'm so delighted to be here.

Lyn Wineman: 1:42

Absolutely. Angie, I always love the opportunity to talk with you. You are so passionate about your work. And I'd love to just start by talking about the organization and maybe even something kind of fun. The reason I know you so well. You have previously been known as DIBs for Kids, but you've recently announced a new brand, and KidGlov has had the chance to partner with you on that branding. Tell us the new name.

Angie Miller: 2:16

The new name is BookLoop.

Lyn Wineman: 2:19

BookLoop. I feel, Angie, like I should have a drum roll going, but this is a low budget podcast and I don't have any sound effects. Oh, but I love that. I have to tell you, KidGlov has worked on, I think, so close to 200 different brand projects. And this has got to be one of my favorite brand transformations. I love how well it fits the work that you do. And let's talk more about BookLoop. Tell everybody what you do and who you serve. 

Angie Miller: 2:54

BookLoop serves over 7,000 Nebraska and Southwest Iowa elementary school children.

Lyn Wineman: 3:01

That's a lot of kids. That's a lot of kids. Yeah.

Angie Miller: 3:06

Um, and what we do is now in the name, we provide custom curated classroom libraries of books, easy to heart, all of which have a QR code affixed to them because we use our own custom-built proprietary software that books can loop, if you will, home every single night. And then books loop again, if you will, among the classrooms. They rotate among the classrooms. So kids get access to 1,000 to 1,200 unique titles a year to read.

Lyn Wineman: 3:38

That's a lot of books. Like seriously, Angie, I love first of all that you're using loop in that way to describe the work. It's so good. But I that's a lot of books. I mean, how many books do you go through in a year? Is that even a fair question?

Angie Miller: 3:55

It's a fair question, and I know the answer to you. Um, and any right now, as we talk, we have about a hundred thousand books in our collection for the students.

Lyn Wineman: 4:07

Okay. Yeah. I'm gonna tell you one of my favorite things to do is go to bookstores and just look at books and be around books and pull them off the shelves. There's something about books that are just amazing. How fun is it to shop for a hundred thousand books?

Angie Miller: 4:28

It's fun, but I will be completely honest with you. My staff, our program director, they all really do that because they love it as well. And it's not fair. Yeah, so I come in once a week and I'm like, I was at the bookstore, and this looked really great.

Lyn Wineman: 4:49

And here's this photo, and they're you're just doing research all the time. That's fantastic. So, why, you know, in this day and age when it seems like we're all leaning towards the digital world, we're all talking about AI, kids are on their phones. Why is access and consistent access to books so important? And why is it important that kids can take them home and enjoy them outside of the classroom?

Angie Miller: 5:23

Well, I think you hit the nail on the head, Lyn, when we talk about the tactile experience of reading. Like, yeah, nothing replaces the literal opening of the book. And I think I think we've all been there when you you know you're the first person to open the book. You hear the crack, right? And you smell it. That new book smell is that ah, it's a perfect smell, right? But you know, for kids especially, the process of learning to read, it's not a natural process for our brains. We speak as babies, nine months, 12 months old. Our brains are naturally wired to be speakers, but they're not naturally wired to be readers. We have to train ourselves to read. And so having a physical book every single night not only helps with that with read alouds and teaching children the actual cadence of art language, right? But also lets kids discover new worlds and new ideas and Pete the Cat, and and it's from our perspective, just extraordinarily important for children to see themselves in books, to see new ideas in books, for their families to engage with them every night. I think as parents, almost all of us, some of our favorite memories with our children when they were small, was reading a book to them. And being able to provide that experience and that memory is just critically important to us here.

Lyn Wineman: 6:57

You're taking me back, Angie. I'm gonna tell you that we had a tradition in our house. I had three children, and I used to sit in the in the doorway between their bedrooms and read to them at night, and they let me do this way beyond the point where they were too old for it. But we read the whole Harry Potter series out loud, and we read the whole Chronicles of Narnia series out loud. And it was it's such a great family memory. And you just recommended to me a beautiful book. It's called The Magical Yet. And I'm now I cherish reading that book with my three-year-old grandson, and we both use our imaginations. If anybody has read it, or if you haven't, you should read it, even as an adult, because it's really a fun book. But we talk a lot about what our personal magical yet, which are the characters in the book, what they look like. And and it is fun to have that imagination, imaginative moment together. So thank you for that. And you're doing that now for 7,000 children and and growing. So, can you walk us through how the program works? Because I I have heard you talk about the curation of the books and how easy it is for teachers. Just talk us through that a bit more.

Angie Miller: 8:25

Yeah, so what happens is here at BookLoop, we really tried it very hard to pay attention to what kids love. And some of that will be very familiar to your audience. Again, Pete the Cat, like I said, yeah, Elephant and Piggy, but even things we remember as children, Babysitters Club, uh, Sweet Valley High, Boxcar Children. And we work with almost two dozen publishers to purchase books that um in English and Spanish and Braille and 25 other languages, depending on.

Lyn Wineman: 9:01

Wow, I did not, I knew you were into a lot of languages, but also Braille. I imagine there are classrooms that as you get the data on the classroom, you know where the Braille books need to be.

Angie Miller: 9:14

Absolutely. And our you know, one of our North stars here is that every child should have access. Braille books exist. It's we can go find those books so that child can also participate in bringing a book home every night. And so, anyway, so we purchase all those books. We every classroom gets their own unique set of 220 books. Six book bins and they and a plastic folder. And we joke here all the time. This plastic folder we think is the key to everything. I love yeah, they're brightly colored, blue, yellow, pink, and the books go in those folders to go in the backpacks. And we don't lose books frequently because we think, you know.

Every morning, a student will come in and they will check in their book on our software, put the book back, and we call it shopping for books. They'll pick out their new one, they'll go back, they'll check it out and put it in their magic plastic folder. And a classroom of about 20, 25 students can, if you again, if you'll let me indulge me, loop their books in about 15 minutes or so, and and it just wash and repeat next day. 

Lyn Wineman: 10:34

Angie, I love it. I have a daughter-in-law who is a teacher at a school that you do not serve with BookLoop. And I was explaining this to her, and she's like, Oh, I just buy out of my own pocket. I just buy books for my and usually by the end of the year they're all gone. Right. And and I know that teachers already they work so hard, not paid the most, and then they're just buying books to give away to their classroom, right? When you've got this system in place. So you talked a little bit about your footprint, your severing schools in Nebraska, in Iowa. Like, how do you connect with the schools? Do they come to you? You go to them.

Angie Miller: 11:22

Yes and yes. Um, so yeah, Omaha, Norfolk, Wayne, North Platte, Council Bluffs, some pilots in Grand Rapids and Denver. And yes, sometimes it's they come to us, sometimes, especially when we're in a larger district, we will suggest, like, hey, we know that there's a school who could potentially use something like BookLoop. And that's you know historically how we've grown. And it's a snowball effect, right? As we grow, it gets larger, and and there, there you go. And then people like you talk to someone you know. 

Lyn Wineman: 12:04

I talk about book loop all the time because I think you do amazing work, and obviously, I'm a big believer in the power of books. And Angie, I know that you and your team have been working really hard. And I know you were honored recently with a prestigious award. And I may be saying this wrong, so please correct me, but I believe it's the Jane Geske Award from the Nebraska Center for the Book. And I know you're in good company because other large and well-known organizations have won. Tell me more about it and what it means.

Angie Miller: 12:44

Yeah, it is like you said, other organizations have been awarded the Jane Geske Award, and it's incredibly humbling and an honor. The Nebraska Center for the Book, which is um the Library of Congress's uh outpost, if you will, in Nebraska. Every state has one, has the Jane Geske Award. It honors the uh longtime um director of the Nebraska Library Association, and it's awarded to organizations that businesses or nonprofits or libraries that have made an exceptional and long-lasting contribution to books, literacy, reading in the state of Nebraska. And it it truly was something that it is, like I said, very humbling to be recognized for our work. We try really hard to quietly go about our day. We're Midwesterners, right? 

Lyn Wineman: 13:39

Right. We don't like to shout from the rooftop. We don't put our head down and do the work, right?

Angie Miller: 13:44

Do that work, and I will say when we were that award was being presented to us, um the presenter talked about how our work was transformational in the space of book access. Andand that's a genuinely the first time I'd heard that word. It just struck me, and it it was something that I never had thought about our work in that way, but it was really wonderful to hear that from someone to say that.

Lyn Wineman: 14:20

I love it. Well, I believe it, I believe it so much. I mean, one of the things I've even heard you say, I mean, it's not even just about the access to books and making it easy for teachers, but and not just about even finding the right books for the classroom based on the data and the makeup of the kids, and you're watching what they check out and what they might need more of and what they're interested in, but you insist on a high standard too of new books. You don't you you're not collecting old books and putting old books in the classrooms, all new books, right?

Angie Miller: 14:58

And all new books, yeah. And why, right? Well for a few reasons. One all kids, irrespective of their zip code or their school, deserve access to new books and things that are interesting, books are interesting to them. So that means when K-pop demon hunters is released here at the end of the month, um K-pop demon hunters is going to suddenly start appearing in our collection. And you may say, well, that's just pop culture, and that's is that really literature and is that really reading? Yes, yes, it is, because that's the gateway to that child, that particular child who that's the thing that they are interested in. And then that will transform to I'm now interested in you know what's in Japan, which then will transform into I'm interested in foods. And so it's always finding the thing, the one thing to reach that child. So and the other reason we put new books in, to be completely honest with you, Lyn, is it's a lot easier for us to purchase new books. We purchase so many, thousands and thousands of books a year that it allows us to really exercise a lot of purchasing power to provide for schools and teachers. So they don't necessarily have to buy you know a book at garage sales.

Lyn Wineman: 16:30

I think it just says something to the kids too about you matter, right? The importance of reading and the importance of them as individuals, right? Like we're not giving you someone's old book, we've got new books just for you in your classroom too. I love that so much. Angie, you are so passionate about this work, and you and your team do such a lovely job. I'm really curious, how did you find yourself in this position, right? Like, I can't imagine a career counselor looking or talking with high school Angie going, I think you should be the executive director of a nonprofit that puts books and checkout systems in schools.

Angie Miller: 17:16

You would be correct about that. The high school guidance counselor told me I should attend law school.

Lyn Wineman: 17:22

Um you're a very, very smart person. Yes.

Angie Miller: 17:27

I I did attend school in fact. Um no, so just to answer your question seriously, I I, you know, I went to Creighton for undergrad and along the way I picked up a master's degree and a law degree, and I had a moment, and I I know the exact moment it happened. I was like, wow, I was on the I was on the tarmac at Midway Airport three days before Christmas, flying home and snowy, it was cold, it was dark. Yeah, and I what am I doing with my life? And that doesn't negate the amazing work that lawyers and attorneys do. They do great work every day, all day. But for me, I knew there had to be something else out there. So I started transitioning into the nonprofit space. And honestly, Lyn, BookLoop was luck. It was luck. But but part of that luck was knowing what I believed in, knowing what my North Star was, it was kids and education and and access and lifelong opportunities. And it for me has just been the joy of my career to be here.

Lyn Wineman: 18:46

That is wonderful. I love hearing that. And because this is a podcast, most people are listening while they're driving and doing their chores and all the things we do while we listen to podcasts. But for me, I'm gonna tell the listeners, I I get to see you because we're on Zoom and I see the pure joy in your face. So well done, Angie. All right, I want to bring this full circle because we talked in the beginning about how KidGlov is really honored to help with your rebrand. Can you tell us what the new BookLoop brand represents to the organization as you move forward?

Angie Miller: 19:31

Oh, it's so I have to give an incredible shout out of joy to your team and KidGlov. And I'm not just saying that because we happen to be talking to my year. Your team took our vision of an organization that is infused with joy and opportunity and access and translated it into this brand that I think represents a hundred percent of who we are. And it's vibrant and colorful without being childish. And a brand that for us says we've worked so hard in building a program and iterating this program that's that's won awards and serves thousands of kids. And now it's time for the world to know about us a little bit more and understand what we do. And I remember when we had the meeting where you showed us the new logo. I remember just tearing up and I was crying because it was like this is everything I didn't even have the capacity to imagine. And to see a book and all of that represented in a way that so true to who we are, but uh cuts across languages and identities and cultures is just so incredible.

Lyn Wineman: 21:07

You've made my day, you and your team and your board were such a joy for us to work with because you threw yourself into the process, the brand advancement process and all the steps. And you know what we know about that process is that when we follow it, when we go through the steps, we not only have what we need to do the branding, but you have what you need to know. We are on the right path. And that that makes a good a great formula. And I'm I'm so excited for the brand. I'm so excited for the new website, which I'm gonna ask you if people want to see the brand or learn more about the program. Where can they find you at this new website?

Angie Miller: 21:51

They can find us at book-loop.org is where you will find all of the amazing work the KidGlov team has done to build a beautiful website. 

Lyn Wineman: 22:06

But also all the amazing work you're doing for kids in schools. So book-loop.org, we will have that link in the show notes. Angie, thank you for that. And once again, such a pleasure to work with you. So now that you have the new brand and you're moving forward, I'm really curious what advice do you have for other nonprofit leaders who are navigating change while they're staying true to their mission?

Angie Miller: 22:35

Well, I think the question has the answer. Which is know what your mission is and what do you do and who do you do it for and why do you do it? That if that stays at the center of your decision making, of the crux and or the lens or the North Star, whatever word you'd like to use there, the rest of it, I think, falls into place, if you will.

And change can be hard, it can be unknown, it can be uncertain. It doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. Yeah. But if you say like in our case, our mission is to give children access to books every single day to read, how do we effectuate that? We can navigate change.

Lyn Wineman: 23:31

That's great. You know, I think the only for me, the only thing scarier than change is to have the worlds change around you and you get passed up, right? And that sometimes people don't realize that impacts nonprofits as much as it impacts for-profits. It's an important part of the world. Well, Angie, what's on the horizon for BookLoop? What's next? You've been very busy.

Angie Miller: 23:59

Very busy. Uh, hopefully I'm taking a sabbatical.

Lyn Wineman: 24:04

Well deserved, I will advocate for you.

Angie Miller: 24:07

But no, next for BookLoop is we will work on our 2026 summer program. Um, it's we call it our mail-based program. We literally mail books back and forth all summer to children. They become our pin pals. We because there's written literally old old school letters, right?

Lyn Wineman: 24:29

They write you a letter and you send them a book and then they send it back and you send them another one. Oh, I love that. That sounds like though probably a lot of work for a heavy lift for your staff managing that.

Angie Miller: 24:42

We all end up with pen pals, though. So all right. Even I even I'm like. Yeah. I will I will take the child who hates dinosaurs, talent accepted. Um, but I, you know, that's you know, and we're already planning for the you know 26, 27th school year, and what that looks like. We will add, we know we'll already add some more schools to the who are serving, and we're starting to iterate preschool. What can book access look like in a preschool with an emphasis on reading aloud and parental data engagement daily with literacy and reading?

Lyn Wineman: 25:24

That's awesome. I love it, Angie. So, Angie, I want to ask you my favorite question next, and it has nothing to do with BookLoop, or could depending on how you take the answer right. Every single episode of Agency for Change, I have asked our wonderful guests to give me an original quote to inspire our listeners. So I'm I've been very curious, thinking about this all day. What will Angie Miller's quote be?

Angie Miller: 25:55

Here’s the quote that I have come up with. Believe in you, believe in your dreams, believe in your own power. And admittedly, some of that's borrowed from Eleanor Roosevelt. She has this famous quotation the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Some of that's influenced by you know my own journey. I really do believe that if you know who you are, you know what your dreams are, there's beauty, there's power, there's purpose there, and we just need to find the time and the bravery to tap into that.

Lyn Wineman: 26:45

I love it. I love that you added power to that quote too, because I think that often we have more power in a situation than we even realize. Even just the power of how you frame it up in your own mind. You can look at this as a problem, you could look at this as a challenge, you could look at this as an opportunity. And I I think of Angie Miller on the tarmac in the snow, midway airport. Boy, I I get that feeling when you tell me that story and how like lonely and cold that must have felt, and how scary it must have been to say, I just paid for law school with my time, with my hard work, with my money. And now I'm gonna do something different. But look at what an impact you and your team are making, and I really love that. 

Angie Miller: 27:40

Thank you, thank you. It's truly, like I said, been the honor of my career to lead such an incredible organization with incredible people and incredible families and students and teachers, and that makes it great. 

Lyn Wineman: 27:56

Angie, as we wrap up this conversation, because I feel like I could talk to you all day. I want to know what is the most important thing you would like our listeners to remember about the work that you're doing at Book Loop.

Angie Miller: 28:15

That books matter, that access to books matters, that when we talk about reading and literacy, there's joy matters. We don't create and foster and build readers unless we provide them something to read that the kids want to read. And that I think is the key to BookLoop.

Lyn Wineman: 28:39

I love it. Angie, that's beautiful. I fully believe the world needs more people like you, more organizations like BookLoop. Thank you for the work that you're doing and for taking some time out for us today.

Angie Miller: 28:59

Thank you for taking time out and really, really appreciate it.

Announcer: 29:05

We hope you enjoyed today's Agency for Change podcast. To hear all our interviews with those who are making a positive change in our communities, or to nominate a change maker you'd love to hear from, visit kidglov.com at kidglov.com to get in touch. As always, if you like what you've heard today, feature to rate, review, subscribe, and share. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.