From Bus to Bookmobile

Secondary Library Coordinator and Draper Media Specialist Rhia Johnson has spent her summer break converting a retired school bus into the Wylie ISD bookmobile.

“It’s always been my dream to drive a bookmobile,” Johnson said. 

Making her dream a reality, she has been at the bus barn several days each week since Memorial Day, hammering away, converting a student carrier into a book carrier.

“Last year, we used the same bus as a truck to haul the books and tables to each campus,” Johnson said.

She envisioned making the bookmobile just that – a mobile library students could enter to check out books for summer reading. 

For the past several years, the bookmobile was simply books displayed on tables set up at campuses. Now, students can board the bus to find a book to check out. 

“Having a truly mobile library allows us to reach more families,” Johnson said. “While it was a lot of work to get the bookmobile built, it will be less work in the long run because we won’t have to unload and reload everything at each stop.”

The labor of love began with Johnson and her team of volunteers removing the bus seats.

“We kept one and put it behind the driver’s seat, facing the back of the bus,” Johnson said. 

Giving the bus a new wood floor bottom, the volunteers installed plywood over the existing floor and overlaid it with peel-and-stick vinyl flooring.

Next, they installed wooden bookshelves along the sides of the bus.

Johnson received a $5,000 grant from the Wylie ISD Education Foundation to use for the bus makeover.

“I was gifted another $3,000 from the Foundation at Boots n Barbecue,” she said.

Johnson's hard work and dedication don’t stop with the makeover; she also studied up to earn her commercial driver's license, a key credential to drive the bookmobile.

Elementary Library Coordinator Stephanie Williams worked alongside Johnson to convert the bus into a bookmobile; she even helped Johnson study to get her CDL.

“That test was hard,” Williams said. “I’m really proud of Rhia for all she’s done to make this possible.”

Draper social studies teacher, Travis Taber, donated his skills and table saw to help with the project.

“They were talking about it one day in the library, and I said, ‘I like to play,’” Taber said. “So Rhia asked if I would help. I was glad to.”

“We’ll do anything to get books into kids' hands,” Johnson said.

All Wylie ISD students are invited to visit the bookmobile at any of the campus stops from 6-7 p.m. to check out and return books:

• Whitt Elementary | June 10
• Cox Elementary | June 12
• Wylie High School | June 14
• Tibbals Elementary | June 17
• Draper Int. / Cooper JH | June 19
• Davis Int. / McMillan JH | June 21
• Wylie East High School | July 8
• Akin Elementary | July 10
• Burnett Junior High | July 12
• Groves Elementary | July 15
• Birmingham Elementary | July 17
• Harrison Intermediate | July 19

This year is the first time the bookmobile will make stops at secondary campuses. 

With the help of several other community members and district employees, the Wylie ISD Bookmobile will make 12 stops this summer.