After an over 40-year hiatus, the Muskingum County Library System bookmobile is back! The Outreach Department for the MCLS will be able to better serve smaller communities that don’t have a permanent library building nearby, giving access to the library’s expansive selection of materials to an even broader audience.
“We found once again that our community is having a hard time making it to the library. And we’re seeing that there’s a need for our resources throughout the community. So, the most obvious solution to us was to start bringing the library back out to the community again,” explained Outreach Manager Joshua McPeek.
The bookmobile will make its official debut on April 13th, when it will be used for a visit to the James Singer Center for an outreach stop. From there, the plan is to have the mobile library in use at least four days a week, Monday through Thursday. In addition, the bookmobile will be stopping in at several community events throughout the year, like the Summer Reading Kick Off events at all of the branches, the Muskingum County Fair, the Reading Festival in the fall, and others.
The Outreach Services Department has been bringing a small selection of materials to smaller communities for a long time in a regular van that was not outfitted for the task, but still made a huge impact on those who used it.
“We have seen, year after year, outreach going into these neighborhoods and people looking forward to them, integrating them into their lives,” said Marketing & Community Relations Director Sean Fennell. “We find that there’s a lot of excitement from kids of all ages, really, when they get to pick out a book of their own. And I know with our history with the bookmobile and the community, it’s going to resonate with both older people and, of course, the new generation,”
Patrons using the bookmobile can expect to have access to an ever-changing selection of books, movies, CDs, video games, etc. Approximately 1,500 items will be on board at one time, adding more value to outreach services provided by the library.
“They’ll be able to place holds, and then we’ll bring them out with us, so if they don’t find something that we have on board, we can certainly bring them something,” McPeek said.
“It will function very much like a mobile branch of our library. I can’t think of many services that you won’t be able to offer in some way, added Fennell. “That may be modified, obviously, because of the nature of the bookmobile. We will try to bring Wi-Fi with us when we can.”
Printing services will not be available on demand because there will not be a printer on the bookmobile. However, if someone needs to have something printed, the staff can print the document ahead of their next visit and bring it with them. Holds will work the same way; someone can request a book, and it will be loaded onto the bookmobile and brought out the next time it is on location.
The MCLS applied for a grant that was administered by the state of Ohio through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which helped to fund the bookmobile project. That included the vehicle itself, a new collection of books, and two sets of special carts that latch in place on the walls of the bookmobile to keep them from moving while being in transit.
“We looked at the 1950s bookmobile, and then we looked at the 1970s bookmobile, and we used some of that visual language in the creation of the wrap so that it, again, is looking back and kind of taking some of those design elements from the past, making it a little more contemporary. It’s still connecting. It’s still reaching back while looking forward,” Fennell commented about the design of the wrap that was applied to the exterior of the bookmobile.
The carts on the bookmobile are made to be preloaded with the next stop’s inventory and easily and quickly swapped with what was previously on the vehicle. The carts are tailored to each location, so more books from the large print collection may be added to serve the senior communities that the bookmobile visits, while carts loaded with tons of picture books will be ready for a stop where a lot of young children are expected.
The bookmobile is 100% ADA accessible. There is a wheelchair lift built into the bookmobile and a wide aisle in between carts of books, so it will provide a spacious browsing experience that is accessible to all.
“I think that right now, especially with all of the attention on John McIntire Library, it’s important for our county and everyone to know that the Muskingum County Library System is still the Muskingum County Library System,” added Fennell. “Even with our energies focused a lot on John McIntire and Zanesville, we absolutely are not forgetting about our county and that we serve everyone, and this is part of that, an expansion of that, and recognizing that we want to serve more of our population and that they want our services.”
Look for updates on outreach stops over the coming months by visiting muskingumlibrary.org/outreach.
