Times change, but bookmobile rolls on

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A bookmobile has been part of the library’s offerings since November 1939.

This year, the library welcomed a new bookmobile after the old one was pulled from the road in early 2016 due to recurring mechanical issues. While the new bookmobile, which cost more than $150,000, was being manufactured, a transit van was used to make the mobile library stops.

The bookmobile averages around 90 stops a month, said Sarah Simon, library outreach manager.

Those stops include the traditional neighborhood visits, which have the busiest times in the summer, along with stops at senior care facilities, special needs facilities, daycares and other locations. In recent years, the bookmobile has been rolling to more community events such as the local farmers market, the summer Troy Streets Alive events downtown and various Miami County Park District programs.

Simon said the Stories in the Parks series with the park district continues to be popular after a few years. Each event has a theme used by a park district naturalist as the focal point for activities while he library staff provides stories and a make and take craft.

At the public events such as the farmers market, visitors can peruse and check out materials, attempt the challenge of the week and take-home crafts and coloring sheets. A small collection of Friends of the Library books also is for sale at the market.

While the new bookmobile offers the same services as in the past, it has generated numerous compliments, Simon said.

One of the popular new features is the graphics on the vehicle, Simon said. The graphics, by local artist Chuck Melvin, include reminders of local and state history, including the county courthouse; a cardinal, the state bird; and Dewey, a bookmobile cat.

The bookmobile now features a shelf for each grade level readers from first through eighth grades.

“We have received a lot of positive feedback on this, as it makes searching for a certain grade level reader much easier. We also have been complimented on our adult selection,” Simon said.

Learn more

Online: For more information on the library and the bookmobile, go online to www.troypubliclibrary.org.