Catch the reading bug by catching this bus

For nearly 30 years, my Aunt Jean was the bookmobile lady in the small town where I grew up. Every now and then, I would see her in that big square bus, lumbering down the road on a mission to take books to outlying schools and communities.

Those fond memories left me with a particular affinity for bookmobiles, so I was excited when Kootenai-Shoshone Libraries unveiled the new bookmobile – now called a “mobile library” – in May.

This mobile library is covered with bold graphics, a marketing tactic aimed at increasing the visibility of both the vehicle and the library system’s expanded outreach services for adults.

It’s working, according to library director John Hartung.

For many years, the bookmobile visited rural areas of Kootenai County not served by a branch library, and most of its services were geared toward children.

A few years ago, library staffers re-evaluated those services.

They researched the demographics of people they served and found that a growing number of senior citizens in retirement apartments and assisted-living facilities, as well as children in child-care centers, were not being served adequately.

“We were not reaching those who cannot easily get to a walk-in library,” said Hartung. “The solution was to bring mobile library services to them.”

Today, the mobile library keeps its wheels turning, providing expanded services to the rural population, senior citizens and children.

Traditional routes include U.S. 95 south to Worley and Interstate 90 east to Rose Lake. New routes include scheduled stops at senior living centers and day-care facilities, including Legends Park Assisted Living and Heritage Place Senior Apartments in Coeur d’Alene as well as School Plus, a school-based child care facility in Hayden.

The 37-foot-long vehicle carries an average of 3,500 books, at least 100 videos and a full complement of library services.

Each scheduled route is traveled twice a month, giving patrons a chance to borrow books, audiotapes, compact discs and videotapes on a regular basis.

With wireless Internet aboard the vehicle, library staffers are able to check out books and place holds on books.

People are excited about the new vehicle, according to Hartung. He credits the enthusiasm partly to the attention-grabbing graphics but mostly to the technological advances the mobile library offers.

“People in rural communities are excited about it because we are bringing more collection capability to them. They appreciate the number of advantages that technology has brought to them,” Hartung said.

“But it’s also new and fresh and exciting, and they’ve had fun just checking it out,” he said.

Outreach services will continue to expand and improve, according to Hartung.

This summer, with all the construction going on at branch libraries, bookmobile staffers have been helping out by showing up at summer reading programs. They will continue to work more directly with library branch managers.

And promotion of a new program called “From Your Library,” which includes the addition of a children’s outreach staff member, has just begun, Hartung said.

If the mobile library stops near you, check it out. You can get a library card on the spot and start reading that New York Times best seller you’ve been wanting to read.

Inventory is rotated regularly. Books and audiotapes are loaned for one month while new books, videos and compact discs are due back in two weeks.

Schedules and more information are available on the Web site, www.mobilelibrary.org, or call the library outreach office at 772-7405.