The new bookmobile in Summit County will provide literature to more than just kids.
“We’re trying to broaden our horizons in terms of who we serve,” Summit County outreach services librarian Laura Hayes said.
The bookmobile has traditionally served school-aged children in Kamas and Coalville.
“We’re just trying to serve more people in the area,” Hayes said.
She is planning regular visits to senior citizen centers in Coalville and Kamas when she begins driving the bookmobile next week.
“When we serve the senior centers, we’ll put in large-print materials, audio materials and we’ll be rotating collections,” Summit County Librarian Diana Skousen said. “It’s brand new and any time you try a new service you never know what to expect.”
The vehicle will also offer books written in Spanish, she said.
“With the old one falling apart, we didn’t want to expand service,” Skousen said. “Of course, when we’re serving Spanish speakers, we’ll put on Spanish-language materials.”
The roof on the last bookmobile leaked, she said.
“And we couldn’t keep it heated in the winter. It was pretty much miserable,” Skousen said. “With this new one, we’re looking at any opportunities to expand services.”
The new bookmobile began as a Ford chassis.
“Basically, they build it from scratch,” Skousen explained. “This one is brand new. So it’s nice and bright. The lighting inside is so much better.”
A ramp makes entering the bookmobile easier for people in wheelchairs.
“It can lower below curb level so people can step in very easily,” Skousen said.
She said she would like the van to stop in more places.
“So if people are interested in the bookmobile stopping in their community, they could give us a call and we can see what we can do,” Skousen said. “It increases access to information, especially for people who have a harder time getting to the library. People can place requests and then they could get them filled the following time that the bookmobile stops”
The vehicle primarily targets students in middle school.
“The more opportunity that they get to read, the better,” Skousen said. “They’ll have more success in life if they’re good readers.”
She said the new bookmobile cost the county about $210,000.
“We’re really excited about it,” Skousen said, adding that the new service begins Monday. “There have been a lot of people who have spoken out that their earliest memories of any type of library service were through a bookmobile.”
Contact (435) 513-0826 for information about hours and where the bookmobile stops in Summit County.