Bookmobile drives home the love of reading

by: Brian Babcock

The Santa Clara County Library wants to reach its patrons no matter where they live.

And a new, smaller and upgraded bookmobile will help them do just that, library staff has said.

"There is a long history of bookmobile service in this district," said county librarian Nancy Howe. "The county library district covers a large geographical area, and we use the bookmobile to extend the reach of service to residents that either live far away from one of our eight locations or have limited mobility.

"The bookmobile staff provide personal library service to some of our most isolated residents."

The county library serves residents in Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. More than 360,000 people have a county library card.

But not everyone who lives in the area can make it to the library. And that's where the bookmobile comes in.

The idea is that the bookmobile brings the library to its patrons, instead of the other way around. And it has almost everything a library does: books (including new titles), DVDs, magazines, books on CD and even a librarian. Patrons can even put books on hold and pick them up at the bookmobile when it visits their cities.

The first county bookmobile was purchased in 1953. The newest bookmobile replaces a 20-year-old vehicle that was bigger and tougher to navigate

some of the windy and steep roads in places like Mt. Hamilton and the Santa Cruz mountains.


The new bookmobile has three solar panels on the roof, which generate enough power to run the lights and computers, eliminating the need to use the generator at each stop. It also has a fan on the roof and skylights, which will help with light and cooling, and a wheelchair lift entrance.

"Our current strategic measurable goal is to have the highest percentage of district residents with active library cards," Howe said. "Underlying this measure is the belief that library services are at the heart of a community, supporting lifelong learning, cultural enrichment and transforming lives."

The county library has been making a concerted effort to reach out to Monte Sereno residents, parking the bookmobile at city hall every other Friday. And since Monte Sereno residents pay taxes to the county library, bookmobile librarian Karen Apland said the library should do all it can to serve them.

"They pay us, so we want to give them as much of an opportunity to use us as possible," Apland said. "We want to bring the bookmobile to them as much as we can. We want to serve them."

And at least one Monte Sereno resident appreciates it.

Beverly McCleve said she's been to see the bookmobile during one of its stops in the city and expects to use it in the future.

"It's very handy," McCleve said. "It's nice to know that it comes every two weeks. It's a good schedule. It's great that I can pick something up at one of the libraries and drop it off at the bookmobile."

For more information on the bookmobile, visit sccl.org/bookmobile.

from: Mercury News