NOLS Bookmobile hits the road

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 14, 2023

The North Olympic Library System’s Bookmobile is on the move across Clallam County this summer and beyond.

As part of an open house tour, the new vehicle made an appearance outside the Sequim Library on June 6, offering library services from inside the vehicle.

NOLS hasn’t offered a Bookmobile since 1981, Public Services Director Meghan Sullivan said, and staff are excited to bring it back after 40-plus years.

Their goal, Sullivan said, is “to increase awareness, access and use of library services among Clallam County residents.”

With the ability to hold about 1,000 media materials, the Bookmobile includes nonfiction, fiction and children’s books, as well as books in Spanish, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs.

“We’re excited to have materials for all ages,” Sullivan said.

Kristin Overbey, one of three community outreach specialists, said media will rotate out, and the Bookmobile will offer Wi-Fi to allow for people to sign up for library cards, check out materials, make holds and more.

Those who make holds for materials in the future at the Bookmobile will be able to pick materials up when weekly rotations start in the fall, Overbey said.

Those stops will run Tuesday-Friday, with some appearances at weekend community events, Sullivan said. Visitors can anticipate the Bookmobile being on the west end of Clallam County two days a week, and on the east side two days a week, she said.

Depending on weather, staff can turn on air conditioning or heat as needed. A ramp can also be accessed for wheelchairs and for those with less mobility.

Where the Bookmobile will stop on a more permanent basis is still in discussions, Sullivan said, as staff look to coordinate book drop boxes with the designated stops.

“We’re in conversations, and have a lot of possible options,” she said.

NOLS staff say community requests for the Bookmobile will start in 2024.

A fall schedule is set to release in September, with route locations and schedules announced at nols.org/bookmobile. With comments or suggestions, write to bookmobile@nols.org.

Background

NOLS’ original Bookmobile service was in use from 1949-1981, until the vehicle was used as the original Clallam Bay Library prior to services moving to a permanent building.

Community response for the new Bookmobile has been “nothing but positive feedback and excitement,” Sullivan said.

“Many residents have shared great memories of the previous NOLS Bookmobile or other bookmobiles in their hometowns; oftentimes, it provided their only opportunity to borrow library books,” she said.

Sequim-based illustrator and graphic designer Matthew Fleming, who created the exterior graphics for the Bookmobile, appeared at the Sequim event.

In a press release about him designing the vehicle, he said: “The Bookmobile graphics were inspired by my earliest memories of libraries — yes, I traveled there by a wagon pulled lovingly by my mom! — and the variety of ways libraries are used by the diverse members of our community.”

Library staff said last summer the design features people of different ages, genders, abilities, races and ethnicities taking part in Bookmobile services. One side of the vehicle is in English and the other Spanish.

In total, the new vehicle cost $175,106, staff report.

Momentum gained for the project, Sullivan said, during building closures in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic when “expanding service throughout the community became a priority, particularly in areas where it may not be easy to visit a library branch.”

Of the costs, staff report NOLS’ Capital Reserves from timber tax revenue, covered about half the cost of the vehicle, and $76,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant provided through the Washington State Library and the Institute of Museum of Library Services.

The North Olympic Library Foundation also donated $7,500 towards a community book return bin, and the Port Angeles Friends of the Library donated $5,000, on behalf of member Natalie Spiegel, for another community book return.

To donate to Bookmobile services, visit nols.org/donate.

Editor’s note: The pictured Nashes are not related to the author.