A new bookmobile is coming to Kansas City, Kan., this fall.
It will serve residents who otherwise might find it hard to get to the public library buildings in the community, according to a spokesman.
A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for the new Kansas City, Kan., Public Library bookmobile at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at Juniper Gardens, 1980 N. 2nd St., Kansas City, Kan. The community is invited to attend the event.
“This is something we’ve been looking into for quite a while,” said Kim Woolery, public relations specialist for the library. “We know there are people in our city and Wyandotte County who don’t have access to the Internet, and do not have transportation access, and we wanted to do as much as we could to serve them. We don’t want them to feel left out because they were not able to come to one of our branches.”
It has been several years since a bookmobile operated in Kansas City Kan.
This bookmobile will be brand new, about the size of a recreational vehicle, and will have a computer mobile lab with Internet access on board as well as books, Woolery said. Patrons will be able to sign up for computer time.
The bookmobile will have a set collection of books always on board, and it also will be able to bring books that have been requested in advance from the library branches.
She said plans are for the bookmobile to operate Mondays through Fridays, making three stops on each day except for Monday, when it will make one stop. The bookmobile will reach 25 stops, alternating weeks, so that it visits the same place once every two weeks, she added.
The bookmobile can go all over the community, and she expects it to be visiting areas mostly in the eastern part of Kansas City, Kan., including senior centers, housing centers, and community centers.
Two librarians will staff the bookmobile. It will not run on holidays when the library is closed, and there is a chance it may not run in the event of inclement weather, she added.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 1, there will be a few weeks for technical testing of the bookmobile, then it is expected to be placed into service on Oct. 13, she said.