Bookmobiles spread holiday cheer

A visit from a Seattle Public Library Bookmobile always brings joy. This time of year, a visit from the library’s Mobile Services team brings extra cheer.

The team visits nearly 100 facilities each month, including at senior centers, preschools, lower-income housing developments, and tiny house villages. These visits serve more than 2,700 people monthly. Mobile Services also provides books by mail and home service for individuals unable to visit the library.

Last week at The Market Commons, a resource center in Pike Place Market, neighbors came by for the regular “lobby stop” by Mobiles Services librarians Emily Campeau and Chris Little. The event is a much-anticipated monthly occurrence for many senior residents, said Stella Jones, a resource outreach specialist with The Market Commons.

“They may not always know how to use the catalog, but they can always talk to Emily and Chris,” Stella said. Residents often receive reading recommendations, ranging from romance novels to books about the Bible, and put titles on hold for the next month’s stop.

One resident, Leslie, said she checks out at least six books from Mobile Services at each visit, mostly mysteries, and puts several more on hold. “I appreciate that they have large print copies,” Leslie added. “I look forward to this every month!”

For many, the Bookmobile’s visit is the only interaction with the library. “The Central Library isn’t actually that close to us, and when you factor in age and disability, it’s a barrier,” Stella said, pointing out the steep hill up from the Market. “This is definitely more accessible.”

The accessibility of the Bookmobile extends further. The team prioritizes visits to facilities in under-resourced communities or that serve children and adults with disabilities, where stopping by a library branch isn’t always easy.

The visits provide an alternate model of interacting with books that is more appealing for some patrons. One patron commented to the Mobile Services team that for an adult with autism who has a hard time with the visual and audible noise at a branch, taking their kids to a Bookmobile stop is a simpler and quieter way to use the library.

In addition to books, Mobile Services provides access to technology. Patrons can check out tablets and Wi-Fi hotspots, an increasingly popular service. Emily has seen an uptick in hotspot usage since this spring, when the expiration of federal funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program cut off subsidized internet access for many lower-income users.

Anna Jo and Arlene stopped by The Market Commons for the first time after hearing about the hot spots from a friend. Anna Jo said she lived nearby and wanted to connect her TV to the internet to expand her selection of holiday shows and movies.

“Any other place would cost you a lot of money,” she said. “This is a wonderful service especially around the holidays.”

Robin Rousu, assistant managing librarian with Mobile Services, said that the team’s ultimate goal is connection – to the internet, to reading, and beyond. The stops at preschools start to connect young readers with positive experiences around books. For older adults, lobby stops form unique and essential connections to resources and to each other.   

“One of the best things about the lobby stops we do is it creates a little community gathering for neighbors, and sometimes that’s the only time of the month that they actually see each other and talk and chat and get to know each other,” Robin said. “We keep people connected to part of the world.”

Donors to the Foundation help support and expand the work of the Mobile Services team. Learn more about Mobile Services here.