MCLS Bookmobile Expands Its Reach
ZANESVILLE, OH – The Muskingum County Library System is taking its shelves on the road, bringing the library directly to communities across the county.
The MCLS Bookmobile is essentially a library on wheels, allowing MCLS to reach people who may not have a library right around the corner. Stops are expanding to communities like Frazeysburg, Adamsville, White Cottage, and Chandlersville, with the goal of taking the Bookmobile anywhere in Muskingum County it can go.
“We know that it can be difficult to get to the library and even though we have locations and great hours, if you are working till 6 o’clock it can still be hard to make it down at the end of the day. So, those are the neighborhoods and areas I really try to get down to.” MCLS Outreach Services Manager, Joshua McPeek, said. “The Bookmobile is like a little library on wheels, and we offer just about everything we would offer at any of our library locations. So, that includes sign up for library cards, checking out materials, and of course we can bring holds as well.”
The Bookmobile has only been rolling for a few months, but a nearly 50-thousand-dollar LSTA grant is helping expand what it can offer. The funding, administered through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, helped pay for new materials and technology inside the mobile library.
“The technology and the materials that we have are the most important things to get out to the community. The technology makes it so we can really be the full little library on wheels and having new pristine materials is super important to us. We want it to be exciting for anybody who gets on.” McPeek said.
The Bookmobile will also be making a stop at the Muskingum County Fair, where you can find it parked next to the Veterans Complex. To see where the library on wheels is headed next, you can visit the Muskingum County Library System’s website or Facebook page.
