Learn more about the ICPL staff members who work on the Bookmobile! This month we talk to Stacey McKim.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK ON THE BOOKMOBILE? It’s fun! Each day starts with loading up 50 to 100 new items and Holds into a wagon, which we walk down to a nearby parking ramp where the Bookmobile is parked. Once everything’s shelved, we take turns driving to each stop, where we love seeing both new and familiar people! At the end of the day, we pull our wagon back to the library building. Depending on the weather, we might be a little dusty or wet from rain or snow, but getting out into the community is the best!

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THE BOOKMOBILE? I love the opportunity for creative problem-solving that comes with the limited space and having a second “branch” of the library.

SHARE A BOOKMOBILE MEMORY WITH US. I recently heard someone point out that the Bookmobile’s built-in ceiling fans look like drones. It’s a wonderful and powerful vehicle, but it sadly does not fly.

WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOOKMOBILE? Sometimes a big library is overwhelming and it’s hard to narrow down to a book you’d like, so the smaller collection on the Bookmobile can make for much easier browsing and decision-making. Plus it’s hand-selected to be full of new and enduringly popular titles. 

The FY18 statistics are in and what a GREAT first year for the Bookmobile!

From July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018, 15,233 people visited the ICPL Bookmobile and checked out 25,885 items.

The Bookmobile drove 3,863 miles around Iowa City and Johnson County. The Bookmobile’s checkouts per mile varied from a low of 5 in January and February to a high of 10 in July. The Bookmobile averaged 7 checkouts per mile driven in FY18.

Staff at the Bookmobile hosted 96 programs for children with 3,158 people attending. Most programs were a part of Stories in the Park, but there were many other special programs as well.

Read more about the Bookmobile's first year in Kara's blog post here.

The Bookmobile Summer Schedule concludes on Friday, August 17, and the Fall Schedule begins on Monday, August 27. We look forward to a seeing everyone again in the fall!

A break between schedule periods gives us time for vehicle maintenance, deep cleaning, and restocking the Bookmobile with great new Library materials.

During Bookmobile service breaks, Holds and ILLs scheduled for pickup on the Bookmobile may be picked up at the Help Desk in the Downtown Library. We will not capture any holds when the Bookmobile is not in service, so there may be a period of time when the Bookmobile is on break when holds will be at the Library waiting for pick-up. Don’t worry, though, because the 7-day waiting period for picking up a hold does not begin until we “trap” the hold. That’s when we send the eMail, call you on the telephone, or mail your Hold Pick-up Notice.

Go here for Bookmobile schedule information.

This month's happy stories come from our stop at Breckenridge.

"We have so many happy kiddo Bookmobile users at the Breckenridge stop, but two stand out to me," Bookmobile Assistant Shawna Riggins said. "The sister in this duo has been using the Bookmobile for months and during the school year she would RACE off her bus, check in with us, RACE home to get her heaping bag of books to return, then RACE back to return them and rapidly fill another bag before the Bookmobile had to depart. Her brother would come on from time to time, but he mostly stayed away."

It turns out he wanted to visit the Bookmobile, but wouldn't because he'd lost a book and had a bill on his account.

"After being sure he had thoroughly looked, we waived the bill for this book as his SRP summer waive for the year," Riggins said. "Since clearing his account, he comes weekly with his sister and fills a heaping bag full of books and movies. They always return their materials on time and make use of our hold system as well. They are our first visitors through the door and our last to go.

"When the sister completed the Summer Reading Program, she let me know she hoped the book Drama could be her prize book. I brought a copy specifically for her. Now her brother has finished the Summer Reading Program and he asked if I could find him Dog Man. I knew the prize books would be pretty picked over by this time in the Summer and worried I wouldn’t find him one. When I alerted our Children's Services Coordinator about it, she found a copy in the SRP display case. I can't wait to give it to him."