Arguably one of the most important organizations in Crittenden County is its public library. One of its great services is the bookmobile, a mobile library stocked with materials. A great benefit of the bookmobile is homebound patrons need not make a trip to town to acquire their reading materials. Dycusburg.com recently spoke with Tabby Padgett, bookmobile library, and Regina Merrick, librarian, at Crittenden County Public Library. We learned that only one family in Dycusburg currently uses its services. Spread the word about this great community benefit!The inset is a photo of what the new Crittenden County Public Library's bookmobile will look like, courtesy of the Henderson County Public Library.
The interview with Padgett and Merrick appears below.
When are you at Dycusburg?
Tabby Padgett (TP): As of right now, I do not know my bookmobile schedule and when I will be in Dycusburg. However, when we get our new bookmobile prepared and I am back on the route, the bookmobile will be in Dycusburg every 2 weeks, usually twice a month. I come on Thursdays and park at the post office. As of right now, there is only one family in Dycusburg that partakes of the bookmobile. If anyone is interested, please have them contact the library and let us know. This will make me aware of how long I will need to wait at the post office.
Regina Merrick (RM): We will be getting the new bookmobile next week, and should start using it by April. We still have to have it painted, stocked, etc., before we start running it. We would love to have more participation from the Dycusburg community. As Tabby stated, if anyone would like the bookmobile to come to their home, or would like to meet the bookmobile at the store, please let us know, and we’ll make the arrangements..
What can you tell us about the bookmobile, generally speaking (e.g., circulation, stats)?
TP: The bookmobile is considered a "Library on Wheels" and serves those unable to make it to the public library. The bookmobile is stocked with Adult Fiction, Adult Non-fiction, Junior fiction, Junior Non-fiction, Christian Fiction, Easy, Western, and Romance books, to name a few. It also carries videos and books on tape, upon request.
RM: Bookmobile circulation in 2006-07 was 7,025, and the previous year 9,264. 2006-2007 was a year we had the bookmobile down for repairs quite a bit, so we are counting on our numbers going up dramatically when the new vehicle is in use regularly. Bookmobile circulation has typically been about 20 percent of the library’s total circulation. The new bookmobile is a Dodge Sprinter, and will be painted with library books and titles to make it more visible. Everyone will know when the bookmobile is in their neighborhood! Anyone with Internet in their home is welcome to check out the library’s catalog at http://www.crittendenlibrary.org/, and then click on “catalog,” to see what materials are available. If you don’t see what you want on the bookmobile, we’ll do our best to get it for you, if we can know ahead of time. The library’s phone number is 965-3354.
Why do you think it's important for small communities like Dycusburg to take advantage of the bookmobile?
TP: Like I mentioned earlier, the bookmobile is here to serve those unable to make it into the public library. It is a free service for anyone and we come to you; there are no hassles trying to get to Marion, get a ride, battle the weather, waste gas or so forth. As long as the communities in Crittenden County show an interest in the bookmobile then it will be around for many more years to come.
RM: Many counties in Kentucky have opted not to have the expense of a bookmobile. We feel as long as circulation figures and word-of-mouth anecdotes tell us that people are using the bookmobile, it is our job to keep the program alive. We do not have a branch in our outlying communities, and the bookmobile is a way for the people of Dycusburg, Shady Grove, Tolu, Crayne, and other areas of the county to have their own traveling branch.
When are you at Dycusburg?
Tabby Padgett (TP): As of right now, I do not know my bookmobile schedule and when I will be in Dycusburg. However, when we get our new bookmobile prepared and I am back on the route, the bookmobile will be in Dycusburg every 2 weeks, usually twice a month. I come on Thursdays and park at the post office. As of right now, there is only one family in Dycusburg that partakes of the bookmobile. If anyone is interested, please have them contact the library and let us know. This will make me aware of how long I will need to wait at the post office.
Regina Merrick (RM): We will be getting the new bookmobile next week, and should start using it by April. We still have to have it painted, stocked, etc., before we start running it. We would love to have more participation from the Dycusburg community. As Tabby stated, if anyone would like the bookmobile to come to their home, or would like to meet the bookmobile at the store, please let us know, and we’ll make the arrangements..
What can you tell us about the bookmobile, generally speaking (e.g., circulation, stats)?
TP: The bookmobile is considered a "Library on Wheels" and serves those unable to make it to the public library. The bookmobile is stocked with Adult Fiction, Adult Non-fiction, Junior fiction, Junior Non-fiction, Christian Fiction, Easy, Western, and Romance books, to name a few. It also carries videos and books on tape, upon request.
RM: Bookmobile circulation in 2006-07 was 7,025, and the previous year 9,264. 2006-2007 was a year we had the bookmobile down for repairs quite a bit, so we are counting on our numbers going up dramatically when the new vehicle is in use regularly. Bookmobile circulation has typically been about 20 percent of the library’s total circulation. The new bookmobile is a Dodge Sprinter, and will be painted with library books and titles to make it more visible. Everyone will know when the bookmobile is in their neighborhood! Anyone with Internet in their home is welcome to check out the library’s catalog at http://www.crittendenlibrary.org/, and then click on “catalog,” to see what materials are available. If you don’t see what you want on the bookmobile, we’ll do our best to get it for you, if we can know ahead of time. The library’s phone number is 965-3354.
Why do you think it's important for small communities like Dycusburg to take advantage of the bookmobile?
TP: Like I mentioned earlier, the bookmobile is here to serve those unable to make it into the public library. It is a free service for anyone and we come to you; there are no hassles trying to get to Marion, get a ride, battle the weather, waste gas or so forth. As long as the communities in Crittenden County show an interest in the bookmobile then it will be around for many more years to come.
RM: Many counties in Kentucky have opted not to have the expense of a bookmobile. We feel as long as circulation figures and word-of-mouth anecdotes tell us that people are using the bookmobile, it is our job to keep the program alive. We do not have a branch in our outlying communities, and the bookmobile is a way for the people of Dycusburg, Shady Grove, Tolu, Crayne, and other areas of the county to have their own traveling branch.
1 comment:
Regrettably, there is a movement in Crittenden County right now to hobble the library by taking part of its funding away. A group of people want to take tax money earmarked for the library and move it elsewhere in the county budget. It will take a vote of the people to allow such a process to take place. It's a bad idea for many reasons.
Chris Evans, Marion, Ky.
Post a Comment