Jr. Project Manager
In many communities, the public library is a well-recognized
institution by adults and children alike. However, some libraries find their halls
to be frequented only by a fraction of their community’s population, and are
reaching out to increase their membership.
Last spring, the Evanston
Public Library (EPL) in Illinois found a new way to cater to their patrons,
looking to become more accessible by becoming mobile. Thanks to a donation from
the Evanston Bicycle Club, the
library acquired their book
bike—a motorized bicycle that pulls a cart filled with books for patrons to
check out. The bike is also equipped to provide library cards for those who do
not have them, as well as the opportunity to register for upcoming programs at
the EPL.
I interviewed Community Engagement Librarian Jill Skwerski,
whose duties include driving the book bike across the city in the warmer
months.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you face trying
to increase membership/visits from members? On the bike specifically?
A: Evanston is a great town for biking, but some parts of
town have narrow streets that don’t have any bike paths. The town is set on
improving biking into the neighborhoods, but we did a good job of getting into
the core neighborhoods within a two-mile radius of the library. The far south
and west and north sides are harder to reach. A site I wanted to reach was a
church with food distribution, but it’s difficult to bike to. Evanston is a
busy suburb of Chicago—some side streets have speed bumps, some streets are too
busy. We’re determined to hit those this year. The biggest challenge for me as
community engagement librarian, and for the library as a whole, is being sure
that we are providing the best possible library service to everyone in the
community. There are always people [who] won’t come—either they physically
can’t, or the library is not part of their lifestyle or culture—so we have to
be sure that we do our best to get out into the neighborhoods and bring access
to services in low access areas. We have to listen to what people need and
respond appropriately—maybe it’s not story time, but technology training.
Q: Was there a specific demographic that responded better to
the book bike?
A: Kids, absolutely! [They are] open to anything, so the
bike was a smash with the younger crowd, especially when I brought the Mo Willems books. Adults tend to need
library cards; my first patrons were a couple who had just moved [to Evanston].
It is exciting for kids, but a fair number of adults are thankful to meet me
because they never get to the library, or never renewed their cards, and they
can now access our online services.
Q: Was there a particular location that was most
popular/successful?
A: The beaches! Everyone is down at the [Lake Michigan]
lakefront in the summer. There is a bike path that runs through from one end to
the other.
Q: How has the book bike been adapted for the colder seasons?
A: The book bike is on hiatus until warmer weather
[arrives]—there’s no place where people naturally gather out of doors in
winter. We’ll bring it out again around Memorial Day until about October.
Q: In a Chicago
Tribune interview,
you had mentioned ideas for updating the book bike to better accommodate your
patrons. Have you made any of those changes yet?
A: The bike will have a closed lid that opens-up down the
middle that can display materials or a laptop. A library board member is working
on the modifications. We also plan to get a stool. We need it for the little
ones, since there is a very deep basket [for them to reach into].
Q: What differences do you anticipate the modifications
bringing in terms of how patrons respond to the bike?
A: They will be able to see from a distance that books are
displayed and that the bike is not an ice cream truck!
Q: Are there any plans for expanding the program, such as a
second bike?
A: My grand scheme is to have two bikes, though funding is always
an issue. [I’m planning to reach out to Northwestern, to find] students to volunteer
to ride bikes across town and hit our regular stopping points. [I’m working on
a schedule so that we] can visit each neighborhood location.
Q: Are there
any other programs/events you have planned to increase membership/visits that
are coming up?
A: The book bike has been a great boon for bringing our services
out into the neighborhoods and we’re looking forward to more successes. We’re
hoping to get to the free lunch distribution in parks in the summer with every
day service and also visit the food pantries and monthly produce mobile. Social
media hopefully will also generate more interest; we can tweet out “Look for
the book bike here at 2:00.” [Our
pilot year was 2014], and it’s still a work in progress, so we’re figuring out
[what will work better,] a set schedule or just getting everywhere we can.
Off book bike season, the EPL still has a great presence in
Evanston. In addition to their main building, they also operate branches on the
north and southwest sides of the city. When she’s not thinking up ideas outside
the box (or, in this case, outside the bookshelves), Jill teaches computer
classes to seniors and provides service to after school programs throughout the
year.
Did You Know?
Last year, we covered library
summer reading programs. The summer 2015 theme of the Illinois
Reading Enrichment and Development (iRead) will be “Read to the Rhythm” and
the Collaborative Summer Library Program
(CSLP) is planning a summer of “Heroes.” Programs at public libraries are
growing more and more creative every year, as librarians cater to the diverse
interests of their patrons.
In Louisiana, the Rapides Parish Library branches have
enacted an Adult
Bingo Book Challenge that will run until March of 2015 to get more patrons
in the door.
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