By Michelle Leidy-Franklin
TSnews
GODDARD – The Goddard Public Library will soon be hitting the road with a new set of wheels.
The library received an American Rescue Plan Act grant through the State Library of Kansas and the Institute for Museums and Libraries to purchase a vehicle it can use for a mobile library.
“We are very excited for this. We have been talking about it for two years and working on getting grants or other funding to move forward. We are grateful to the state library and IMLS for giving us this opportunity to better serve our community,” said library director April Hernandez.
The library purchased a 2006 Gulfstream RV to convert into a mobile library. The RV had just under 20,000 miles on it and will be big enough to suit the library’s needs. The grant provided funds for the purchase of the vehicle, but funds will still need to be raised to renovate the interior.
The library’s outreach staff will be planning a schedule for the mobile library to be in certain locations on specific days of each month. The staff plans to add locations that will be convenient for patrons to pick up books they have placed on hold. The mobile library will have WIFI and laptops available for use as well.
Having a mobile library will allow the Goddard Public Library to reach more people in the community. It will make outreach to preschools and retirement communities easier to achieve. With a school district spanning 65 square miles, there is a lot of ground to cover. It will offer pop up programming in neighborhoods, and will make it easier to reach people in Goddard who live north of Kellogg.
“We are excited for the opportunity to expand our services to our growing community. The Goddard Public Library motto is ‘always imagine more!’ The purchase of this vehicle will allow us to provide resources and programs beyond our building,” said program and outreach specialist Carrie Wharton.
