Rapid City Public Library launches new Bookmobile

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - On Tuesday the Rapid City Public Library extended its reach beyond its building limits with the introduction of the Rapid City Bookmobile, a truck filled with books from the library that can be taken and set up anywhere.

The term Bookmobile is probably not a phrase most would be familiar with and you may find yourself asking, what is it?

“The Bookmobile is basically another branch of the main library so every service that we offer at the main building downtown we try to bring on the road with us so obviously we’ll be signing people up for library cards, they can check materials out here, we’ll have tech help, (and) we’ll have notary services. As much as we can stuff into this thing we’re gonna get out there,” Brady Jones the Bookmobile and Outreach Associate for Rapid City Public Library said.

Jones says the process for those services will work the same as if you were in the library.

The motivation for creating the Book Mobile can be traced back to the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The origins kind of trace back to 2020 when the library had to be closed and we rolled out the idea of the pop-up library and so the last few years we’ve been using our pop-up tent to get library services out to the public and that served as a proof of concept that a mobile branch really is a good idea that was well received by the community,” Jones said.

Aside from making library services more convenient for some people, the bookmobile serves an educational purpose as well.

“The fact that this lines up with our summer reading program is really nice because this is obviously a very fun way for families to get involved with the library, and I think just constantly providing that enrichment of books and games and everything is one of our main focuses,” Jones said.

Those interested in checking out the Book Mobile for themselves can find a link to their location schedule here.

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