As we all know from the Techmobile, bookmobiles are great resources for those who might not be able to access a library otherwise or as a supplement to the library (or libraries) they already visit. A new bus in the Netherlands has combined interesting architectural design with mobility and repurposed objects to combine into one of the coolest libraries I think I’ve seen.

A friend forwarded this article to me this morning via Twitter. The “BiebBus” (no relation to Justin Bieber, thank you) has been a helpful new tool for Dutch schools that lack funds or space for internal libraries. And from the perspective of a reader and outreach librarian interested in modern design looking at the pictures in the gallery, it appears to be a fantastic space! Though these trailers will probably not become prevalent, the gallery of pictures show some wonderful innovation and thought on the part of the designers, and a very interesting space created by a container that might otherwise have gone to the scrapyard after it’s life as a shipping container had ended.

Take a look at the article – perhaps this will be part of the trend toward “greener” solutions for mobile libraries in the coming years?

With National Library Week coming up very soon (April 10th-16th), we thought it would be fun to offer an activity for our younger patrons and get some decorations for the bus in one fell swoop. Participating classrooms will receive a free book to keep for their own collection, and youngsters that visit at one of our other stops will receive a small prize for turning in their coloring sheet. We’ll pick a few of our favorite entries and hang them up on the bus to display the artistic prowess of our young patrons! Stay tuned for a link with a printable copy of the coloring sheet with an open book to tell us why you like visiting the Techmobile and a bookmobile to color and decorate! Don’t forget to visit us on Wednesday, April 13th as we once again celebrate national Bookmobile Day!

The Techmobile will be unable to make its scheduled stop on Thursday, September 23rd at the Hancock Regional Hospital due to a scheduling conflict. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that if you’d planned to see us at that stop, you can find another stop as convenient to visit us! Also, because of changes to the school’s release times, the Techmobile will be departing our stops at J.B. Stephens and Eden Elementary Schools at 1:30 p.m. (instead of 2:00 p.m.) for the rest of the dates on the Fall Schedule. If any more changes come up, keep an eye here and I’ll let you know of them! Thanks!

Another successful summer is almost behind us, some of our schools are back in session as of tomorrow! I can’t believe how quickly the days flew past (in spite of some oppressive heat here and there): the 4-H Fair came and went, we drew big crowds at some of our neighborhood stops, and our two-month Summer Reading Program was a hit once again. So, the question of the blog title – did you visit us? We hope you did.

Last week, NPR (National Public Radio) ran a segment on its “All Things Considered” program by W. Ralph Eubanks about his fond memories of growing up using his library’s bookmobile and how the experience ultimately changed his life. It’s a quick read but another testimonial to the important work librarians (and particularly outreach librarians) do. If you have a minute, take a look:

Mr. Eubanks’s story can be found here. It can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, but articles like this help bring our goals back into perspective. I hope that we can provide a great experience to our users and hopefully some great memories to look back upon years down the road, too.

Due to the unforeseen cancellation of a major component of our Thursdays, we have had an immediate need to rearrange our summer schedule. The “Greenfield Armory Camp” was canceled due to lack of interest. We will now be visiting House of Kids in its place from 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. We will be parking at the Greenfield Senior Center from 2:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. The address for House of Kids is 190 W. Green Meadows Dr., Greenfield, and the Greenfield Senior Center and community pool are located at 280 N. Apple St., Greenfield. Both stops are open to the community (not just the organizations or employees of the businesses at the stops). If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail us at techmobile at hcplibrary dot org.

Thank you!

Wow, it’s already that time of year again. To say 2010 has flown is putting it lightly, at least for me. Things here in Techmobile Land are gearing up for another big summer with the Summer Reading Program once again taking front and center as we all prepare to “Make a Splash!”

Unfortunately, we’ve encountered a few bumps in the road getting started. We’ve faced some issues with our generator that are currently being sorted out so that we can get back out serving you, our adoring public. Know that we’re doing everything we can to correct problems and provide the best service we can, and it absolutely pains us to miss stops. So if you missed us this week, we apologize and hope to see you soon!

With the realization that Summer Reading has started and is underway, did you also realize you can sign up with the Techmobile as your preferred library? You surely know that you can always have holds sent to the Techmobile to be picked up there. And I’m sure you also realize that we have a fine assortment of Summer Reading prizes just like our two branch libraries. You didn’t know that? Now you do! As we try to get the word out there about our services and continue building our loyal following, still know that you can find some of the coolest stuff on our shelves, from DVDs to books and audio books and CDs and magazines and pretty much everything you’ve gotten used to finding at HCPL. (And in our prize boxes – we got some GREAT books for adults and teens this year, as well as for the kids! Seriously good, good stuff – before you stop by a library branch to claim your book prize, maybe you should stop by and see us first – did I mention we’ve got the good stuff? WE DO!)

One thing I should regrettably mention too: our weekly Thursday stop at the Greenfield Armory for the camp that was scheduled to happen this summer is unfortunately cancelled. The camp did not fill up as they’d planned, and they were forced to cancel this week due to lack of participation. We’re currently looking for alternate solutions to have a productive stop for that morning. We’ll have something soon and we’ll keep you informed!
A last thing – if you aren’t already following us on Twitter, please do! Twitter is a great way to receive as-it-happens news and is the quickest way for us to communicate with you if the bus is having problems, running late, or – and this is the best part – we get some really awesome new DVDs or something, you’ll find out first! You can scoop the competition and get the good stuff when it’s released and comes out on our shelves. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. Our Twitter address is http://www.twitter.com/HCPLTechmobile – check it out!

Today, Wednesday, April 14th, marks the first occurrence of National Bookmobile Day! It’s happening as part of National Library Week. Libraries around the country are participating, having open houses for their bookmobiles and doing special activities. Since our route is already planned, we’ve concocted a different celebration for you, our patrons.

On Saturday, April 17th, the Techmobile will have its own “open house,” where we’ll visit the Sugar Creek Branch from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. We will then visit the Greenfield Library from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. We’ll have tours of the bus, light refreshments, a way for you to share your favorite bookmobile/Techmobile memories, a fun character for the kids to meet, and more! Come visit us this weekend, especially if you never have before, and find out what you’ve been missing! All materials on the bus will also be available for check-out, so come get some books, DVDs, and your other favorite library items while you’re visiting.

We’re very excited about sharing the “new look” with the community and providing the best possible service and experience to you, our patrons. We thank you for your continued usage of our bookmobile – or for visiting us for the first time! We feel we provide a valuable service and hope you feel that way, too. So, come say hello on Saturday!

Recently, the Techmobile department undertook a pretty major project – a complete redesign of our look. I mentioned it in a prior blog – and yes, I realize I’m very bad at updating this (I’ll try to do better!) – and it has finally come to fruition. I thought I’d post a “photo odyssey” of start to finish. After the original graphics were stripped, the front and back ends were redone. A week later, the sides were taken care of, and the back and side door windows covered. We think the design is pretty cool. Thanks to the Techmobile Rewrap Committee, our Board of Trustees, and FastSigns in Indianapolis, we can finally call the project complete.

I think the photos are pretty much self-explanatory. The new vinyl is on, and kids at schools are asking if we got a new bus! Same bus, new look. Come rediscover the Techmobile!

I was fortunate to be able to attend my second annual conference for the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services (ABOS) last week. The event was held in Everett, Washington (about a half-hour north of Seattle), home of the world’s oldest operational bookmobile. I know, I know, you may be thinking to yourself, “So there’s an organization specifically for those working with bookmobiles? Wow, that’s…different.” Indeed, ABOS has been around for several years and its membership and listserv have proven quite helpful in making the learning curve a little less steep in how to best manage the Techmobile.

The annual conference had quite a few interesting speakers this year, including notables that even non-library folks might have heard of, including the two creators of the comic “Unshelved”. Another guest was renowned librarian/action figure subject/NPR contributor and author Nancy Pearl, who spoke at the annual “author luncheon” portion of the conference, which I was lucky enough to attend. Another featured “guest” was Everett, Washington’s own “Pegasus,” the world’s oldest bookmobile. It began operation in 1924 and is still functioning today; it can be seen in the picture below.

Along with a host of break-out sessions, vendor displays (lots of bookmobiles in attendance, too!) and informational meetings, being able to soak up some of the local surroundings was an additional great reason to attend. The Pacific Northwest is an absolutely lovely part of the country, and we were fortunate to have sunny, 60-degree weather the entirety of the trip (Indiana had rain…shouldn’t that have been in reverse?!). Everett and Seattle both had numerous ways to spend the evenings in tourist/gourmet/relaxing fashion.

Overall, it was a great and worthwhile trip, and I owe much thanks to our library and its Board for giving me the opportunity to attend. You can look for some of the new ideas gained at the conference to begin being implemented on your future visits to our bus!

(Below, night falls over Everett.)

This morning cruising Twitter, I noticed that author Stephen King celebrated his 62nd birthday yesterday. While not exactly a milestone birthday or anything, it did get me to thinking about Stephen King’s impact on the literary world. While he certainly wasn’t the first author of horror and dark fiction, he is (at least in my opinion) the author most responsible for popularizing the genre in the last quarter of the 20th century. He’s done as much for the horror novel as Alfred Hitchcock did for the horror film. Think of all the books he’s written, and how many have then had rights purchased and have been turned into films. Did you know that it’s estimated he’s sold between 300 and 350 million copies of his books worldwide? What a staggering number!

I’ve read very little King, but my father was a big fan of his work while I was growing up, so I vividly remember the covers of the books and how scary they seemed as a child. Even with a busy “reading schedule” of books in my queue this fall, I think it’s about time I caught up with the past and thus I’ve decided I need to sneak a King novel in very soon. Do you have any favorites, any recommendations? Leave a comment below!

On this first day of Fall, I can’t help thinking about the upcoming Halloween holiday and the horror genre fits it so well. So in honor of Mr. King and one of the favorite holidays of my youth (and one that I still love to this day), expect to find a display of some of our favorite horror books, scary stories, books on CD and movies next time you stop by the Techmobile!