On an Amish farm in rural western Kentucky, a librarian by the name of "Hennessee" heads west from the small town of Mayfield and drives for miles on a two-lane road, passing churches, farms and open fields. With every bend and bump in the road, the wooden shelves inside the 27-year-old bookmobile creaks. With every stop, the hundreds of plastic-wrapped and paperback books on the shelves shift.
As the Graves County Public Library bookmobile librarian, Hennessee says she serves some of the most isolated areas of her community. She delivers books to some of the loneliest widows and some of the poorest children, but, according to her, “it’s not really about the books.”
Hennessee, 51, started doing this job in 1995, when bookmobiles — miniature, mobile libraries in the backs of walk-on vans — were in their heyday. At the time, there were nearly 1,000 operating across the United States. Now, there are fewer than 650, according to the most recent data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a research arm of the federal government.
Kentucky has 75 bookmobiles, the most of any state. In Graves County, Hennessee stops at day care centers and schools, bringing books to low-income children whose parents may not have time to stop by the library. She stops at nursing homes, whose residents may not be able to drive. And as access to high-speed internet becomes increasingly essential, she connects residents in remote areas to broadband through the bookmobile’s hotspot.
In Graves County, Hennessee waves to other drivers as they pass. It took her a long time to build up relationships around town, she said, especially with the Amish families, who were hesitant to speak to her at first.
About a quarter of the library books that get checked out in the county are from the bookmobile. Last year, Hennessee averaged about 1,600 books a month.
The bookmobile is costing the county more as it ages, said Deana Gschwind, Graves County’s library director. But it’s such a staple, she said, and it fulfills such a need, it’s worth it.
“Technically, this is not part of my job,” she said a few minutes later, steering the van up the dirt driveway. “Sometimes, you just have to be fluid and cool that way. I guess, in a sense, it’s just being part of the community.”
Contributed by: Mikey Goondock : https://kristawelz.wixsite.com/literacyheroes/forum-1/north-america/bookmobile-in-kentucky
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