St. Pete's mobile library rolls into community with 1,000 books on board

The St. Petersburg Library System recently started the engine on its new Bookmobile.

The city launched the traveling library at the end of May. It goes to rec centers, summer camps, community events and will start on a route in the fall, stopping at assisted living facilities, daycare centers and more. 

What they're saying:

"It's the ultimate dream," Tricia Smith, Outreach and Partnerships Coordinator for the St. Petersburg Library System, said. "You work for a library and it's really exciting when you can say we have a bookmobile and can take it out in the community," she said.

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"We've always had a presence in the community and went to outreach events and partner events with our community partners, but this gives us much more visibility and ability to do that. Previously, we would just have a table set up and we could give out library cards, but now we can actually bring part of the library into the community, bring books for folks to check out. So, it's really given us a better footprint," Smith said.

About 1,000 books are onboard, available to check out, and curated for wherever they’re going.

"If it's a rec center or a school, we're going to make it more kid-friendly, kid-oriented. But if it is just a general event like Halloween on Central, then it'll be just a little bit of something for everyone," Smith said.

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Dig deeper:

People can also get a library card and learn about the library’s other services, like e-books. So far, the Bookmobile is reading like a page-turner.

"The community has been really receptive to it and it has helped us to kind of get in some spaces where we haven't been before," Smith said.

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"When you have a kid that comes on the Bookmobile and they see that book that they want … and they're like, ‘Oh you have this book. I really want this one,’ and they are so excited about it. It's just, it's so exciting for me to see how happy they are when you have that book they want, and to know that you've done a good job and you picked the right collection," Smith said.

Click here to see the Bookmobile's schedule. 

The Source: FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy talked with Tricia Smith, Outreach and Partnerships Coordinator for the St. Petersburg Library System, for this story.

St. Petersburg