By the time the Mobile Library truck rolled onto the Cedarbrook Apartments parking lot at 4:46 p.m. Wednesday — just one minute late — several of its regular patrons were patiently and happily waiting.
Among them were Lynique Jaramillo and her three small children.
“My kids love books, and they’re tired of all that books that we have,” Jaramillo said. “And we just don’t have time to make it to the library.”
Leslie Lauramore was also among the first to use the Mobile Library. She brought her 5-year-old grandson Grayson to get his very own library card.
“He is so happy and I’m happy for him,” Lauramore said, watching Grayson look through his stack of books. “I’m so proud of him.”
Grayson’s mom just had a baby and doesn’t always have time to bring Grayson to a library branch, Lauramore said. Lauramore often watches Grayson on Wednesdays, which happens to be the day the Mobile Library visits her apartment complex.
“He came in a while ago and he said, ‘Nana, I want to go to the library truck,’” she said, laughing. “I said, ‘Ok, here we go.’ It was absolutely awesome. It just worked out perfect.”
Mobile Library staff say they’ve got the best job in town
The Springfield Greene County Library’s Mobile Library has been making its way through the streets of Springfield and Greene County for 75 years.
The bookmobile travels to 25 neighborhoods and apartments every week and puts in about 680 miles a month. The Mobile Library’s shelves carry about 2,500 books, DVDs and CDs, as well as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) kits and art project kits.
The bookmobile is staffed by Mary Ragain and Rob Manning, two longtime Library employees who say they’ve got the best job in town.
Ragain has been with the Library since 2006 and with the Mobile Library since 2012. Manning has been with the Library since 1990 and has been driving the Mobile Library since 1999.
“It’s so cool to be with our regular patrons,” he said. “They know us. They wait for us. Sometimes they’re jumping up and down on the sidewalk like we are the ice cream truck.”
Asked if he intends to retire someday, Manning grinned and shook his head.
“I’m doing it ‘til I die. I love it,” he said. “It’s a cool gig.”
The Mobile Library starts its routes at 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and visits seven locations each evening. It stops at each for 30-45 minutes, which is just enough time for folks to browse the bookmobile’s offerings and visit with Manning and Ragain.
“It keeps the day moving really fast,” Ragain said. “You get to talk to everybody. You get to know them. But then you’re like, ‘Ok, we’ll see you next week.’”
Bookmobile serves as many patrons are brick-and-mortar libraries
Allison Eckhardt, the Outreach Services Manager for the Library District, said the Mobile Library visits locations and sites where residents might have barriers to coming to a regular Library branch location like a lack of transportation or physical limitations.
“They can’t walk or ride their bikes to the neighborhood libraries,” Eckhardt said. “So we are able to provide this weekly service to people that many times have never used one of our physical buildings.”
Patrons of the Mobile Library can request delivery of materials from other branch libraries and return materials checked out at other libraries. They can also register to vote in elections from the Mobile Library.
The Springfield-Greene County Library District only owns the one delivery van, Echkhardt said. If it’s in the shop for repairs, Manning and Ragain will make the usual route in a smaller van.
“It’s an expensive service. The vehicle itself was over $200,000, and then there’s the vehicle upkeep. We do some 600 miles a month. So you are looking at fuel costs, repair costs,” Eckhardts said. “But circulation-wise and patron count — we can easily be compared with any of the branch locations.”
The Mobile Library was a gift in 2011 from the Friends of the Library, the Library Foundation and several other sponsors.
“While a ‘sample truck’ was sent out in 1946 to introduce the service at club meetings and schools, the Greene County Library established the first mobile services in 1948, and it only made stops outside the city limits,” a press release said. “Over the years, service to rural and city sites fluctuated with changing populations and additional bookmobiles.”
Learn more about the Mobile Library on the Springfield-Greene County Library website.
