Bookmobile News

Did you miss World Book Night earlier this year? This innovative program puts 20 copies of a great book into the hands of anyone who agrees to give them away to light- or non-readers. The idea is to introduce people to, or remind them of, the joys of reading and inspire them to continue doing so. Debuting in the US this past spring, World Book Night was a grand success and the Free Bookmobile an enthusiastic participant.

The website is now taking applications for prospective 2013 book-givers and they’ve got a terrific list of titles available. If the challenge of giving away 20 books on a single night in April seems daunting, you can always sign up anyway and pass the books to us. We’ll make sure to distribute them appropriately to the target audience!

Thanks to our good friends at Exchange Bank, we are now able to offer a much more convenient donation drop-off location for residents of east Santa Rosa and the surrounding area. Gently used books can now be brought into the EB branch located in the St. Francis Shopping Center (near Safeway) at the intersection of Highway 12 and Calistoga Road. Here are the complete address and business hours:

136 Calistoga Road, Santa Rosa  (539-1505)
Monday – Thursday 9 Am – 5 Pm, Friday  9 Am – 6 Pm, Saturday 10 Am – 2 Pm

This is the newest of five donation sites we maintain around the county; the other locations can be viewed on our website by clicking “Donate Books”. Our greatest need is still for toddler, early reader, teen/young adult, and recent/relevant non-fiction. Thank you for getting lonely books off your shelves and into eager new hands!

Though our initial visits to Valley Ford years ago were very much hit-or-miss affairs, with quite a bit of missing going on, we have been pulled back to that lovely area on the western edge of the county line through the warm reception we have lately been receiving from a few dedicated regulars, as well as the boost in motivation we always feel after the excitement of the Bloomfield VFD BBQ event each August. We’ve decided to give it a regular place on the monthly schedule again, alongside Freestone (we had been alternating the two).

We think this properly emphasizes a broader service coverage area even though it will shave a little time off the duration of our other west county stops that day. With a total of five locations to visit – Freestone, Valley Ford, Bodega Bay, Jenner, and Monte Rio – we will have to keep each stop to about one hour. The new plan, however, will help ensure that a larger range of residents have access to great books…and that’s really what it’s all about!