Bookmobile News

Ever since upgrading our service to the new vehicle back in November, we’ve been wondering how to put the old Free Bookmobile trailer to best use.  Fortunately, super-volunteer June Michaels was in touch about a plan to install it at Landpaths’ Bayer Farm in southwest Santa Rosa.  As described on the website, “Bayer Neighborhood Park and Gardens is a unique collaboration between Santa Rosa Recreation & Parks and LandPaths.  It is a 6-acre urban farm & city park-in-the-making in the heart of the Roseland neighborhood, 2 miles from Downtown Santa Rosa, with old barns, community gardens, and plenty of ways to relax and have fun.”  And now, thanks to June, the Santa Rosa Friends of the Library, and the Free Bookmobile team, one of those ways to have fun will be to browse and take home great books!

We have always enjoyed our previous visits to Bayer Farm to distribute books, including a terrific collaboration with Carnival of Chaos as part of the ArtsSonoma festival last year.  It seems a perfect home at which to set up the old trailer, the interior of which is known affectionately as the “Kids Club” because children of all ages can crawl in to browse the shelves in perfect literary coziness.  Fortunately Landpaths management agrees, and we will be working closely with Outreach Coordinator Magdalena Ridley to deliver a fully stocked mini-library to the farm as soon as the ground dries enough to drive it into place.

We are just thrilled that the families in this low-income neighborhood will have continual access to high quality free books, and that this long-term loan of facilities will essentially double our presence in the county.  It helps address one of the most serious problems created by recent cuts to education: access to literacy materials.  The Free Bookmobile will continue to seek creative solutions to this problem, and we welcome your support.