OPINION: DPL BookBike: Library on wheels

HANNAH ADAMSON

Youth Services Coordinator

Derby Public Library has a new set of wheels! Say hello to the DPL BookBike!

The DPL BookBike is the current special project of Youth Services Coordinator, Hannah Adamson. While attending last year’s American Library Association annual conference in Washington D.C., she crossed paths with members of the Association of Bookmobile & Outreach Services (ABOS) at a presentation. During the conference, ABOS hosted a tour of the newly renovated central branch of the DC Public Library system. Part of that tour included meeting the DCPL’s outreach library staff and getting a behind-the-scenes look at their services, including test riding one of their book bikes, a cargo tricycle designed to haul books and other items to a location for patrons to check out.

Hannah instantly fell in love with the idea of bringing a book bike to Derby. A current trend among public library outreach is creating mobile collections and bringing the library to the patrons. With Derby’s miles of wide and convenient bike paths, a book bike would be an innovative, exciting, and logical way for DPL staff to interact with the community. Hannah herself is an avid runner and cyclist, and the prospect of combining her library job with one of her favorite hobbies was a big bonus.

After researching several vendors, the library settled on ordering the book bike from Icicle Tricycles, a company based out of Portland, Ore. Their version of the book bike featured ample storage, brochure and book displays, a chalkboard, optional pedal-assist motor and custom vinyl wrap. The library board shared Hannah’s passion for the project and instantly approved her proposal.

Hannah and Youth Services staff member, Robin Mathews, worked together to design a unique, custom wrap design for the DPL BookBike using the DPL logo. The addition of the purple is a silent nod to Hannah’s mother, Pam Shaffer, an avid cyclist and Derby High 1976 graduate who passed away in 2018.

The DPL BookBike is currently scheduled for three outreach visits in August. The BookBike was present at Derby’s National Night Out event at Rock River Rapids and will be at the city of Derby’s Third Thursday event at Warren Riverview Park on Aug. 17. In the future, the library will announce a schedule of pop-up libraries at Derby parks and businesses. At a BookBike pop-up library, patrons will be able to sign-up for library cards, find out about the library’s upcoming events, attend storytimes and check out items.

HANNAH ADAMSON

Youth Services Coordinator

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