By ADIA REYNOLDS
Tiger Media Network
On Wednesday, the Hays Public Library Bookmobile made its first stop on campus of the year. Its recognizable green and white design includes the library logo on the side of the van and invites any and all to get involved with reading. Here students, faculty and staff were able to browse a cross-section of the many genres and media formats available for checkout at the Hays Public Library.
These include picture books, YA, genre fiction, non-fiction, and movies on DVD. The bookmobile takes requests from the public but usually stocks the shelves with the library’s most popular or up-and-coming titles. The check-out limit is 10 books and seven DVDs. Each time someone checked out a new title to enjoy, a bright ding rang out in a wide radius, signaling the start of a new literary adventure.
The bookmobile is not a new concept. The Hays Public Library initiated the project in late 2019 and secured the vehicle in 2020. The pandemic understandably pumped the brakes, so to speak, on any bookmobile community outreach programs. However, this initiative was reinstated in 2021. Mae Moore has worked for the Hays Public Library for the last three years, and detailed her experience manning the bookmobile.
“We pull it up, park it outside and let people come inside,” Moore—equal parts driver and librarian—said. “I get a lot of regulars… we go to the senior homes and the elementary school. Come on in, take a look, it’s not like you have to check anything out.”
However if you choose to, there are rewards outside the joy of curling up with a good book.
Everyone who checks out books will receive a punch card. After checking out books 10 times, participants will be entered into a prize drawing. Another prize drawing is currently in play for the month of September only. During this month, anyone who signs up for a library card for the first time will be entered into a raffle for a brand-new Kindle Fire. This is in celebration of Library Sign-Up Month, perfectly timed for the start of the school year.
This event marks a notable boost in library card enrollment, which contributes to public library funding. Elementary and high school students are also now allowed to enroll for a library card through their schools, making the process both more convenient and more accessible to students who might not otherwise have access to library resources.
One such example of a new student is Annabeth Ratzlaff, who lives the life of a generational librarian.
“My grandmother worked in a library, my mother worked in a library, and at my first community college I worked in a library… This was my first time visiting the bookmobile though, it was completely and totally new,” Ratzlaff said. “It’s really nice having it right here on campus. I feel like it’s a really good resource… especially while the Forsyth Library is under construction.”
The bookmobile will be at the Downtown Hays Market on Saturday mornings and on the FHSU campus every other week.
“[The bookmobile] lets students take a moment out of their day and appreciate reading,” Ratzlaff said.
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