Now, for the latest on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding Raleigh County Public Library was awarded through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities program to obtain a new bookmobile.
The new bookmobile has arrived! Federal, State and Local officials, funding partners, Raleigh County Public Library Board members, Friends of the Library members, and other community members were all on hand to attend a bookmobile dedication earlier this summer at the Library.
USDA West Virginia Rural Development officials – State Director Bobby Lewis, Area Specialist Kitty Saddler, Area Specialist Nancy Shoemaker-Dingess, and Public Affairs Specialist Gail Bennett – presented the Library with a Certificate of Congratulations and donated a copy of the book Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D. to the new bookmobile.
Although the bookmobile was not received until after school is out, the summer routes are continuing. According to librarian and bookmobile driver Gary Knapp, “In the summer, our job is still not over. We go to eight to ten summer school programs along with apartment, neighborhood and summer camp stops. So, as you can see, the bookmobiles are going non-stop year round.”
Now, they are saving money and raising funds to get their other bookmobile replaced as it is also over 20 years old and has over 60,000 miles on it, nearing the end of its useful life. It is becoming very inefficient, costly to repair and not modern in design or features.
