As the Senior Outreach Specialist, the bookmobile is one of my responsibilities. Laramie County Library has had a bookmobile in service for well over 40+ years. Our current vehicle is a 9 ½ year old 32’ bus, is easy to spot on the road! It is adorned with a vinyl wrap featuring pictures of places around the world as well as around Laramie County.
My job includes driving the bookmobile to various locations, both rural and local. My farthest stop is in Albin, Wyoming which is located about 60 miles from Cheyenne in the far northeast part of Laramie County. The bookmobile also serves as the library in the town of Carpenter, about 35 miles east of Cheyenne. Residents living in rural communities are not the only patrons to receive this outreach library service. The bookmobile also goes to a variety of local small school settings, daycares, and some community stops as well.
Road trips are always an adventure, and the drives out to Albin or Carpenter are no exception! High winds and wintry weather can make for some interesting travels.
It is always a delight to see the excitement of the children as the bookmobile rolls in to its parking spot at a community stop. At West Winds, the children come straight off the school bus and onto the bookmobile. Not only is it a great place to check out library materials, it is a great place to hang out, cool off or warm up depending on the season, sit and read a book or play on one of the two computers. We also provide an after-school snack f
or the children who stop by.
In addition to children’s books that are available to check out we also have adult fiction and non-fiction. You can request items to be sent out on the bookmobile and pick them up at the stop closest to you. Items on the bookmobile (with the exception of a few specific items) check out for four weeks rather than three weeks at the other libraries in Cheyenne, Burns or Pine Bluffs.
~Susan Parkins