Recently, you may have seen publicity celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library. We celebrated this momentous occasion by dedicating an official plaque, which can be found in the entryway of the library, and various other programs during the months of September and October. Cleo Rogers, the beloved librarian of the previous Carnegie library, was responsible for the campaign to build a bigger library to serve our community, and the current building was named in her honor.
One thing you may not know about Cleo Rogers is that she was also responsible for creating the Bookmobile program, which turned 60 years old this year. Rogers knew that reaching patrons outside the library was just as important as reaching the patrons on the inside of the building.
The Bookmobile is a mobile library, with books, magazines, DVDs and more for library cardholders to check out and return on the next visit. The Bookmobile has over 35 stops each month, circulating more than 40,000 items per year.
Because library services are always evolving to better serve the community, our library has developed other outreach programs as well. An important aspect of this outreach is school visits. Our library now has a librarian dedicated to youth and family engagement.
She keeps busy sharing important information with teachers, students, and parents about library resources, Summer Reading, and story times throughout the year. You may even find her at a Pop-up Story Time at Sans Souci, the Women’s Infants and Children’s program, and other locations throughout our community.
The newest facet of our library’s outreach is the Book Express. Differing from the Bookmobile, the Book Express is an outreach program specifically targeted for at-risk residents of our community who benefit from additional literacy opportunities by receiving free new and gently-used books. The Book Express program was created by the Literacy Task Force as a way to help children in low-income neighborhoods replenish books lost to the flood in 2008.
The Book Express joined the Library’s outreach department in the fall of 2018 and has expanded service to include stops at schools, preschools, parks, neighborhoods, food pantries, and area agencies in an effort to reach those at-risk community members. The Book Express program distributes donated books from the spring through the fall, and it serves a dual purpose of upcycling books and putting them into the hands of those who need them.
The library accepts donations of books in good condition for this program and currently has four seniors from area high schools conducting book drives for their senior projects. If you would like to donate books, there is a drop box inside the Library specifically for this cause. Donations for senior projects will be accepted through December to help replenish the supply for next season.
Additionally, the Library’s outreach department also visits community centers, senior centers, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. We offer programs such as a Digital Drop-in for computer and mobile device help, Book–A-Librarian appointments, “Lunch with the Library” book bingo, and book clubs.
To find out more about the Library’s outreach programs or to request outreach at a new location, visit our website at mybcpl.org.
Sandy Allman is an outreach librarian and Book Express Coordinator for Bartholomew County Public Library and can be reached at [email protected].
