Angela Eck
As I read Leo Morris’ opinion piece in the Feb. 4 Republic, (“In praise of the packsaddle librarians”), I noticed a huge omission: He neglected to mention that “packsaddle librarians” still exist today and are still bringing books and other library resources to people in rural and underserved areas. These days, we call them “outreach librarians,” although some patrons refer to them with other affectionate monikers.
Outreach librarians no longer ride mules and horses to reach patrons, but they are still providing that same access to books. Leo mentioned Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library; it is a wonderfully impactful program for so many children. However, even that program’s impact pales in comparison to the reach of present-day outreach librarians and librarians in general.
Bartholomew County Public Library operates both a Bookmobile and a Book Express, which provide two different service models for people throughout the county. The Bookmobile uses a traditional library services model, checking out books and other media to patrons with the expectation that they bring them back for others to use when they are finished with them. The Book Express uses donations and grant funding to give away free books to underserved communities throughout the county, with the expectation that patrons will keep those books for their own home collection. Some Bookmobile and Book Express patrons have told library staff that their visits are the only access they have to books and other library resources.
In 2022, Bookmobile patrons checked out 20,265 books and other media and renewed 16,573 items, for a total of 36,838 lending transactions. Our Bookmobile librarians also answered 366 reference questions and provided 531 other types of help sessions. They attended several special outreach events, at which 368 people visited the Bookmobile. The Book Express made 287 visits to stops around the county and gave away 11,193 books.
In addition to the Bookmobile and Book Express, BCPL’s library staff provide many other outreach programs throughout the county. They visit schools, daycares, retirement centers, and many community organizations to provide storytimes, arts and crafts programs, and numerous other educational and fun opportunities. 16,130 people attended BCPL’s outreach programs in-person during 2022, and a further 791 people attended virtual online library programs.
These statistics are just from Bartholomew County in 2022. Library workers throughout Indiana and the entire country provide massive amounts of library resources to those in their communities who cannot make it to their brick-and-mortar libraries. If you multiply the statistics above hundreds of times over, you get an idea of the scope of the impact that librarians make on furthering literacy and love of reading throughout this country. It is truly staggering. This is not even considering the patrons that librarians reach remotely through our collections of e-books, downloadable audio books, and other online resources. That accounts for many more thousands of interactions with books and informational content each year.
Just like those determined packsaddle librarians of old, today’s librarians and library assistants are passionately committed to taking the library to those who cannot otherwise access it. Only their mode of transportation has changed. Check out BCPL’s mobile outreach offerings at mybcpl.org/bookmobile and mybcpl.org/book-express. For homebound patrons, BCPL’s outreach librarians will even deliver books directly to your door: mybcpl.org/homebound. We offer an extensive library of online resources: mybcpl.org/digital-library. If none of these services quite fits your needs, please give us a call at 812-379-1255. We are happy to find a way to best connect you with library resources.
Angela Eck is assistant director of the Bartholomew County Public Library and may be reached at [email protected]. Send comments to [email protected].
