Kitsap Regional Library Mobile Services: Meeting People Where They Are
Not everyone can get to a library branch but that doesn’t mean services become unavailable to them.
Whether it’s a permanent or temporary situation, the Library is available to everyone. The difference is the Library comes to them.
There is an entire team at Kitsap Regional Library dedicated to serving our community in this way called Mobile Services. Every month, staff drive home delivery routes from Bainbridge Island to South Kitsap, serving homebound patrons and senior living facilities.
Patrons can get almost anything the Library lends such as books, DVDs, audiobooks, e-readers loaded with titles, even a telescope or a ukulele. Some have been on a route for years while others join for a few months while they heal.
Five Ways Mobile Services Supports the Community
Home Delivery. This is where Mobile Services began, and it’s still at the heart of the work. Most patrons find out about it from branch staff or the activity director at their senior community, then fill out a short application. Branches support this work. For example, the Kingston branch checks materials in and out for the North Kitsap routes, so the team can spend more time driving, visiting, and adding new patrons.
Thrive Collections. Thrive Collections put new books directly into the hands of people who need them, and the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation funds every book. That includes books that go home with diapers to new families through KidVantage, books for teens and adults in Kitsap Mental Health Services inpatient programs, and books for families at Kitsap County Courts’ reunification celebrations. The team also brings books to DocLuvtheKids pop-ups in housing complexes. The Library has served the county jail for more than seven years and now sends new books chosen to support its re-entry program. Soon, books will be added to the birthday cakes and gifts Bremerton Foodline provides to kids whose families need extra support.
Outreach and Large Program Support. When a branch plans a community event or a big school field trip, Mobile Services brings extra hands, a van, and heavy gear like canopies. Free books, funded by the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation, are available to take home. For people still getting comfortable with libraries, a book they can keep is a friendly first step.
Book Lockers. Book Lockers let patrons pick up holds any time, day or night. The first one, outside the Poulsbo branch, gets heavy use. The next Book Locker is going where there’s no branch nearby-- the Seabeck Community & Event Center. The locker is expected to open soon in partnership with the Silverdale branch. Gifts to the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation helped bring both lockers to life.
Express Libraries and Pop-Up Tech Help. This newer area is still being developed. The idea is to bring library services into lobbies and other places people already go, and to offer tech help on the road. Pop-up tech help will offer the one-on-one support many people need to feel confident with technology.
Watch the Mobile Services team share their work with the Library’s Board of Trustees in August.
Thank You to Mobile Services and Our Community
Mobile Services is quiet work. The team rarely takes photos of the people it serves, out of respect for their privacy. But the work means so much to many throughout the community. As one Poulsbo patron shared:
“Our library home delivery is much appreciated every month. Today, however, was VERY appreciated. It took extra care for our delivery today. She had to park the van due to a propane truck being stuck in the middle of our dirt road blocking the way. And then walk it the rest of the way. Above and beyond on a rainy day - thank you for your determination to keep our book
Thank you to our donors who believe the Library should reach everyone. Make a gift today to help the Library keep showing up where it’s needed most.
Know someone who could use home delivery? There’s room on the routes. Call (360) 447-5505, email mobileservices@KRL.org or visit KRL.org/mobileservices.
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