what constitutes a successful Bookmobile stop at your library?

[Sandra Davis]

Hi all!

 

Our library system has 10 branches and obviously our Bookmobile circulation numbers can’t compare since we don’t operate as many hours as a branch. How do you justify the importance of the Bookmobile to leadership at your libraries?

 

Thanks for any input you can provide!

 

Sandra

 

		Sandra Davis Mobile Services Manager Kansas City Public Library Office: 816.701.3453  sandr...@kclibrary.org KCLibrary.org

 

[Noah Anderson]

So there are two things I've learned that I think are helpful. 

The first is it takes 1 year for a new stop to prove whether or not it's a winner, just like opening a new location. So when selecting a site, it's important that it will be steady for that year, and that leadership understands that roll out is very slow. To me, a successful stop in the first six months is 1 item goes out, an item comes back, someone new connects with the stop. After six-nine months it becomes apparent whether or not the site has buy-in, so you can either start stepping back or stepping up, but generally speaking, it's not until that 9 month mark that you can feel the weight shift, and that can be frustrating. I had a site I was about ready to be done with at month 8, and then month 9 onwards has been a busy, engaged site. 

The second thing I've learned is that while comparing apples to oranges isn't fair, it's worth considering the following: What are your numbers in the hour you are running outreach with patrons, compared to that ratio for a branch. It is not a fair comparison, for a number of reasons, but it can help paint a picture. While you may be only 'open' for service for 5 hours in a week compared to the 50+ the branch is open, your circ number divided by 5 compared to their circ number divided by 50 may be more comparable than you think. Additionally, if you count your gate count and divide it likewise, you may again find that you are actually on more even ground.

Best,

Noah Anderson

SCLSNJ

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Somerset County Library System of New Jersey

Noah Anderson(he/they)

Program and Outreach Librarian

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EMAIL:	nand...@sclibnj.org
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[Allison Young]

I second this, you have to give all your sites a solid year to decide if they're working or not. 

For me, justifying sites is a combination of stats and vibes. For instance, one of my sites consistently has traffic (about 10 patrons/hour), and another site regularly has 1 regular patron, sometimes more. I'm keeping both sites because for the site with 1 patron, he is an elderly man with no transportation who walks there from several blocks away with his walker. As long as he wants to use the library (and clearly I'm his only option), I will keep going.

At another site, a children's after school center, my stats for attendance were through the roof because I had a captive audience, but I had next to no circulations and was I treated like a babysitter by the center staff. I cancelled that one. High numbers don't necessarily equate to effectiveness to me.

Currently reading:

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[Sheri Miklaski]

98% of the people that use and circulations that are from our bookmobile and home delivery service are not people that use the main library (we do not have any branches). If we stopped either of those services, that vulnerable population would no longer be receiving library services.

 

Not sure this helps, but good luck building your case, Sandra!

 

Be well,

 

Sheri Miklaski

Community Outreach Librarian

Georgetown Public Library

sheri.m...@georgetowntexas.gov

512-819-3106

TALL Texans Class of 2021

 

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
― Albert Einstein

 

From: abos-o...@googlegroups.com <abos-o...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Sandra Davis
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 1:57 PM
To: ABOS-Outreach <abos-o...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [ABOS-Outreach] what constitutes a successful Bookmobile stop at your library?

 

[EXTERNAL EMAIL] This email originated from outside of City of Georgetown. DO NOT click links or open attachments unless you recognize and/or trust the sender.

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[Anne Rhodes]

Hello,

I agree with the previous responses to this question. We have some stops that only serve one or two people but those people are incredibly grateful and wouldn't be able to use the library if we didn't have a stop near them.

I would add that sometimes, circ isn't very high but we are spreading the word about library programs, "things" that can be checked out from the library and other resources that we offer. People have great memories of using the bookmobile when they were young and tend to come over and talk to us. Even if they aren't big readers anymore, they often walk away with knowledge about the vital and expanded role of the library in today's world. 

Our administration believes that the bookmobile is a great community ambassador and circulation is only part of the job. I hope this helps.

Anne Rhodes

Outreach Services Coordinator

MRCPL

On Mon, Aug 11, 2025 at 2:56 PM Sandra Davis <sandr...@kclibrary.org> wrote:

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[Mike Cleaves]

A bookmobile isn’t just a smaller branch on wheels, it’s a rolling billboard and promotional tool for the library. Even if a stop is quiet, the vehicle is highly visible in the community. Every passing car or pedestrian sees it in action, and each one of those impressions helps build awareness. I’ve used this point often when justifying slower stops, and it resonates.

Metrics can’t be applied the same way to every visit. A preschool stop with 100 children in an hour isn’t comparable to a lobby visit at assisted living, nor to delivering 1,000 books to a prison. Benchmarks must fit the stop type. I expect more engagement at schools than assisted living, but I judge both by their own averages. For example, last month assisted living visits averaged 13 patrons and 16 checkouts per visit, are the rest are reasonably in line with those numbers. You have to use a lot of judgement. If you can't justify the stop to leadership it's worth asking if the stop is working. 

It's important to remember that outreach isn’t a business. Yes, numbers matter, but our job is to serve where the need exists I don't think you can apply a metric to that. Unless a stop is completely desolate, I’ll do what I can to make it work.

[Sally Robertson]

That all makes so much sense to me. 

I wish my county’s library board could see my new book bike as an outreach tool of my public library. My book bike has the same mission as the public library: to help promote literacy. 

Thank you, 

Sally Robertson
The Mt Juliet Book Biking Librarian

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[Kim Jones]

I totally agree with what Mike Cleaves said and I am grateful my director also agrees that even a slow stop you are very visible and that is a very good thing. A Bookmobile is a very good marketing tool and advertises tool. Being seen at least in my area we feel is also very helpful when it comes to the Library budget vote as the public sees it is used and out there everyday and at community events. I have a stop that is in a parking lot of a very busy road and even though it is not a popular spot I have some slower down time to shelve things from a school stop right before that and have the time to straighten and organize the books after that school stop and do any cleaning needed but best of all the Bookmobile is seen. There are a lot of things to consider about a stop.

Kim

Kim Jones

Bookmobile Driver

Chemung County Library District

101 E Church St

Elmira NY 14901

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Subject: Re: [ABOS-Outreach] what constitutes a successful Bookmobile stop at your library?

 

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[Jamie McCabe]

I totally agree with the marketing aspect of both our bookmobile and outreach van. When I first started this job, I picked up several patrons just because I was lost. Also, my director has encouraged me to drive around other neighborhoods (or hollers where we live) just so people know there are outreach library services available. About 50% of my stops are actually home visits.

[Chris Jackson]

Some really great input here.  One factor for us is that we get our best numbers at stops that serve relatively affluent and mobile patrons, and we could probably double or even triple our overall circulation by going to more upscale neighborhoods.  But those same patrons can and often do use our branches as well.  Our main location has a drive up window that makes it convenient for those just wanting to pick up holds, and the branches offer much more expansive programming than the truck.  But these folks still use the Bookmobile for the "personal touch" we offer, and to avoid an extra trip downtown.  They'd miss us if we canceled their stops, but they'd still have pretty easy access to the media they want.

Still, the majority of our stops remain at low income and rural/remote communities since it's there we feel we have the biggest impact: improving quality of life for those who may not have easy transportation; who don't have the financial means to get media from Netflix, Amazon, etc.; and who often really benefit from some caring, friendly human interaction.  Unfortunately, a lot of potential users in these less affluent communities don't make use of our services, for a whole host of reasons.  But despite the relatively low circs, our administration and Board supports our weighing socio-economic, social isolation, and mobility factors in whom we serve, rather than just looking for the best stats.  My job is to continue to sell them on this approach, and I'm very fortunate that it's not all that hard in our library district.

Chris

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Chris Jackson Outreach Manager Monroe County Public Library 303 E. Kirkwood Avenue Bloomington, IN 47408   cjac...@mcpl.info (812) 349-3103 mcpl.info   @mcplindiana