Kelly Higgins on the Book Bike, coming to a playground, park, and senior’s facility near you!

Residents at Memory Lane, Viewpoint, and Faith House will soon be able to borrow books and other programming from the Library – all without having to visit the building.

The Camrose Library is launching the first Book Bike in Alberta. The program will reach individuals, from kids to seniors, who would otherwise be unable to visit the library itself. “It’s quite exciting,” says Kelly Higgins, who will be the one riding the bike. “It’s great for those who can’t make it in, and we can adapt the programming on the bike for the audience.” For example, the bike will have Audio Books for seniors, as well as a Daisy Reader they can check out. “The Daisy Reader just has 4 big buttons that they can use to listen to the audio book. It’s simple and easier to see.”

The bike itself is a simple reversed trike ordered from the United States. A local volunteer built the expandable box that will sit in the front of the bike and hold the books and other materials. The library held an Indiegogo campaign earlier in the year to raise the funds to purchase the bike.

The Book Bike will visit locations and have materials available for checking out right on the spot, including setting up free library cards. Residents in the three Bethany Group facilities will only have to go down to the parking lot or the front of the building to see what’s available. It’s a great way for residents to still find new books and materials without having to arrange transportation to the library.

The bike has a fairly complete schedule already with visits to playgrounds, the seniors’ facilities, and other locations. Mondays also have free time for drop-in visits.

Kelly is looking forward to spending the summer riding the bike and meeting new patrons of the library. “It’s a pretty neat program. This was my opportunity to do the book bike and I definitely took it.”