We might have been on your street and you didn’t even know it! Or maybe you visit us all the time and know us well. We’re a library on wheels that hits the road every weekday, carrying a busload of books, DVD’s, and CD’s that you can check out, just like you would from those other libraries that don’t move. In fact, since we’re part of the Alameda County Library, you can use the library card you already have.
Here are some questions that teens ask us all the time:
Q: How do the books stay on the shelves while you’re driving?
A: Our shelves are slanted backwards a bit to keep things from tumbling forward. Also, we have very careful and experienced drivers.
Q: Is the Bookmobile “green”?
A: We’re green-ish, you could say, at least in some ways. The Bookmobile runs on biodiesel fuel, which is less polluting to the environment. We try to combine stops that are close together so we don’t use more fuel than we need to. And, when we stop in neighborhoods and at schools, people can walk to visit us rather than all arriving in separate cars.
Q: How many books, DVD’s, and CD’s are on the Bookmobile?
A: I counted once and got a rough estimate of 5,000. If you get a different number, let us know!
Q: Has the Bookmobile ever crashed?
A: Thankfully, no. We have great drivers! They’re used to driving buses and tankers and all kinds of big rigs, so they get us around safely.
Q: Have you ever been through the drive-thru Starbucks?
A: Afraid not. We haven’t yet found a drive-thru window that’s wide enough and high enough to accommodate our huge vehicle, which incidentally is as long as an AC Transit bus.
Q: How many people can fit in the Bookmobile?
A: With all grown-ups, it gets pretty squishy at about 40 people. You can’t be claustrophic.
Q: Is there a bathroom on this thing?
A: We wish . . .
Q: Where does the Bookmobile go? And can I ride with you?
A: Sorry, you can’t ride with us. Not enough seatbelts, for one thing. But take a look at our schedule
http://www.aclibrary.org/branches/bkm/default.asp?topic=Bookmobile&cat=BKMSchedule
and visit us soon. If you mention this blog, we’ll give you a couple of Hershey Kisses. You can even have 10 if you count all the books for us . . .
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