A new supermobile library will hit the road in North Yorkshire from this month to serve the far reaches of the county and more remote market towns and villages.
The county council’s new flagship vehicle replaces the previous supermobile library which has been retired after travelling some 233,000 miles up hill and down dale since 2004.
Customers will have a choice of 3000 items of stock on the new travelling library including books for all ages, audio books and DVDs. Two public access computers are linked to the internet by satellite technology so people can come on board and use the internet for emails, do some online shopping or browse the library catalogue. There will be plenty of room for local school groups to be able to visit, as well as for local partners such as the police or health professionals to run drop- in sessions.
North Yorkshire’s supermobile serves communities across the county from Robin Hoods Bay and Sleights on the coast to Buckden and Kettlewell in the Dales, Danby and Rosedale on the North York Moors to Eggborough and Balne in the south. It has over 8000 visits a year with customers borrowing around 30,000 items.
County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, Executive Member for Libraries said: The supermobile is highly valued by its customers.
Its staff members are praised for being friendly and helpful and people in isolated areas who are many miles from the nearest library look forward to its arrival. So I am proud that we have been able to commission this new vehicle to carry on such a great service.
The new vehicle comes decorated with its own artwork; the result of a countywide competition for young people to find the most eye-catching way to represent the library. Four winners each produced a design to make the supermobile unmissable on the county’s roads. The winners are Lydia and Josephine Cooper of Richmond, Ben Williamson of Sheriff Hutton and Katy Mandis of Thirsk.
