By Mary Getchell, Communications Director, Pierce County Library System

As of Aug. 31, 2012 Pierce County Library System’s Explorer Kids’ Bookmobile will stop serving schools and in mid-November the Library’s family bookmobiles and Explorer Kids’ Bookmobile will stop going to communities. This month the Library’s Board of Trustees agreed to a new way to bring books, movies, magazines and other items directly to children in Bethel, Clover Park and Franklin Pierce School Districts.

“Sadly we can no longer afford to run the bookmobiles,” said Neel Parikh, executive director for the Library System. “We are committed to getting books into the hands of children throughout our service area. We believe with this new way of delivering library service we will serve even more children than we did with the bookmobiles, which are aging and costly to operate, especially in today’s economy.”

The Board reached this decision following careful and thoughtful research and analysis by managers. Less than 1 percent of the Library’s 256,000 card holders use the bookmobiles. The bookmobiles have primarily been serving low-income neighborhoods in central Pierce County—Frederickson, Graham, Waller, Midland, Summit, Parkland, Spanaway, Fife, and Lakewood.

Approximately 700 people regularly use the bookmobiles, with a checkout of nearly 6,000 items a month. Many of those people also use libraries. People that have been getting their books from bookmobiles may continue to get them in library buildings and online. The libraries offer trained librarians and staff to help people, more books and materials, computers and Wi-Fi.

Stopping the bookmobiles is a savings of $180,000. This savings is needed to help address an anticipated $2.6-$3 million shortfall in the Library’s 2013 budget. The budget shortfall is approximately 10 percent of the Library’s $26,869,885 2012 operating budget. Stopping the bookmobiles will eliminate five positions for a total of 2.93 full time equivalent employees (FTEs), and save money on fuel and maintenance of the vehicles.

“The bookmobiles have been a personal, friendly and valued service for 65 years,” said Parikh. “We now serve people in many different ways—with download books directly to your phone and iPad and 18 library buildings throughout the county. This new direction of serving kids, who are the most in need, directly in their schools will also move us forward in our commitment to support reading and learning.”