smartskl@voicenet.com
http://www.residents-first.com/RSD%20CAB.htm

610-286-1975

smartskl@voicenet.com

http://www.residents-first.com/RSD%20CAB.htm

• Library System Director Cecy Keller has cited the figure of $7 per item borrowed via the Bookmobile, sharing this figure with the media and the Commissioners; however, this figure is misleading and inaccurate:

-Library Board minutes indicate a total cost of $56,000 for the Bookmobile in 2002. This number, divided by a circulation of 12,000, gives a cost of $4.67, not $7.00 [Library Board Meeting Minutes, August, 2002; CCLS Budget, Fiscal 2002] As of this writing, Cecy has not replied to requests for data to substantiate the $7.00 figure.

-The Bookmobile was not in service for at least the summer of 2002, [we believe it was out of service for six months] thus reducing circulation rates further. We do not know if salaries and expenses were prorated for this down time and deducted from the $56,000 figure.

-The library administration redirected the Bookmobile’s target population and limited its scope in the mid 90s. This change intentionally reduced the Bookmobile’s circulation, which was not considered the main measure of success at the time. [CCLS]

-Because bookmobiles are often used as an outreach service, their circulation costs are usually higher than circulation costs for traditional libraries [CCLS]

-We have learned through conversations with other librarians and bookmobile experts on the state level that circulation numbers are not generally used to evaluate the efficacy of a bookmobile service because of the outreach nature of bookmobiles.

• According to bookmobile expert and librarian Carol Hole of the Alachua County Library in Gainesville, FL, "every study I have ever done or seen says it costs significantly less to circulate a book from a bookmobile than a fixed library." She adds that if a bookmobile seems expensive, costs are being misallocated or the bookmobile is mismanaged. [e-mail, 9/02/03]

• Chester County does not include in its Bookmobile circulation count reserve or interlibrary loan books, thus further lowering the appearance of circulation data. [CCLS]

• Surrounding counties, such as Montgomery (four bookmobiles, a staff of 14 for the bookmobile alone, and a fleet of outreach vans) and Berks (three bookmobiles) have expanded outreach efforts, despite having fewer resources than Chester County. [Susan Harvard, Berks County Library system; Extension Librarian, Montgomery County]

• Nearly one in five Chester County residents (19%) lives in a rural area, as defined by the more stringent standards of the 2000 Census. The 1990 Census, using different criteria, put the rural population at 39%. The rural and urban land masses of the county remain roughly equal. According to researcher Amy Gimbel, Chester County’s rural nature makes access to libraries difficult. [Center for Rural Pennsylvania; www.ruralpa.org]

• By several measures of wealth, Chester County is the wealthiest of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. [Chester County Planning Commission; chesco.org/planning]

• Federal, state, and local grant money exists in abundance for bookmobile outreach services, yet Chester County has not applied for a bookmobile grant since 1987 [pde.state.pa.us; CCLS]

• According to Constance Cardillo, Commonwealth Libraries Liaison at the Pennsylvania Dept. of Education, a Library Services and Technology Act grant could provide up to $100,000 for a new bookmobile for Chester County. [e-mail from Ms. Cardillo, 8/25/03]

• Head Start will fund a bookmobile, and has purchased new ones for counties across the country [paheadstart.org/funding resources]

• Corporate sponsors, such as Citizens Bank, sponsor bookmobiles in several Pennsylvania counties [www.citizensbank.com]

• Private foundations, such as the Mellon Foundation, have awarded bookmobile grants in Pennsylvania [fdncenter.org; Mellon Grants]

• A Chester County businessman has generously offered to donate a bookmobile, and several local businesses have stepped forward, offering donations [CAB member Joe Poliafico]

• To date, neither library administration nor the library board has followed through on the work of the Bookmobile Task Force, a five-member panel whose recommendations included ways to promote and revitalize the bookmobile [CCLS; Library Board meeting minutes, 8/02 to present]

• Because it is an outreach service, a successful bookmobile service must be supported and promoted [Great American Bookmobile and Outreach Conference.] Neither the CCLS nor the County has done either since the mid 90s. [CCLS]

Revised 9/20/03