The Pitt County Bookmobile parked outside the Spring Arbor nursing home
on Arlington Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon.
Sitting above Arlington Boulevard traffic Wednesday afternoon, Pete Hickey twirls the 17-inch steering wheel, turning right into the parking lot of Sterling House Assisted Living. It's 1 p.m.
"Here comes Carl," Hickey said to his assistant Katie Hall. Despite temperatures in the mid-90s, Carl Bateman, 82, was waiting outside and he soon entered the coolness of Sheppard Memorial Library's bookmobile.
"I've found some Hemingway for you," calls out Hickey.
In a time when the Internet and television provide near instantaneous information, thousands of people in Pitt County and across the world, like Carl Bateman, await a visit from the bookmobile.
Bookmobiles, or mobile libraries, were founded decades before the invention of the automobile. In the United States, libraries sent staff out in carts to ensure everyone had access to books. Bookmobiles arrived late in North Carolina. By 1940, only 12 counties used them, according to a 2006 publication of the North Carolina Library Association.
And contrary to what you may think, their popularity is still on the rise - at least in Pitt County.
Sheppard Memorial Library's 2007-08 annual report shows bookmobile circulation grew 16 percent last year, with a circulation of 18,978. That tops circulation at the library's Bethel and Carver branches.
"Use is growing because of our continuous attempts to identify productive stops and adjust the schedule to make sure the bookmobile is getting maximum use possible," said Willie Nelms, library director. "It also is increasing as we have added more new books on the bookmobile and with Pete Hickey's attentive approach to filling requests for patrons and getting books that people want to read."
Hickey, the bookmobile library assistant, operates the bookmobile on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Before starting his route, he peruses titles in the main library to fulfill patron requests or find titles he thinks regulars will enjoy. He even keeps reading lists for his prolific readers, ensuring that he doesn't pick books they've already read.
"Picking out the books is really rewarding - seeing if I can fill their needs," he said.
Bateman, who is legally blind, wanted audio books of Ernest Hemingway's works. Hickey found three, and tucked them into one of two plastic milk crates he uses to store special requests. Knowing Bateman also enjoys mystery and suspense novels, he added "The Maltese Falcon" and "Raising the Hunley" to the stash.
Bateman started using the bookmobile 10 years ago when he lived in Rocky Mount.
"When I had my eyesight, I read a lot of Reader's Digest, National Geographic," he said. There are few things as enjoyable as reading - or listening to - a good book, he said.
"You fantasize with them, they take you places you've never been, and, with a good writer, you can actually see what they are writing about," Bateman said.
Finishing at Sterling House, Hickey maneuvers the 30-foot-long bookmobile several hundred yards down Arlington Boulevard and pulls into Spring Arbor, another assisted living facility. Resident Beth Joyner is waiting.
"I watch for it, because I know he's prompt and is here at 1:30," she said.
Hickey steps outside to collect Joyner's bag of books. There were a few she hadn't finished, and they discuss their merits to see if Joyner wants to check them out again. She carefully walks up the steps so she doesn't aggravate a recent knee injury.
Inside, Hickey pulls two books from the recent arrivals shelf, one detailing air travel on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the other about the disappearance of the world's bee colonies.
Hickey knows Joyner likes intrigue.
"I had you in mind when they came in today," he said. Joyner takes them.
"When I was a little girl and went to the library in elementary school, it was a new world to me," Joyner, 61, said. Her love of books continued and she passed it on to her children. She shares how her daughter now takes her own child to story hour, something Joyner always did.
A newcomer to Greenville, Joyner knows few people in the city and cannot drive, making trips to the main library nearly impossible. "What's better than having books come to you," Joyner said. She said she'll call Hickey on Tuesday and request certain titles, knowing they'll be ready for her when he makes his monthly stop.
Hickey met new activities directors for two local assisted living facilities Wednesday. Sterling House and Carolina House.
At Sterling House, this month's activities theme is blues music, so Hickey brought along CDs by B.B. King, Chuck Berry and others besides several books about the blues.
Hickey said he liked the idea so much he prepared similar rock and roll collections for two other local assisted living facilities.
While Hickey helps patrons, Hall, his assistant, checks in returned books and organizes the shelves. She's worked at East Carolina University's Joyner Library, and, when she isn't in the bookmobile, she works the circulation desk at Sheppard's main branch.
"This is much more fun," Hall said. "I like going places." She said she appreciates the gratitude bookmobile patrons show.
The bookmobile makes 60 stops during a three-week rotation period. Most are in Greenville, but Hickey's route goes to Pitt County's far-flung corners: west to Fountain and east to Grimesland, northwest to Porter Road and southeast to Gardnerville and Calico.
It costs about $50,000 a year to operate the bookmobile. The library expects to spend $3,700 on fuel this year, Nelms said, 25 percent more than the previous year.
When Hickey filled the bookmobile's fuel tank last week it cost $165.
"I went to Willie with expense concerns," Hickey said. He recommended cutting out a few of the more far-flung stops. Nelms told him it wasn't necessary.
"Everyone understands the cost of gas is going up, and it's an expense that can be explained," Hickey said.
Wednesday's first stop was a day camp at ViQuest Center on Statonsburg Road. More than two dozen youngsters ages 5-13 took turns crowding into the vehicle's 90-inch-wide aisle with their yellow library cards in hand.
"I want a book on snakes," said Ben, one of the younger boys. A camp mate asks for dinosaurs.
Friends Abigail, 7, and Victoria, 8, each clutch two books. Abigail's family goes to the library every Monday, but she loves bookmobile visits.
"There's more fun books than in the library," she said. - Ginger Livingston, Daily Reflector
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To Support the local Bookmobile, please call Sheppard Memorail Library @ 252-329-4580. For information about community news, education, economics and everything real estate, please visit www.1SearchMLS.com .
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