On any given weekday, you might catch one of our Community & Family Outreach Services vehicles making their way around the roads of Delaware County. This department helps reach individuals who cannot make it into the library due to physical limitations or for other, more temporary reasons. In addition, they help transport materials between Delaware County District Library locations, so readers receive their requested materials expediently.
Three vehicles go out on the road each day. They include one van for branch deliveries, another van for deliveries to homebound individuals and in-home daycares, and a Bookmobile that makes daily stops to senior living facilities and early learning centers.
The Bookmobile alone visits 27 preschools each month, reaching approximately 5,000 children. They also see 11 senior facilities each month, with about 200 patrons at the facilities.
With all of the community stops the Bookmobile makes, it easily puts a lot of wear and tear on the vehicle. The current Bookmobile is 16 years old with more than 106,000 miles to its name. It has served its purpose for the Delaware Library well, and that is why we’re happy to see it enter into retirement at the end of this month.
Next weekend, on Friday, Jan. 5, we’ll welcome a new member to the Outreach family, a 2017 Sprinter Bookmobile. All year, the Delaware Library has been working with Farber Specialty Vehicles to build a new Bookmobile that will meet the needs of our award-winning Community & Family Outreach Services department. On First Friday in downtown Delaware, we’ll partner with the Delaware Area Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Delaware to have a formal ribbon cutting ceremony at 6 p.m. and tours through the new vehicle all evening until 9 p.m.
We’d love to see you at the ribbon cutting or throughout the evening during First Friday. We’ll have some fun giveaways and we’ll try to warm things up a bit on what may be a chilly January evening.
As a reminder, we’ll be open our regular business hours on New Year’s Eve with the Delaware, Powell and Orange branches operating from noon until 5 p.m. All library locations will close on New Year’s Day, and reopen to the public on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Happy New Year, and if you’re in the mood to make a resolution, you might consider the “F”-word: finances. Here are some books to get you started.
“Refire! Don’t Retire” by Ken Blanchard and Morton Shaevitz. Argues that instead of seeing retirement as a time to endure and withdraw, it should be viewed as an opportunity for enjoyment and growth in body, mind, and spirit.
“Raising Financially Confident Kids” by Mary Hunt. Gives parents a creative plan for teaching their children how to manage money wisely, including teaching them about debt, eliminating an attitude of entitlement, and being honest about the consequences of easy spending.
“Social Security 101” by Alfred Mill. A primer on social security covers its history, its likely role in the future, and how to maximize benefits.
“How to Make Your Money Last” by Jane Bryant Quinn. A strategic guide to turning retirement savings into a steady and lasting source of income shares strategic information for investing for growth and maximizing Social Security, pension, home equity and savings assets.
“The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money” by Carl Richards. Identifies behaviors at the core of lost investment returns, outlining simple sketches and straightforward advice while debunking common assumptions and explaining how to build wealth by focusing on key priorities.
