Reading takes you Places

Rutherford County Library started as a bookmobile route from 1938 – 1996. By the end of its run, there were approximately 27 scheduled stops – mostly in communities quite a distance from a library. Currently, the Rutherford County Library System consists of three branches; our mission is to empower our community to Read, Connect, Learn, and Share. Bookmobiles across the country have recently come back into use; especially in rural communities like ours, where we do not have a comprehensive public transit system and many of our residents do not have reliable transportation—we need to take the library to them. Rutherford County needs a new, reliable, task-appropriate vehicle. By having a mobile library platform at specially arranged community and educational events throughout the year and pre-designated daily/weekly stops this will allow residents to connect to the Internet via a mobile hot-spot ahead of Broadband availability in their area and /or their ability to secure those services financially. In addition to typical bookmobile services, residents will be able to use Wi-Fi for school, shopping, job searching and skills, telehealth events, and classes taught by library staff and others relating to digital usage, job skills, and general computer knowledge. Library staff will offer one-on-one technology help at each stop.