
Natasha Robinson, right, returns books to Susan Masuda, who is manning the circulation desk in the Sprinter van that houses the mobile library for the Wayne County Public Library system. The mobile library visits the WAGES Stephen and Susan Parr Family Learning Center in Dudley every other Wednesday, 9:30-11 a.m. Robinson checked out these books two weeks prior, to read to the two- and three-year-old children she teaches at the Center. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
All Wayne County residents invited to check out books
When Natasha Robinson steps inside the Sprinter van that houses the Wayne County Public Library’s mobile unit, she heads straight for the children’s section, plops down on the floor, and sits cross-legged, browsing the book titles in front of her. She’s looking for books to read to the two- and three-year-olds she teaches at the WAGES Stephen and Susan Parr Family Learning Center in Dudley.
The mobile library visits the WAGES Center every other Wednesday (it will next be there on October 23), from 9:30 – 11 a.m. Afterwards, it heads to the Dollar General in Dudley, where it parks from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
For Robinson and other teachers at the center, the mobile library is an invaluable resource, bringing a wide variety of children’s books they can check out for the two-week period between the unit’s visits. She insists that it helps her provide the children with literacy learning at an early age.
Susan Masuda, Manager of Library Experiences with the Wayne County Public Library, stresses that during the time the mobile library is parked at the WAGES Center, its services aren’t limited to just those who are WAGES-affiliated; rather anyone from the community is welcome aboard to check out books. Of course, at the Dollar General site, all are welcome, as well. Additionally, she notes that if someone has checked out books from one of the Wayne County Library branches, those books can be returned to the mobile unit.
Masuda usually serves as the van driver; once at a site, she has merely to turn the driver’s seat around and she finds herself at a small circulation desk. The mobile unit is always manned by two library employees; on Wednesdays, the second person aboard the van is Delores Gray, who goes to the WAGES Center every week (not just the alternate Wednesdays on which the mobile library visits) to share the library’s Raising a Reader program.
In addition to children’s books (including board books), Masuda points out that the mobile unit also carries adult fiction and nonfiction (with a nice selection of large prints) and juvenile fiction. “It’s a good mix of everything,” she says, adding, “For now, it’s all books; we don’t have DVDs or magazines on here right now.”
Anyone with a Wayne County library card is welcome to check out books — and county residents who don’t yet have a library card can get one from the mobile unit, provided they can show a driver’s license with their current address.
In addition to the two Dudley sites, the mobile unit currently makes regular visits to two other sites as well: the Woodmen of the World building in the Grantham community (every other Tuesday, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., with the next visit scheduled for October 22) and the Alpha Arms Apartments in Goldsboro (every third Saturday of the month, 10 – 11:30 a.m.). The schedule can be found on the library’s website at https://wcpl.org/mobile-library.
The current schedule runs until the Christmas holidays. At that point, says Masuda, “I’ll get together with the supervisors and we’ll talk about what worked, what didn’t work, where we might want to try next, what was successful, what we could do better to get the word out.” Then, they’ll make out a new schedule for the mobile unit, which will be in effect from January through May.
Anyone with questions about the mobile library is encouraged to contact Masuda at susan.masuda@waynegov.com.