The North Olympic Library System’s bookmobile, a brand-new 24-foot Freightliner Sprinter van, will have a bi-folding glass door, a sliding window, wall-hugger carts and 21 shelves for books, DVDs, CDs and magazines.
What it needs now, said Troi Gale, West End Library manager, is a design for its exterior.
Gale and the library system have issued a call for artists to develop a graphic design for the vehicle, which will travel all over Clallam County.
The deadline for submissions is 4 p.m. Feb. 23, and details are available by contacting Gale at 360-374-6402, ext. 7793, or www.bookmobile@nols.org, while more about the project can be found at www.nols.org/bookmobile.
While local artists on the North Olympic Peninsula are especially encouraged, all artists’ submissions will be considered, according to the library system website.
The winning artist will be chosen Feb. 28, expected to send in initial design concepts by March 14 and complete the design by March 28.
The library system will work with the selected artist on this timeline and on payment, Gale noted.
Like its counterpart in Jefferson County, the new bookmobile will have room for a large selection of library materials — at least 1,000 items, Gale said.
As for the schedule and locations, those are still being determined based on community analyses and demographics, he said.
Clallam County’s rural places west of Port Angeles will see a lot of the bookmobile.
“We expect a lot of activity on the West End,” Gale said, adding the vehicle will also provide a library presence at community events around the county.
“Bookmobile service has been absent for several decades at NOLS,” Gale said, “but will hopefully launch in late 2022,” and connect with schools and community agencies as it schedules its visits.
The Jefferson County Library’s bookmobile, meanwhile, has seven stops on its schedule.
Every week it visits the Cape George fire hall on the outskirts of Port Townsend, the Port Ludlow Village Store, Paradise Bay’s Shore Drive-Spruce Street corner, and community centers in Brinnon, Coyle, Gardiner and Quilcene.
For more about that bookmobile and other services from the county library at 620 Cedar Ave. in Port Hadlock, see www.jclibrary.info or phone 360-385-6544.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
