The Healdsburg Regional Library is celebrating national recognition for its unique outreach program — a library on three wheels.
The library’s “BiblioBike” received the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services’ Book Bike Outreach Programming Award, the library announced this week.
ABOS is a national organization that supports library professionals who provide bookmobile and outreach services to meet diverse community needs.
The bright blue BiblioBike is a tricycle outfitted with a box on the back, functioning as a small mobile library. The bike visits parks, farmers’ markets and other local events, offering books and library resources directly to community members.
Branch manager Jon Haupt said the idea began during the pandemic, when many programs moved outdoors to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“Over the last four years, the bike has been a wonderful addition to our community at parades, story times, resource fairs and community events large and small,” Haupt said.
Haupt and librarian Charity Anderson nominated the BiblioBike for the award, which they accepted at the ABOS annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri, in October.
“It brings me a lot of joy to roll around Healdsburg with the BiblioBike and ride it to special events, schools and parks,” Anderson said. “The story times at Giorgi Park have turned out to be wonderful and lively gatherings that bring families together to read, sing and dance. It made me very happy that the Healdsburg Library was honored with this award.”