NE Colorado Bookmobile
Northeast Colorado Bookmobile Services (NECBS) has been providing library benefits, including mobile library services to six counties in northeast Colorado for more than 50 years.It started out as a demonstration project for the Colorado State Library in 1959 and was officially created on February 10, 1961 when an agreement was reached with the County Commissioners of Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Washington and Yuma counties. Phillips County joined the service in 1978.Upon retiring the old the Thomas Allstar bookmobile after over 350,000 miles down the road, the library purchased a used 1992 Bluebird, the fourth bookmobile put into service. The NECBS headquarters was based in Yuma, Colorado until 1969 when it moved to Wray, Colorado a more central location.
The bookmobile travels over 20,000 miles a year and has a circulation of more than 167.000 books. The library, which has a collection of over 66,000 books, also distributes books via courier, mail, makes home deliveries to shut-ins, and provides summer reading programs, reading contests and story time on board the bookmobile. The bookmobile makes about 65-75 stops each four week period to schools, preschools, libraries, communities without libraries, health care facilities, senior centers, nursing homes, day care centers and more. The bookmobile library has the unique advantage to make the most of its library collection since books that are at one stop one month will be used over and over again by patrons at other stops and those books relocated every four weeks which gives maximum value for the funds allocated for purchasing books.
Given the current economic challenges, the bookmobile is more important than ever. Schools rely on the bookmobile to supplement their library collection and to provide new books for the students and with increased budget cuts, those services become even more important. The library’s large print collection is the largest in the area and is in high demand. The library keeps up with the newest fiction, current events, great kids’ books and teen reads.
The Northeast Colorado Bookmobile Services has a little something for everyone.