ESCANABA — Escanaba and surrounding communities that use the Escanaba Public Library will soon have a new way to access the library’s services following the city receiving a grant for a new bookmobile.

The $208,087 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant will allow the library to purchase and outfit a 24-foot sprinter van, with an extended roof, fixed shelving and removable carts capable of bringing library materials directly to Delta County residents within the library’s service area. The van will also offer wireless printing and carry internet-enabled materials — such as tablets, laptops and wifi hotspots — that can be used by tapping into the van’s own wifi hotspot or checked out by library patrons.

“Remote options are really, very important to us now, and we really need to be positioned to bring the library to people rather than waiting for people to come into the library,” said Escanaba Public Library Director Carolyn Stacey, who noted the library had been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grant will cover 100% of the new outreach program’s cost for the first year, including the purchase of the new bookmobile. For the duration of the grant, much of the bookmobile’s time will be spent in underserved areas outside the city itself but within the library’s service area, which includes 11 of the county’s 14 townships. After the first year, the library will be able to make adjustments to the program to allow for the bookmobile to spend more time within the city, while still serving the outlying areas.

Some of the types of locations the bookmobile will visit while serving the area include community centers, schools, daycares and assisted living facilities. As the program evolves, the library intends to offer remote programming, such as children’s Storytimes, through the bookmobile and to bring the bookmobile to community events in addition to its regular route.

“We are really very excited about what we see as the tremendous potential that this project has to open up new avenues for us, the library, to serve the community in innovative and very impactful ways,” said Stacey.

Long term costs were also taken into account as part of the grant’s application process to avoid having the bookmobile become a burden to the city. The Friend’s of the Library has agreed to fund up to $10,000 per year for a period of five years to support the internet connectivity of the van, no new library staff will be hired to operate the outreach program, and many of the costs associated with the van and its maintenance will be reduced through the vehicle’s inclusion in the city’s motorpool.

The library has one year to get the program up and running. Due to the current supply chain issues, the earliest the bookmobile is expected to be available is late June.