A familiar sight on Boise streets and parking lots will soon disappear. The Boise Public Library plans to shelve (or rather garage) thebookmobile. Library Director Kevin Booe says the decision is financial. Booe says the city cut his budget by $218,000 for fiscal year 2013.
“The library board of trustees actually looked at several different options in terms of service reductions including reducing hours at the main library and hours at our branch facilities, as well as reducing the amount of money we spend on library materials," Booe says. "And in their view and in the city council’s view the bookmobile reduction was one of the least impacting upon the public.”
Booe says in the last few years fewer people have used the bookmobile while total patronage has increased. He attributes that to the branch libraries the city has built. Discontinuing the bookmobile will save the library an estimated $82,000 a year. It will stop rolling October 1. But it will stay in the garage at the main downtown library location. If funding returns in future years it may hit the streets again.