“The Library’s mission is to improve lives and build a stronger community, which means reaching every community member in every part of Mecklenburg County. The Mobile Library expands and deepens the Library’s ability to reach into high need areas of the community, providing access to free resources, programs and technology, particularly where limited physical or digital access to Library services exists. This access will help create pathways for citizens to learn and grow, gaining success in school, in their careers and beyond.”

—Chief Library Services Officer Caitlin Moen

The Library launched a mobile library in January 2022, affectionately called “MoLi.” In December we reported on the accomplishments and community reach of the traveling unit and the Library’s mobile library coordinator Saul Hernandez in this blog. Saul recently reached back out to share an update of MoLi latest achievements:

“In the past year, we have visited 62 unique sites for a total of 512 site visits across 25 unique zip codes. Sixteen of those site visits entailed what are labeled “Special Events” including:

• Active Reading Workshops
• A Vibe Called Fresh
• Back-to-School Bash events
• Church Summer Festivals
• Fall Festivals
• International Day of Learning 2022
• National Night Out 2022
• Public Park Renovation Community Celebrations
• Ramadan Community Volunteer Programs
• School Dance Night Activation
• School Poetry Night Activation

“I discovered that we have also reengaged 44 households that were determined to be directly impacted by the closure of Main Library. Additionally, 1,540 customers have their last activity location recorded as MoLi.

“I would also like to share a few notes of interest:

• MoLi rolled past 10,000 on our odometer this week! I believe we were just under 1,800 miles on delivery of MoLi in November 2021.
• We are supporting two summer camps this year: Mallard Creek Recreation Center and The River, located in the Freedom Drive/Wilkinson Corridor of Opportunity.
• We’ve recently added Roof Above, which provides services to our unhoused neighbors, to MoLi’s routes, serving both the Tryon location and the Howard Levine Men’s Shelter on rotating basis.
• We graciously thank PWC Charitable Foundations for providing grant funds to close gaps in our collection, namely world languages and a greater variety of audiovisual materials for blind and visually impaired customers.
• Following customer feedback, we have revamped our printed monthly calendar format for increased readability and bilingual SPA/ENG content.”

Thank you to Saul for the exciting report. If you’d like to help the work of Saul, MoLi and Library make a gift today to support this valuable community asset.