Library on wheels

For the first time in 27 years, the parish has a book mobile.

Parked at the Abbeville Library is a brand new 28 foot long book mobile that is home to 5,000 books, a group of magazines and three lab top computers that can be used by the public to search the internet or type a school project.

The book mobile equipped with wireless internet because it has a satellite, can travel virtually everywhere in the parish.

The goods news is that the book mobile did not cost the Vermilion Parish taxpayers anything. The traveling library was compliments of Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation.

After Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita destroyed libraries along the southern coast. Gates donated money to rebuild the libraries. Vermilion Parish had a choice of rebuilding the library in Pecan Island and Cow Island or to get the mobile unit.

The Vermilion Parish Library Board elected to get the mobile unit instead of taking a chance to rebuild a library in Pecan Island or Cow Island.

Jackie Choate, who oversees the libraries in the parish, said a lot of deliberation went into getting the traveling library.

“It was a lot cheaper to get the book mobile instead of rebuilding libraries,” she said. The Police Jury would have had to purchase land to build the libraries in Cow Island and Pecan Island.

Another big reason for not rebuilding was because of the drop in population in the Pecan Island area.

“We could not see rebuilding something because there are few kids there (Pecan Island) because they are at FIEB or Kaplan High,” Choate said. “We thought we could better serve the areas with this because the book collection can change faster. We can rotate the books out faster with the book mobile. If we had a branch, it is not as easy to rotate the books.”

Every Tuesday the book mobile travels to Pecan Island and is there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families can check out hard cover books, paper back books, books for children, teens, along with books on CDs and DVD movies. The residents can also search the internet on the computers.

There is also a handicap lift.

“It has a little bit of everything.” Choate said.

There is an awning that can be pulled out to create shade while residents read a book or magazine.

In the summer, Choate said, the book mobile will park at FIEB on Wednesdays. She said the community can visit the library and park in the school parking lot, like before the storm. She said there will eventually be a story hour and a movie night in Cow Island. The board is looking into bringing the mobile library to Forked Island in the future.

If something happens to a library branch in the future, the mobile library can be brought to the location and serve as a library until another one is built.

Choate is happy to see the residents in south Vermilion getting a library.

“I am excited,” Choate said. “It was hard to go down there (Pecan Island) and see the library after Rita hit. There was three feet of marsh grass. Everything was wet. It was hard to rebuild knowing the condition of the marshes.

“With this one, you turn the key, go north and still have it.”