It’s called , not exactly an intuitive name for a bicycle version of a bookmobile, but this sturdy cargo bike can carry up to 500 pounds of the written word.
And while that will never threaten any of the racers in next month’s Pro Challenge, its fold-out shelves were built to carry up to 200 books, says Chris Henning, marketing and communications manager for the Denver Public Library.
When started rolling in 2013, only one other library had a pedal-powered branch. Now, says Henning, there are .
“It goes to different sites, sometimes Civic Center park or farmer’s markets,” said Henning’s colleague, DPL communications specialist Amy Fidelis.
“The idea is to get our services to where the need exists. If someone doesn’t want to visit one of the branches, they still have access to two million titles — books, music, movies.”
Although the books on are available to be checked out, they’re pulled from the library’s collection of duplicate popular titles. That way, if books disappear without being checked out, it isn’t a tragedy.
“A lot of the time, the books are giveaways, and we’re registering people for library cards and offering our Wi-Fi hotspot so they can download digital books,” Henning says.
“We do one of two things with — either stock it with weeded books for giveaways, like at the Denver Flea, or we tailor a collection for a specific location, like having gardening and cookbooks for a farmers market appearance.”
