The Mother of Invention is Innovation
Maggie Ward, Wendy Johnson, and Lauren Thorne, all from the Indianapolis (IN) Public Library, delighted attendees during their presentation “Home Delivery: Three Innovative Models Today and the Funky Future,†which was held on Friday afternoon (Mar. 25). The program detailed how the library reestablished their volunteer program in 2020. “People are excited to be out and we have a whole new group of active volunteers,†said Johnson. Volunteers work in various capacities including general delivery of material, the one-on-one home delivery program, and working behind the scenes in the library.
The library’s Outreach Services department uses volunteers and 14 staff members to run two bookmobiles (named Frog and Toad), and five smaller bookmobiles which are Ford Escapes with library wraps (patrons have named these the tadpoles). Volunteers also construct hundreds of “bunny bags†that contain 10 – 20 withdrawn books for checkout. “The bags are easy grabs for parents in a hurry, daycares, or someone with a sick child. These are fine-free, and we don’t care if they come back damaged or not at all,†said Ward.
Outreach serves three main groups; those who can’t access the library, those who don’t know about the library, and those who are afraid of the library. “The concept of a building filled with literature that feeds your mind and soul, supported by the government is a foreign concept to new arrivals in this country,†said Thorne. Home delivery is divided into long- and short-term status said Johnson adding that “long-term patrons will probably never get to come to the physical library again. Short-term patrons are without transportation or lack access due to immediate health matters.†The Library Express Program, which has existed for over 20 years, serves patrons at home using a one volunteer to one patron match. The library’s capacity for this service is set at 50 and they currently have 45 patrons taking advantage of the program. Volunteers use their own transportation, and the longest continuous match is 15 years. The screening process for the volunteer-to-patron match includes a background check and interview.
The next group of volunteers are the delivery drivers. They make deliveries of material without the added reader’s advisory service or management of the patron’s account that the one-on-one match volunteers perform. “It’s like meals on wheels with books,†said Thorne. These positions are easily expandable and often require less time for the volunteer.
Looking toward the future, the staff pictures a 24/7 locker pick up for patrons at branches, community centers, or corporate buildings and drone and autonomous car delivery. In fact, a pilot program with a Toyota delivery van may be in the works. â–
