A local youngster holds up the first book checked out from the Mountain View Library's pop-up library in Morton.
Residents of Morton and Mineral no longer have to make the long drive to Randle to check out a selection of books, log onto free Internet and access many of the services the library provides. Starting this month, the Mountain View Library in Randle is bringing pop-up library services to the neighboring towns, setting up shop with books and WiFi once or twice a month.
“It's so exciting. I'm so stoked,” said Mountain View library manager Mary Prophit. “This is a pilot project. My expectations are to just do what we can to listen to the people, to see what they want, and try to accommodate that as best we can.”
Prophit’s brainchild came after Timberland leaders emphasized the need to reach the majority of residents in the system’s five-county area who aren’t using its libraries — many of whom live in far-flung places that don’t have a physical library building.
“I was fueled by what was the positive intent of the Capital Facilities Proposal, and that was to expand services to places that are currently underserved,” she said.
After tweaking her staff’s schedule, Prophit cleared her Thursdays to allow her to travel and bring library services elsewhere. She reached out to people in each town to line up potential locations, settling on the Cowlitz River Valley Historical Society Museum in Morton and the Mineral Fire Hall. The pop-up library will be open from noon to 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month in Morton, and the third Thursday of each month in Mineral.
“We’re as excited as can be,” said Betty Hutchison, the Morton museum’s vice president. “They’re starved for (a library) here. … It’s so wonderful for Mary to do this for us.”
Hutchison worked with Prophit to settle on the museum as the library’s location, and the first pop-up library on March 14 drew 15 visitors. Prophit brought nearly 200 books and DVDs, as well as laptops and WiFi hotspots for users to browse the Internet or place holds on items for future visits.
Morton also has a Timberland kiosk at Centralia College East, where patrons can check out and pick up books. Prophit said the pop-up library will bring other unique services, such as children’s story time and possible STEM programming. One local elementary teacher, Prophit said, is planning to bring her class by next week to sign up for library cards.
Enthusiasm has been high for the libraries, she said, citing a Facebook post announcing the pop-up service that earned 94 shares and many exclamation point-filled comments. That carried over to the first day in Morton.
“The people who came into the library, the energy was just exciting,” Prophit said.
Meanwhile, Mineral had its first pop-up library experience Thursday. Since the town lacks a kiosk, it will be the only chance for local residents to check out a book without leaving town.
“Just to have a resource available in a rural area, you don’t get a whole lot,” said Mike Gordon, a local fire commissioner who helped Prophit settle on the fire hall as the location for the library. “I like the energy that she’s bringing with it.”
Prophit said 14 residents signed up for library cards in Mineral on the first day, and she was able to put holds on books, demonstrate eBooks and streaming videos and discuss potential programming.
In Mineral, the library is hosted at the fire hall after a seniors’ meeting in the morning and before a Lions Club board meeting in the evening — hopefully drawing patrons from each crowd. About 40 seniors were in attendance when the library opened, with more than a dozen locals trickling in later throughout that day.
Prophit said the pop-up libraries, from the programming offered to the books available, will be based on demand, and the service allows for flexibility.
“That's what's fun about a pilot project is you can throw something out there and see what sticks, and if it doesn't you can try something else,” she said. “We can tweak it based on what the community needs.”
Timberland leadership is also praising the endeavor.
“Being the rural library district that we are, there are so many underserved populations that we can’t put physical buildings into every community,” said Michelle Larson, TRL’s public relations specialist. “All of our libraries and librarians are doing outreach, and we’re looking constantly at ways of making that grow. … The benefit of the pop-up libraries is Mary’s able to bring things out and provide Internet connection, and that’s been a huge request.”
Larson said the pop-up libraries and similar projects will inform Timberland’s strategic planning, both in terms of service opportunities and community demand.
“Hopefully this is something that will gather more information and see different ways we can bring library services to the communities,” she said. “We are looking right now at all different kinds of options. … Our pop-up library solution that Mary Prophit has created just hits it out of the park.”
