Hellertown Area Library director Robin Rotherham speaks at the ribbon-cutting for the library’s new book bike, Wheelie. Pictured at left is children’s librarian Andrea Milliren, who will be riding the book bike and bringing reading to children around town.
A few raindrops didn’t dampen the enthusiasm expressed for reading and the Hellertown Area Library Tuesday afternoon.
The enthusiasm was for a regional first accomplished by the library Tuesday when staff proudly unveiled their new book bike–named Wheelie–at a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted with the Hellertown-Lower Saucon Chamber of Commerce.
A number of local elected officials, library staff, library trustees, donors and friends of the library were on hand for the special event that’s been months in the making.
A book bike is a custom-built tricycle that resembles an ice cream cart. The difference is that it is built to carry a traveling library, and the Hellertown library is the first library in the Lehigh Valley to have one.
The bike cost $4,000, library director Robin Rotherham said, and the money for it was fundraised by children’s librarian Andrea Milliren in just two months.
Milliren will be taking the bike out into the community to share the joys of reading with children who might not otherwise get to visit the library, and Rotherham credited her with having the vision to bring the dream of a book bike into a reality.
More information about the book bike can be found at the library, which is located at 409 Constitution Avenue in Hellertown, as well as online via the library’s website and social media.
On Wednesday, Aug. 14, the library will host its Out of This World Summer Reading Carnival. Families are invited to come play fun games and have a snack to celebrate summer reading! Tickets for the event were earned with summer reading logs or may be purchased at the event.
The Hellertown Area Library’s new book bike will be coming to a borough neighborhood near you. Book bikes are designed to help bring reading to households that are underserved by traditional libraries.