Bookmobile Business

This is written for the members of the Bonavista Library Board, but the reason for the scheme is the opportunity for young people (15-25) in Bonavista to start and run a small business.

We do not need to concern ourselves or think about the finances or logistics; that is a task for the young solo-entrepreneurs.

Background

On Monday May 5, 2025, six members of the Bonavista Library Board collected about 1,000 books from my house, Thank you for freeing up my space!

The books were discards from the Clarenville library.

If Bonavista values discards from Clarenville, then Clarenville might value discards from Bonavista, right? After all what is special about Bonavista or about Clarenville?

It follows that what is special about Bonavista and Clarenville can be true about Bonavista and Gander, and thus Lewisport, all the way via Grand Falls, Deer Lake, Corner Brook to Stephenville. Also St Anthony, La Scie. Also Burgeo, Harbour Breton, Marystown, and so on – Goose bay, Labrador City, …

There are about one hundred branch libraries in the Newfoundland library system.

There are about three hundred municipalities in Newfoundland.

The proposed system is three-tiered, giving every individual who reads, access to a source of, to them, new books.

(1) Library Tier

Suppose a van or small truck starts its journey in Clarenville and visits every library around the province. Take on board (say) ten cartons of discarded books from Clarenville and head off to collect five cartons from the library in Trinity Bay North and six cartons from the Bonavista library.

In Bonavista the van drops off six cartons from its earliest pickup, and heads to the next library, collecting and disbursing discards all around the island.

(2) Satellite Tier

Between Deer Lake and St Anthony there are numerous small settlements. Each and every settlement may nominate itself as a satellite source of books, usually in a private house occupied by a book lover, but might be a convenience store, school, church, or other public location.

The van stops, disburses and receives cartons of books just as it would were it a Real Library. Except that these books are always discards! There is no formal aspect of lending or returning books.

Once on each passage of the van (monthly?) books are exchanged and replenished. Disbursed books are preferably from remote locations – an earlier point on the circuit. Satellites can elect to keep a book if it fills a special need.

(3) Individual Tier

Not every settlement can be visited by the bookmobile. But a settlement, or even an individual house can be serviced by the satellite manager. As a satellite manager I receive a fresh batch of discards and the next day set off to visit individuals who have expressed a desire to receive fresh books …

Funding

Some library branches might pay for collection; such libraries “need the space”. Satellite locations might charge a nominal ten cents per book. The bookmobile might charge a fixed fee per visit. Member branches and satellites might be charged running costs (fuel, meals, accommodation, salary, maintenance) as a portion of monthly or annual costs.

Because the service is independent of the NL library system, it might operate as an emergency courier system between locations.

Might it function as an alternate service from Canada Post or a commercial courier service?

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Data collected (cartons/level/month) might be useful to the Newfoundland Public Library to estimate needs for new libraries.

Thursday, May 15, 2025

David says “think $5,000 for a van”. I assume that the van, based in Bonavista, will be inspected and maintained in Bonavista, possibly by David. Further that various towns along the way have partnering mechanics.

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