Mobile library goes to mobile home communities

IOWA CITY - Braeden Jones leans over a counter and pulls out two children's books, three times larger than usual, shouting out the titles as he raises his arm.

'We have ‘Rainbow Fish' and ‘The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,'” he announces proudly.

The three children in front of him, all residents of Cole's Mobile Home Court, yell excitedly.

Jones is the assistant director of the Antelope Lending Library, a mobile library that travels around Iowa City, bringing a large collection of books to kids throughout the summer.

Over the next couple of months, however, the library is hoping to reach an even wider audience - the mobile home community.

'We know a lot of kids that live in mobile home courts that don't have access to downtown,” Jones said, referring to their typical summer spot.

Many of the courts, such as Cole's, where Jones and volunteers will spend every Tuesday morning, are on the periphery of town, making it even tougher for families to make the trek into the library.

Jones said this is something they are hoping will decrease the learning gap that often happens with younger students over the summer.

'By coming here once a week, we're hoping to …

remind them of the skills they've gained and try and combat that summer slide,” he said.

Carol Parker, a parent who lives in the Cole's area, brought her nine-year-old daughter and said she plans to keep bringing her every week.

'To get the kids to read, I mean, I think that is very important …

and it really helps in school, too,” she said.

Parker added she believes having the books come to them is safer for her daughter, as she doesn't like her child being downtown by herself.

Inside the narrow mobile library, Jones hands a jumbo-sized books off to Lisa Roberts, the interim director of the Iowa Youth Writing Project. The project has been partnering with the lending library since the beginning.

Roberts is quick to ask the children if they want the book read to them in English or Spanish - another new feature.

Along with more books, a couple computers that are Wi-Fi accessible, and more stops throughout Iowa City proper and beyond, Antelope Lending Library also has added bilingual volunteers.

The first day at Cole's, Jones said they were encouraged to see bilingual families coming to the library, where the volunteers, mostly students, had both Spanish-language books and activities.

'It's an opportunity for our volunteers to practice language skills and give opportunities to people who sometimes feel excluded from the community because they don't feel as comfortable with the language,” he said.