Mobile library to serve high-need neighborhoods in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is now on wheels. The public library started a mobile library on Tuesday that serves communities with limited access to a physical location.

The 33-foot-long mobile truck or “MoLi” as it’s called is loaded with books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs that you can check out.

The bus made its first stops Thursday at the Charlotte Hills Mobile Home Park, Kingswood, and the Camino Center.

“It’s basically a library that comes to you, comes to any community that maybe doesn’t have access to libraries or maybe can’t make it out to libraries,” library associate Howie Lemonds told Channel 9. “We want to promote literacy; we want to make sure people are able to get jobs, get programming, hear stories, and we want to hear from the communities.”

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Library officials said they will operate on a three-week rotating schedule targeting different routes around Mecklenburg County to reach high-need areas.

The library has provided a calendar that shows where the mobile van will be each week.

The mobile library will have an adult, teen, and children’s collection; materials available for checkout and return; online resources and databases; free-wifi access; public use Chromebooks; library card services, and a staff ready to assist.

Lemonds said the mobile library will stop at daycares, rec centers, and neighborhoods, too. The bus will stay on site for about an hour and fifteen minutes, long enough to let people explore and check out the items they’re interested in. Then, the library will return about three weeks later for returns.

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MoLi also has a wheelchair lift for accessibility, a side awning for outdoor use, and an air filtration system to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Lemonds added that the mobile library will soon offer free computer classes and story time. It will also allow residents to check out Chromebooks.

You can request the mobile library come to your neighborhood here.

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