A special bike and trailer is bringing books to the streets of the city of Kitchener.
The bright, yellow trailer is attached to a bicycle and ridden around by volunteers.
Officially named ‘the book pedaler’, the idea is to make reading more visible and accessible in the community.
Mary Chevreau, the CEO of the Kitchener Public Library, says she was inspired after seeing something similar a few years ago.
“I just thought it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” says Chevreau. “I started working and figuring out how I could get one here.”
Chevreau talked to her team to sort out the details but they say it didn’t take much to win them over.
“There was no convincing us, we were just on board with it right away,” says colleague Julie Curry.
The Kitchener Public Library plans to bring the library on wheels to parks, events and festivals.
“The idea of outreach and meeting our customers where they live and where they play is really important,” says Chevreau.
At the trailer, residents are able to check out books, sign up for a library card, or even use the free Wi-Fi.
If you do borrow a book from the pedaler you simply return it to the nearest branch when you’re done.
They hope to use the mobile library into the fall and start up again in the spring.
