Most kids leave a bus yielding a backpack and lunchbox.
But on a recent Thursday afternoon, Rita Ranch residents were exiting a large converted bus carrying armfuls, small trunks and large beach bags of books.
The Pima County Public Library's Bookmobile, a service that started in the mid-1960s, travels 800 to 900 miles a month throughout Pima County, said Wade Zelenak, the library tech supervisor who has been driving the bookmobile for the past 15 years.
"It has 28 stops that it sees once a month," said Zelenak, who stops generally for an hour to 90 minutes at each location so folks can browse the 3,500 books, CDs, DVDs and magazines.
"It goes to rural areas of Pima County as well as areas inside the city limits and I go as far southwest as Sasabe, as far southeast as Vail, northwest up to Picture Rocks," he said.
People are also reading…
The Bookmobile was bought in 2008, Zelenak said as he put books on the Bookmobile's shelves.
"It's a Thomas bus chassis. There were no windows in it, they cut the roof off, raised it up about a foot and a half, and then filled it with shelves, and we filled it with books," said Zelenak. It replaced a bus that had been in service for almost 20 years.
Although the thirsty bus gulps a gallon of gas every six to seven miles, plus another gallon per hour for its generator, Zelenak says it's still worth it.
"We have a little bit of everything. One of the nice things that people have commented on is that they can browse the whole collection during the time of the stop," he said.
Another advantage is that folks can reserve books online and pick them up at the bookmobile.
"I reserve it on the computer and they find it for me," said reader Melisa Bohlman, 15. "It could be from any library and they bring it here on the bus."
