The folks at the North Vancouver City Library knew that their book bike idea was a winner the moment they first rolled their new prize out of the delivery truck.
A few librarians took photos of the bike and posted them to their personal feeds, and the pictures went “library viral,” according to Mikale Fenton, the driving force behind the project.
It wasn’t quite “Kanye viral,” but it was pretty darn good for a library project.
“Suddenly we were getting calls from media outlets and also other libraries that were very excited about the project,” says Fenton, the library’s head of community, program and service development.
The idea for a book bike came from library staff and the City of North Vancouver’s Placemaking team, who noted similar successful projects in places like San Francisco, Denver and Victoria. Fenton was known as the library’s resident cycling nut – she bikes to work most sunny days – and was brought into the process early and asked if she would like to take the lead on the project.
“I think I squealed,” Fenton recalls about that meeting. “I got really excited, really quickly.”
One year later the bike was on its way to Canada, hand-delivered by builder Joe Crennen from his Pedal Positive shop in Colorado. Fenton was so excited to greet the bike that she cut short a vacation to await the truck. The team’s excitement only grew when they got word that the bike had actually made it into Canada.
“It was an unusual experience at Canada Customs,” says Fenton. “Apparently it’s not a normal delivery at the border.”
The bicycle – actually a tricycle – has room for approximately 100 books and features an umbrella for sun and rain as well as a WiFi hotspot to help answer on-the-spot tech questions or even sign people up for a library card. It’s also got an e-assist motor to help with the notoriously steep hills of North Vancouver.
“It has a throttle, which is pretty fun,” says Fenton. “It gives you a little oomph.”
Dubbed “Spokes ’N’ Words” through a naming contest, it’s quite a beautiful beast. On a recent sunny morning Fenton couldn’t help but laugh as the head librarian wrestled with the book bike as passersby grew more and more interested.
“It’s very different than riding a regular two-wheel bike,” says Fenton. “The balance and the way that you turn and manoeuvre, I would compare it more to riding a motorcycle than a bicycle. So that’s taken a little bit of getting used to, but we’ve done a few practice sessions now and are feeling like we’re really getting a hang of it and excited to take it out on the streets.”
Library lovers can look for the bike at local hotspots such as the Shipyards Night Market, the Canada Day Parade, and the Fun City Festival, among many others. While bibliophiles will no doubt get a kick out of the new wheels, the theory behind the bike is to get out into the community to engage with as many people as possible, particularly those who may not already frequent the library.
“We recognized it as a great tool that would be sustainable, fun, engaging and very eye-catching,” says Fenton. “We really want to expand our presence beyond the library walls, and so this was kind of the coolest way to do it.”
Wherever the bike ends up will become an instant pop-up library.
“People can come and get advice on their tech questions, sign up for a library card, check out books, grab a book or a magazine just to read for a few hours in the sun,” says Fenton.
The excitement over the new bike seems to be mutual, shared between the librarians and the public. A steady stream of onlookers came by to check out the book bike as Fenton parked it outside the library to show it off to a North Shore News reporter and photographer. It’s library outreach at its peak.
“This is outreach 2.0,” says Fenton with a laugh. “I think that it’s going to be very hard to not just be smiling all day when you’re out on the book bike. People are so excited about it that it’s kind of infectious.”
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Anyone wanting to get a closer look at Spoke ’N’ Words can join city and library staff at a launch party Wednesday, May 30, 3-5 p.m. in Civic Plaza on the steps of the library. Stories, information, and a few surprises will be on offer as the book bike gets rolling.
