Shoalhaven Mobile Library

Vehicle

The current vehicle is an Isuzu SiTEC 175, rigid frame cab/chassis and is 6.9 tonnes unladen and 10.4 tonnes laden. The Library unit was built by Brimarco Industries in Ballarat, Victoria, in the year 2000. It is 7.5 metres in length

Accessories

The entry is fitted with a Ratcliffe 3-step passenger lift. This is designed as a normal set of steps which fold out to make a ramp which can be lowered and raised electronically to lift wheelchairs, boxes or frail passengers. When in operation as a library the unit is stabilised with the Level Best 2000 Bi-Lateral RV Hydraulic Leveling system. A rear vision camera with a screen mounted on the dash board has been installed as a safety feature.

Schedule

The Mobile Library operates on a fortnightly schedule with a total of 47 stops between half an hour and two hours duration. This includes fourteen outlying primary schools during school holidays. Driving time is roughly equal to library operating time. The vehicle returns home every day and is garaged at Council's workshop. The service covers the whole of Shoalhaven City except for major urban areas and the route covers about 26,000 km per year.

Staffing

One full time Library Assistant works 35 hours per week on the Mobile. Currently there are two relief drivers, the Reference Librarian who is also the overall Supervisor of the Mobile Service, and one female Library Assistant who obtained her licence recently. Another qualified driver recently resigned and it is our aim to acquire another relief driver from somewhere. The main operator has one day a month off as Rostered Day Off, and one afternoon per fortnight working in the main Library on administrative tasks.

Circulation

The Library's databases of stock and borrowers are loaded on a laptop computer which is used to issue and return items during the day. At the end of every day a Transfer program is run to update both the laptop and the main computer with the day's transactions. All library items may be borrowed from one branch and returned to any other branch of the system so there is a constant physical transfer of materials via the Mobile Library which is the principal form of physical communication between branches. The Mobile Library's circulation is about 55,000 items per year.

Schedule

For Schedule phone: 018 169 172