Bloomington Public Library - Books are just the beginning

Bookmobile Schedule

Our Outreach Services coordinates the majority of the Library's activities that occur outside the Main Library's physical locale, including the Bookmobile, Home Delivery Service, Books-By-Mail, Deposit Collections, Bi-Folkal Kits, and Talking Books. We also provide Golden Prairie Public Library District residents with special programs throughout the year. Continually expanding and evolving to meet the needs of our community, Outreach Services has grown to encompass a number of services for those with special needs.

A library on wheels, the Bookmobile currently visits 42 stops every three weeks in the city of Bloomington and the Golden Prairie Public Library District (Arrowsmith, Bloomington, Dale, Dawson, and Old Town Townships). It weighs 27,000 pounds, is 35 feet in length, and is 11 feet 3 inches tall. A resource for all ages, the Bookmobile has about 3500 items. A popular collection of bestselling fiction, seasonal nonfiction, music, feature films, and video games available in a wide variety of formats including books, paperbacks, large print, magazines, audiobooks, blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs.

The loan period for all items checked out on the Bookmobile is three weeks. Customers may request any item that is not on the Bookmobile.

Customers who live within the city limits or in the Golden Prairie Public Library District, may obtain a library card from the Bookmobile at no charge. We also renew expired library cards and replace lost cards. There is a $2 fee for the replacement of lost cards. If you would like to know when the Bookmobile comes to your neighborhood, please click on the Schedule link on the right side of this page.

Bookmobile stops may be cancelled because of holidays, weather conditions or mechanical difficulties. When stops are cancelled, fines related to the missed stop are forgiven at the next visit. If you have any questions, please e-mail outreach@bloomingtonlibrary.org or phone 828-6092.

This map corresponds to the Bookmobile Schedule

Green arrows indicate A Week Stops
Blue arrows indicate B Week Stops
Red arrows indicate C Week Stops

Click on an arrow to see the stop name and list of dates the Bookmobile will be at the stop.

How do I know if a Bookmobile stop is cancelled?

During inclement weather, tune in to one of the local radio stations for an announcement about the Bookmobile. These stations are WBNQ 101.5 FM, WJBC 1230 AM, and B104 FM.

You can also check the library's Web site. Emergency cancellations will be announced on the homepage. Bookmobile stops are also cancelled when they fall on a holiday or a time when the library is closed. If the library is closed, the Bookmobile does not run.

What is the amount charged for overdue items?

Daily and total overdue costs per item are:

Children's items - 5 cents a day to a total of $2
Adult or teen items - 10 cents a day to a total of $5
Videos or DVDs - 50 cents a day to a total of $10

If I miss my stop, can I return my materials at another stop or at the library?

Yes, you can. However, overdue fines begin to accrue the day after the due date. To avoid fines and renew your materials, e-mail outreach@bloomingtonlibrary.org or call the library at 828.6091 ext. 221. Items cannot be renewed if someone else has a hold on them or if they have been renewed once already.

Can Bookmobile materials be returned to the Normal Public Library?

Yes, the Normal and Bloomington libraries work cooperatively in the same library system. Simply allow a couple of days for the items to get back to their home location.

Can items from the Normal Public Library be returned to the Bookmobile?

Yes, we can return Normal and Bloomington materials for you. For items from the Normal Public Library, allow a couple extra days for them to be sent back.

How long are materials from the Bookmobile checked out for?

Everything is due in three weeks, which is the time between Bookmobile stops. If a holiday occurs on the day of your stop, materials will be checked out to you for six weeks.

What types of items are on the Bookmobile?

Materials for all ages, including books, magazines, videos, DVDs, CDs, and audio books on cassette and CD. The bookmobile offers almost everything the library does. See what's new on the Bookmobile by subscribing to our monthly e-newsletter!

How can I get a schedule of Bookmobile stops?

You may receive a free schedule at any Bookmobile stop, at the library, or by calling and requesting one through the mail. Call us at 557-8921.

What is EXT?

Outreach Services used to be called the Extension Department. To better reflect the variety of services we offer, the name was changed several years ago. However, the cost and number of hours of staff time to re-label the collection is not justifiable. So older titles in the collection are labeled EXT, newer items have OTR on them.

Are items in the Outreach collection, as listed in the library's catalog, available for check out at the library itself? If so, how can I get them?

Yes, they are available. If you are at the library, the staff at the Adult or Children's Reference Desks can get the items for you. If you are at home, call the library to request that the materials be held for you at the Check Out Desk.

Are all items listed as OTR in the catalog on the Bookmobile?

No, they are not. The Bookmobile carries about 3,500 items. The collection contains about 36,000 items. So most of the titles are in Outreach Services. If you want a specific item, call the library to request it or fill out a Hold card. We don't want you to waste time tracking down the Bookmobile at a stop only to learn that the item you want is not on the vehicle.

If you have any other questions, please email outreach@bloomingtonlibrary.org or phone 828-6092.

If you cannot visit the Library, either temporary or permanently, and are a Bloomington resident, you are eligible for Home Delivery Service. If you reside in Golden Prairie Public Library District, see our Books-By-Mail Service.

Examples of the types of customers using Home Delivery include: a pregnant woman on bedrest, a person with a broken leg, seniors unable to use public transportation in the winter, homebound individuals, and persons undergoing treatment for cancer or other serious illness.

Materials available for delivery include books, large print books, magazines, blu-rays, DVDs, and audiobooks, and CDs. A library staff member or volunteer will deliver the materials to your home on a specified day each month. Materials will be selected for you based on your reading interests and special needs. The Home Delivery Service Coordinator will process your application, setup your library card account, and get you started receiving materials.

If you are interested in signing up for Home Delivery or have any questions about this free service, please contact us 828-6092 or email outreach@bloomingtonlibrary.org.

For residents in the Golden Prairie Public Library District (Arrowsmith, Bloomington, Dale, Dawson, and Old Town Townships) we offer paperbacks through the free Books-By-Mail program. If you reside in the city of Bloomington see our Home Delivery Service.

The Books-By-Mail paperback collection includes fiction and nonfiction titles for adults, teens and children. You'll find science fiction, romance, horror, bestsellers, humor, westerns, historical fiction, mystery, biographies, picture books, chapter books and beginner readers. Books-By-Mail is easy to use and is absolutely free. Bloomington Public Library pays the postage (both ways) on Books-By-Mail.

To use Books-By-Mail, contact us to have your name placed on our mailing list. Your first catalog will be sent immediately. Catalogs list recently added books, but most paperbacks in the Library's collection are available through Books-By-Mail. List author and title of the books you would like to borrow on your postage paid order form, and send your request to Bloomington Public Library. The books will be checked out and mailed to you. Books are loaned for four weeks. We will place holds on titles that are already in circulation. Books are returned in the mail bag provided by the library (postage paid by the Bloomington Public Library). Once you register for Books-By-Mail, future catalogs will be automatically mailed to you. Over 200 new titles are added each month.

If you are interested in signing up for Books-By-Mail or have any questions about this free service, please contact us at 828-6092 or email outreach@bloomingtonlibrary.org.

Deposits are a collection of books loaned to nursing homes, senior centers, child care facilities and other community agencies throughout Bloomington. Collections of 50 to 250 books are specially selected for each site. Volunteers deliver to these sites on a rotating schedule every eight weeks. Deposit collections contain an assortment of reading materials, depending upon your needs.

If you are interested in starting a deposit collection or have any questions about this free service, please contact us at 828-6092 or email outreach@bloomingtonlibrary.org.

Bi-Folkal Kits or "Remembering Kits" are multimedia collections of stories and pictures designed to help older adults reminisce about times past, and to share their memories and experiences with others.

Bi-Folkal Bags are filled with slides*, narrative cassette tapes, a program manual, activity sheets, skits and items to touch and feel.

Bi-Folkal Kits can be used by activity directors for programming in groups or by individuals in visits with family and friends. Nursing homes, retirement homes, church groups, and adult day-care centers, as well as children with aging parents, borrow Bi-Folkal Kits from Bloomington Public Library.

You do not need a library card to check out these kits. Bi-Folkal kits may be reserved ahead of time to help you with your programming needs. If you would like a Bi-Folkal Kit list mailed to you or have any questions about this free service, please contact us at 828-6092 or email outreach@bloomingtonlibrary.org.

* The Outreach department also has a Slide Projector available to check out with kits.

Bi-Folkal Bags

The Bi-Folkal bags include program manuals, slides, cassette tapes, skits & objects with shapes or textures, designed to spark memories and stories. These kits make it possible to select just one or two items to do a single program or to combine the materials and ideas into a series of programs.

Trains
1924
Fall
Summertime
Automobiles
Birthdays
Fashion
Homefront
Music
Fun & Games
County Fairs
Work Life
Depression
Farm Days
Pets
School Days
Home
Fifties

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Slide Tape Programs

These kits come with slides and a tape to go with the slides.

Album of Friends (2 kits available)
Sing-A-Long
Apron Strings w/2 skits
Christmas (2 kits available)
Jewish Memories – Includes family scenes and artifacts of family life, images of Jewish holidays, etc.
Sears and Roebuck Catalog Revue
Friends – Skits and handouts, VHS tape and cassette
New Years (2 kits available) – 20 slides and actiphile
Easter

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Slide Sets

Slideas #1 – Sweet Memories, Mothers, Vacations, Advertising
Slideas #2 – Joy of Food, Weddings, Polling Opinions, Great Cover-Up
Slideas #3 – Spring in Bloom, Summer Porches, Fall Color, Winter Snow & Ice
Slideas #4 – Shopping, Postcards, Manners, Fathers
Slideas #5 – My Favorite Toy, Toy Store Window, Our Heroes, To Be a Kid Again
Slideas #6 – Halloween, Arbor Day, Valentines Day, 4th of July
Slideas #7 – Reading, Airplanes, School, Thanksgiving
Christmas
Spring Into Summer: Beauty of Nature
African-American Artists: Our Unique Heritage

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Actiphiles

Actiphiles are folders that contain a large variety of materials (skits, poems, songs, recipes and things to make) that you can easily photocopy as needed.

Arbor Day
Christmas
Fourth of July
Halloween (2 kits available)
Valentine
Thanksgiving (2 kits available)
Mothers
Fathers
Food

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Cassette Tapes

Familiar Hymns
Name That Tune
Harvestime
Favorite Hymns II
Chair Exercises for Senior Adults

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Cassette Tapes & Book Sets

I Hear Memories
Christmas with Eldersong (39 min)
Power of Music (60 min) – This delightful book and audiotape set contains a unique collection of action songs, sing-a-longs, and music activities.

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Video Tapes

Burma Shave (60 min)
Radio Days (In Times Past) (71 min)
Roadsters Rumbleseats and Country Drives (60 min)
Valentine's Day (10 min)
Trains, Riverboats and Planes (70 min)
Automobiles and Trolleys (69 min)
Patchwork – A kaleidoscope of Quilts (15 min)
Her Mother Before Her – Winnebago women's stories of their mothers and grandmothers (22 min)
Ethel Kvalheim: Rosemaler (19 min) – Rosemaler is Norwegian folk art
Not available at this time
County Fair Memories (30 min)
Sentimental Sing-A-Long (Each video comes with a reproducible song sheet and are 30 minutes in length)
- Vol. 1 – Songs of Romance & Ragtime
- Vol. 2 – Patriotic Songs & Other American Favorites
- Vol. 3 – Songs of Road, River & Rail
- Vol. 4 – Songs of Love & Laughter
- Vol. 5 – Songs Across America
- Vol. 6 – Songs of Praise & Inspiration
- Vol. 7 – Serenades & Sweetheart Songs
- Vol. 8 – Songs of Cherished Childhood *
- Vol. 9 – Irish Songs & Other Folk Favorites
Moments Frozen in Time (14 min) – Remembering the WWII Years

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Skits

Anything for a Laugh
Almost Anything for a Laugh Too

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Visit Kits

These kits are great for a one on one visit. They come in two groups. Each group contains six kits and each kit contains a visit card, instruction sheet and a prop that goes with the topic.

Advertising, Courting, Cure Alls, Fabrics, Gardening, Hair
Hats, Main Street, Picnics, Table Games, Vacations, Visits

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Flash Cards & Picture Sets

In Years Past (IYP) – Famous People
In Years Past (IYP) – Events
In Years Past (IYP) – Fashion
In Years Past (IYP) – Occupations
In Years Past (IYP) – Transportation
In Years Past (IYP) – Technology
In Years Past (IYP) – Thirties
In Years Past (IYP) – Sixties
How Times Have Changed (HTHC) – Fashion
How Times Have Changed (HTHC) – Leisure Time
How Times Have Changed (HTHC) – Small Town Life
How Times Have Changed (HTHC) – Home Life
Circus Days
Midwestern Farming
Dramatic Stars
Music & Comedy
10th Century Skills & Crafts
Days of Lumbering
Precious Moments
Seems Like Yesterday
Imagine That #1
Imagine That #2
Family Doctor: On the Homefront
Yesterday's Headlines – Each card set contains fill in the blank headlines about new-making events.
- Vol. 1 – Big Events of the 20's & 30's
- Vol. 2 – World War II, Battlefront & Homefront
Flashback – Famous Faces & Events
American Adventure
Homework – Jobs around the house
Food, Glorious Food

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Miscellaneous Kits

First Writes – This notebook has fill line the blank writing exercises on many different topics
Book on Alzheimer's Patients – Activities and guidelines for different stages of Alzheimer's
Stirring Up Memories (food programs with older adults) – This notebooks has recipes and other information of food
Heartland Journals – Five Heartland Journal magazines that have stories and poems written by older adults
Reminiscence- Offers questions & ideas to help older adults with reminiscing
Remembering the Good Old Days – This book contains questions and answers about the days between 1890 & 1945
Looking Back – This book contains 200 questions and answers from days long ago
Activity Planning at Your Fingertips – This book is full of activities including word games, crafts & exercises
Keep Minds Alert #1 – This book has word games for the blackboard
Keep Minds Alert #2 (Let's Play the Date) – This book has word games and information for everyday of the year
Keep Minds Alert #4 (Date'N Game) – This book has a lot of ideas for mind stimulation and reality orientation
This & That (Trivia for Seniors)
More This & That (Trivia for Seniors)
Book of Questions – This book is full of questions to help older adults remember thoughts and feelings
Memory Sharing – This book offers ideas on many different topics for memory sharing
Learning From the Past – This book has many different ideas on interacting with young and old
Acting Up – Timeless resource for anyone doing creative drama with older adults
Reminiscing Together – This book has memory exercises that are great for group activities
New Plays for Mature Actors – This book has ten plays and sketches varying in length
Activities for the Elderly Vol. 1 – A collection of activities and programs for therapists working with older adults
Activities for the Elderly Vol. 2 – A collection of activities for the very impaired because of dementia or other severe disabilities
Strategies for Seniors with Special Needs (Sensory) – An activity guide for short term and long term memory patients
Strategies for Seniors with Special Needs (Reality) – An activity guide for short term and long term memory patients
Elder Wisdom – One hundred creative elders share their insights and experiences about getting older
24 Food Programs – In Good Taste – This book has recipes for cooking groups or discussions
Remembering School Books (book/tape from the Bi-Folkal Bag School Days)
Birthdays; 5-A-Day – Five people who share a birthday for each day of the year
Name That Memory – Activity book focuses on memorable objects and events from the recent past
Eldertrivia – Each of these books are Large Type and are packed full of interesting and challenging trivia questions on a variety of topics.
- Vol. 1 – Geography, History, Science, Songs, Literature, Color
- Vol. 2 – History, Household Items, Magic Numbers, Months, States
- Vol. 3 – Early TV, Headings, Initials, Holidays, Slang, Sports
- Vol. 4 – Advertisements, Famous Animals, Famous Buildings, Smiles
- Vol. 5 – Fun & Games, Home Life, Radio, 1920's, 1930's & 1940's
- Vol. 6 – What we wore; At the beach; Notable Threes: Up, Up, & Away; Villains, Cheats & Bad Guys; Memorable Places; Favorite Pastimes
Holiday Trivia – This book features questions for 20 holidays and special occasions. Also includes a section on holiday traditions and memories.
Even More This & That (Trivia for Seniors)
Barbers, Cars & Cigars – Activity programming for older men.
Holiday Mind Joggers – This book has trivia games, puzzles, word games and more.
Reminiscing Together – This book has activities to strengthen memories, as we grow older.
Keeping Family Stories Alive – This book offers many practical and useful techniques for reviving and keeping family memories alive.
Mind Joggers – This book has word games, trivia and fill in the blank poetry on 50 unique topics.
Practical Time (Language for Living Series) – Exercises in this book cover various skills. Among the skills are organization, sequencing, memory,judgement, and problem solving.
Arts/Fitness – Quality of Life Activities Program – This books provides themes for each month and activities associated with each theme. Designed to encourage spontaneity and creativity in older adults.

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Talking Book Service is offered through the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center in East Peoria, IL. This service is provided free of charge to anyone unable to read because of a visual or physical limitation. Thousands of books for adults and children are available with this service. There are also a variety of magazines available on tape. Talking Book tapes have been recorded at a slower speed than regular audio cassettes and have four sides instead of two. A special Talking Book machine is issued to each customer free of charge. Talking Book customers receive bi-monthly catalogs that announce new releases and include order forms.

Applications for Talking Book Service are available through Bloomington Public Library's Outreach Services. One of our library staff will fill out the application for you and get you started on this wonderful service.

If you are interested in applying for the Talking Book Service or have any questions, please contact us at 828-6092 or email outreach@bloomingtonlibrary.org.