God works in mysterious ways!

I’m on the road back to Vancouver following a few restful days in Barriere, BC, pondering the upcoming launch of our mobile library and literacy program and wondering where the inspiration had come from.

My reflections carried me way back to a memory in my home town of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where my love for reading and writing was kindled by the book mobile that parked weekly in my school yard and nearby shopping mall.

Seconds later, I pull into a gas station and find myself next to the Thompson–Nicola Regional District Book Mobile, the only one of its kind in BC. I could hardly believe my eyes! Coincidence? I think not!

Curiosity got the better of me – I scrambled out of the car to pay a visit. As I stepped over the bus’s threshold, I was whizzed back to childhood familiarity. The scent of tattered pages, the thrill of countless stories and the power of words encircled me like a warm blanket!

This was it! The inspiration! To inspire, educate, encourage and share this experience with those on the street who are either uncomfortable with the grandiose of our brand new Surrey Library or have difficulty signing out books without a fixed address or ID.

With our very own Care Bus we have started to implement a book-sharing system in our very own community. On Tuesday evenings, anyone can access our mobile library via an honour system where new and used donated books are lovingly placed in the hands of adults and children, whose eyes light up with the prospect of losing themselves in a good book.

Thank you Thompson-Nicola Regional District staff for the blessing of allowing me to snap pictures and glean new ideas for our Care Bus Library! It looks like we have a pair of mobile library busses in BC now 🙂