When Dr. Joan Kong arrived as the new principal of PS 11X in Highbridge in September 2011, the first thing she checked out was the school’s library and immediately assessed that it was not fit for purpose.

“This is not a library,” she said, at that time, to Roseanna Gulisano, the school’s librarian.  “So we are going to start from here and we are going to make this a real library, where kids have the opportunity to read, to enjoy reading, to love books and have the opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten at home or [by] going to the public library,” she said.

Aside from the need for computers and different genres of books, Kong said English is not the primary language for many of the school’s students. “They are coming to us not knowing the language,” she said. “Our libraries are deprived of those types of resources.”

Kong’s long-held belief in the power of education led her and Gulisano to campaign for better library services for the school, in the belief that when a real library is provided to kids, it instills in them not only a love of reading but a life-long research skill.

On Tuesday, June, 18 amid some fanfare and surrounded by an eager bunch of library card-carrying third graders, Kong and Gulisano appeared delighted to welcome New York Public Library (NYPL) president, Tony Marx, to the school to launch the first bookmobile to hit the Bronx streets in decades, streets largely deprived of all but one remaining book-store.

“We [NYPL] have always been a driving force in learning and reading,” said Marx, as he stood in front of the 20-foot-long Sprinter van wrapped in bright red and sporting the iconic New York Public Library lion logo. “And now, we are a driving force, quite literally.” The new bookmobile, he said, will bring books, knowledge, staff, expertise, and services directly to the people of the Bronx.

“We haven’t had a bookmobile, I think, since the 1950s,” said Gulisano. “The children didn’t even know what a bookmobile was. I had to describe it. They told me it was like an ice-cream truck with books in it that you don’t have to pay for.  I thought that was pretty great.”

According to NYPL staff, ensuring kids have access to reading materials over the summer months prevents the summer slide, when kids sometimes fall behind with their reading and learning.  

Genisis Morel, 9, attends PS 11X and busily rummaged through the book-stands with her class-mates. She said her favorite book is The Cat in the Hat. Asked what the story was about, she said, “It’s about a cat in the hat, a clever cat.”  

Each bookmobile will be staffed with two library employees and will be capable of transporting up to 1,000 books for patrons of all ages that have either been requested for checkout or can be browsed curbside.

The bookmobile will not be a permanent fixture at the school but will serve a variety of community organizations, including schools like PS 11, with a focus on those communities currently coping with temporary service disruptions because of NYPL branch renovations.

Due to the city’s ever-expanding community, some public libraries are undergoing renovation or expansion, such as the nearby 60-year-old Grand Concourse Library, which closed on January 14, 2019 for a $4 million improvement project, scheduled to be completed in 2020.

Van Cortlandt Library, which closed its premises at 3874 Sedgwick Ave, on June 17 also held a bookmobile kick-off event, June 20, and will officially open its brand new larger library on July 15, at 3882 Cannon Pl. Van Cortlandt Library circulation is about 58,000 per year and the new library will be twice the size of the former one, providing 5,800 square feet of public space.

Features include an adult reading room and separate community room, more computers and laptops, on-site programs in dedicated programming rooms, classes, workshops for all ages, charging stations for personal devices at tables, multiple public restrooms, a water fountain, and dedicated areas for teens and children.

In response to the $33 million library budget announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio last week, Kong said there is still more work to be done.

“We are never pleased because our kids, especially in the Highbridge, they need much more,” Kong said. “It is not comparable, and it should be, taking into consideration a community such as Highbridge.”

Kong said the school needs a lot of books for bilingual kids, and a lot of cultural books which they never had. “The monies that we get – it is not sufficient enough a spread to support the types of books that we need for our children.”

Meanwhile, Gulisano said the spatial concept of libraries has evolved. In fact, her dream is to get books into the beauty shops and barber shops. “There isn’t one library now that’s one place,” she said.  “So, a library is all encompassing now and this [bookmobile] is just one way to bring the books to the children.”

For his part, Marx, who grew up appreciating the value of Van Cortlandt public library, concluded the launch saying, “Come to the library, as millions of kids do, and if you don’t come to us, we’re bringing the library to you!”