My Account | Mobile Site

Historically speaking, Howard Larson could be Rapid City's own contemporary version of a circuit rider. Rather than religion, Larson delivers books. Lots of books. For Four months, Larson, 75, and other volunteers have loaded their cars with bags filled with novels, books, books-on-tape, VHS movie tapes and back issues of magazines to deliver to community members unable to visit the library. On Larson's route, he makes eight stops at various homes, apartments, nursing homes or retirement communities. It takes about two hours to deliver the bags of books. The newest of the three volunteers who circle the city dropping off books for homebound patrons, Larson enjoys his contact with the various readers. "It's different every week," he said. "He's been wonderful," Aimee Hepler of the Rapid City Public Library said. The Outreach Volunteer Coordinator helped design the Rapid City Public Library Homebound program about a year ago. "We're up to 56 individuals who are delivered to on a monthly basis," she said. The program provides library services to area residents unable to come to the library because of lack of transportation, pregnancy, health problems or other physical barriers. "The service can be a temporary," Hepler said. Staff and volunteers help select books for these patrons, and volunteers deliver them to the patrons' homes. "There's no overdue fines because we're responsible for the delivery calls," Hepler said. A dozen staffers have adopted patrons, matched by their interest in reading genre, interests and even their family, Hepler said. "So far, so good," she added. Patrons often select their own favorites such as Gilbert Morris and Terry Blackstock religious fiction. If books aren't available, selectors will introduce new authors from the same genre. Mysteries by Lillian Jackson Braun, Frances and Richard Lockridge's "Mr. And Mrs. North" and Dorothy Gilman's "Mrs. Pollifax" series are also favorites of groups, followed by biography and nonfiction novels, Hepler said. Typically, Hepler finds that homebound patrons read about 10 titles a month. Women make up a majority of the group, but all are interested in new titles. When people sign up for the service, Hepler visits the home and signs the patron up for a homebound status library card. She conducts a short interview to find out what sort of books they are interested in reading. And depending upon the day, delivery often takes place that same week, she said. The following month, the patrons will receive a phone call. "We pull up that patron's account on the computer and then take that list into the database," she said. It eliminates the risk of sending a book a patron may have already read. "We don't want to send the same book twice," she said. Volunteers are needed to deliver and select the books. To volunteer, the library staff asks for a six-month commitment to the project. The program is open to drivers ages 18 and up and selectors of all ages. Hepler stresses that schedules are flexible. Impressed by Helper's organizational skills of compiling a list of patrons scattered across the city, Howard Larson loads the blue book bags for his weekly trip. "I think it's something that all of these people really look forward to and it makes me appreciate what I have," he said. If interested in signing up for the service or volunteering, call Hepler at 394-6139, ext. 230.