The Haliburton County Public Library will soon have its own vehicle.
At a session on August 10, the board approved the issue of up to $ 40,000 for the purchase of a delivery van that is able to transport books through the district and offer a more cost-effective way to have personnel and resources from branch to branch to transport.
CEO Christopher Stephenson said that a new vehicle would save the library’s kilometers fees, reduce the financial burden on the personnel and make it easier to stop couriers. It is financed by the surplus of the library, which is currently more than 200,000 US dollars.
“It is normal and it is good that an organization that crosses the district all year round has regular vehicle access,” said Stephenson. He estimates that the vehicle would drive 27,000 kilometers a year. Couriers drive 400 kilometers per week.
At the moment, employees and library curiers use their own vehicles or borrow an SUV from the Haliburton district, which will soon be removed from the street for security reasons.
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“Our employees … take a lot of risk,” said Stephenson.
He added that incorporating materials into a smaller car or SUV is difficult.
“Our ability to move books in transit is set to grow,” Stephenson told the board. He said it was more economical to pay mileage for a company vehicle. He estimates that running a library truck could cost around 28 cents per kilometer.
It also means that the library can cure that may not have a suitable vehicle for transporting books.
He said it would also improve the library’s public exposure.
“Some of the best advertising we do is when a child says to his mother:” The library vehicle drives through our city. “
Warden Liz Danielsen said: “I was a bit hesitant about the idea of buying a vehicle. I heard and accepted the arguments you made. It can be a very advantageous thing for us. “
Almost all board members said that they preferred an electric vehicle, but warned that only a few electric vehicles were large enough to transport large amounts of books.
“I think we have reached the point where we really have to have a van, otherwise a car will not cut it,” said Cec Ryall, deputy mayor of Highlands East. It seems likely that the library will opt for a small gas-powered van.
Stephenson said that a certain library vehicle “will be a big turning point for what we will do”.