Celebrating Library Outreach!

It’s National Library Outreach Day!

With 30 libraries spread across five counties, NCW Libraries is the largest library system in the state of Washington. But in addition to our traditional branch libraries, we offer a wide range of outreach services that serve people in a variety of ways.

Mail Order Library

Our mail order service was the first of its kind in the nation when it started in 1968. Initially started as a way to serve rural Douglas County residents who lived far from the nearest library, the service today provides materials to our patrons throughout Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Okanogan and Ferry counties. Even when our physical libraries were closed because of Covid-19 during the last year, our Mail Order Library stepped up and continued to provide our library patrons with books and materials delivered directly to their homes once our staff were allowed to work. Learn how to use our mail order service here.

Bookmobiles

We operate two bookmobiles across our five-county library district. Our Community Bookmobile visits rural communities, senior and adult living facilities, and community festivals and parades throughout the year in Chelan, Douglas and Grant counties. Our Rural Schools Bookmobile visits schools, rural communities and many festivals and parades in Okanogan and Ferry counties. Our bookmobile collection has more than 2,500 books, audiobooks and movies for all ages. Our libraries-on-wheels are fully handicapped accessible, are capable of making new library cards, and serve as mobile wireless internet hot spots!

Bilingual Outreach

Our Bilingual Outreach Specialists do story times in English and Spanish at various locations around our library district. They attend community events and festivals and work to bring our Spanish-speaking community members into our libraries. They have also done several pre-recorded story times and felt story times that you can watch here.

Here are some of our most popular bookmobile themed books you might want to grab from the library!

For Children

Ready to Fly: How Sylvia Townsend Became the Bookmobile Ballerina by Lea Lyon and A. LaFaye

Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile by Gloria Houston