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New Kiosks Bring Library Services to "Library Deserts"
BY SKYLER NOBLE
Residents at Gonzaga Family Haven watched with anticipation on a sunny August day as City crews shut down North Foothills Drive for a crane to lift a 24/7 Library Kiosk from the delivery truck to its new home. “There was a lot of excitement when the kiosk was first installed, but what was great was that it created a lot of conversations on how residents can use the kiosk,” said Peggy Haun-McEwen, Director of Community at Gonzaga Family Haven. Residents were able to register for library cards shortly after— many of whom had never had one before or didn’t know their child’s Spokane Public Schools student ID served as a library card.
“I heard from our residents that they are using it for DVDs,” said Peggy. “I have a couple of parents who like to utilize it on the weekends because transportation is a struggle. It’s especially difficult for people who are low-income and transitioning into being homed. To have something right there where they can get new books and DVDs for their kids is pretty amazing.”
To best accommodate areas of Spokane that are further from a brickand-mortar library location, the library assessed potential partners who shared a similar mission of expanding library services to the community. “Catholic Charities and Gonzaga Family Haven have many community partners. The kiosk is a visible indication of our partnership with the library,” said Peggy. “The power of partnerships is something I have really come to love about this job and this community.”
“One of our fundamental goals here is to break intergenerational poverty through education,” said Peggy. “I know the power of reading firsthand and I know that access to libraries and to books is what will help these children grow their imaginations and continue to dream.”
In summer 2023, Catholic Charities’ Gonzaga Family Haven and Yokes Fresh Market in Latah received new 24/7 Library Kiosks to provide residents 24/7 access to books and movies in a more convenient location.
These kiosks were funded by the 2018 Library Bond to serve neighborhoods considered to be “library deserts”—geographic areas with less accessibility to books and other library services—and to close the divide between these neighborhoods and vital library services. At these Kiosks, anyone with a library card can check out and return items, pick up holds, and browse the materials any time, any day.
In 2024, two more kiosks will be installed. One at Spokane Transit Authority’s Five Mile Park and Ride in northwest Spokane and one at a library property under development at Nevada and Sitka in northeast Spokane.
