BOYLE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — There are a lot of ways kids can spend their free time in the summer months. Boyle County Public Library is encouraging kids to race to the shelves to find some good books to read with a unique event at Ponderosa Speedway.
Outreach services associate Katie Followell had a racing outfit on as she stood in the doorway of the Lottie Ellis Bookmobile. Followell piloted the vehicle around Ponderosa Speedway during a bookmobile race put on by the library and the speedway.
“It has never been done before,” Followell said. “No other library that we could find has ever done an event like this.”
The Boyle County Public Library is used to putting on big events throughout the summer to get the community involved. Days and events like this do truly have results in helping kids pick up the pace on summer reading.
“Where I’m out in the community more often, I actually do see an uptick in services at our normal bookmobile stops,” Followell shared. “People have seen me now and they’ve recognized me and then they want to come say hi.”
Kids in attendance also had an opportunity to take to the track on their own set of wheels – riding bikes and driving small battery-powered cars.
The bookmobile race brought in vehicles from Boyle, Casey, Lincoln, Marion, and Mercer counties. Once the race finished, the kids got to watch a real race car rip around the dirt track.
“One of our goals was to bring all of the libraries together,” Followell said. “Ultimately, even though this was a friendly competition, our goal was to show that we all want the same thing. We want to just make sure that the community knows that the library is for everyone. It doesn’t matter what your interests are, where you live, we are here for you.”
The bookmobiles started five wide when the green flag dropped. Followell paced the field, leading all the laps and taking the checkered in the inaugural race.
“I got it about a whole 35 miles an hour,” she said. “The only rule I had was I was not allowed to tip it.”
You can learn more about the Boyle County Public Library and its events here.
