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Funded through over £309,000 from the Libraries Improvement Fund from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, administered by Arts Council England, this project is about much more than replacing an old mobile library.
The vehicle will enable us to redesign how we deliver outreach services, ensuring we can reach more locations, more people and provide more activities.
The new vehicle will:
- Reach rural and disadvantaged areas and new communities in North Somerset
- Be smaller and more flexible than the old mobile library, making it easier to access places with parking or road restrictions
- Offer on‑board Wi‑fi to improve digital access and support skills training
- Provide space for early years activities, cultural events and work skills development
- Continue book lending at popular stops while adding information, advice and guidance sessions
- Be fully accessible, with features shaped by community consultation
- Operate with a lower carbon footprint, supporting our sustainability goals.
- This innovative design means the service can better support children’s literacy, social connection and digital inclusion — while also engaging new communities.
Join us for the public launch
We are launching our new vehicle outside the Town Hall in Weston-super-Mare on Wednesday 28 January between 9.30am and 12 noon.
Whether you stop by for a quick look or stay a little longer, you’ll be able to:
- Explore the electric outreach vehicle up close
- Chat with library staff and learn how the service is evolving
- Find out how the mobile library will help improve access to books, activities and community support across North Somerset.
This is a fantastic milestone for our library service - and we’d love for you to be part of this.
Can’t make the launch? The van is coming to you!
Following the main launch event, the new electric outreach vehicle will also be making mini‑launch visits at its regular stops across the area.
At each stop, members of the library team will be available to:
- Show residents around the vehicle
- Explain its new features and future services
- Answer questions about what the updated mobile library will offer.
These sessions will take place throughout the two weeks following Wednesday 28 January, giving residents across North Somerset plenty of opportunities to discover the new service.
To learn more about the new vehicle, its route, or the mobile library service, visit the North Somerset Libraries website or speak to a member of the team at the launch.
We look forward to seeing you there!