On the Same Page: Accessible services at RPL

In this week’s article, Reedsburg Public Library staff would like to remind customers of the array of services designed to make the library more accessible to you.

Whether or not there is a “January Thaw” this year, RPL staff are committed to making the library as accessible as possible to everyone. There are several options and tiers of service for you to use to obtain materials depending on your situation and mobility. If winter conditions make it difficult for you to enter the library, library staff offers a curbside service. In this service, you may call the library to request materials, or have your on-hold materials brought out to your vehicle. Simply call the library, let staff know when you are coming, and call again when you reach our loading zone on the east side of the library near the book drop.

If you’re looking for an after-hours pick up, try a locker pick-up, where you schedule a time to pick up your on-hold materials. Library staff places your items in a locker, you scan your library card to open the locker and collect your materials. Lockers are located by the loading zone on Locust Street.

The Library also offers a home delivery service for those who are unable to come to the library building due to visual impairment or disability. Those who wish to take advantage of this program are invited to fill out a Home Service application. Once enrolled in the Independent Home Service Program, library users choose and place holds on their own materials using LINKcat, or call the library to request specific titles; library staff or volunteers will deliver these materials on a schedule established at the time of enrollment.

In the Full-Service Home Delivery Program, which has operated for some time at RPL, library customers fill out a reading interests survey in addition to the home service application. Library staff members will choose approximately ten books each month, which are delivered by library staff and/or volunteers. The Independent and Full Service Home Delivery programs are available to those who live within or near Reedsburg city limits.

For rural residents who are unable to access the library due to a visual or physical disability, there is a mail program funded by the federal government, where individuals may receive two large-print books, audio books or described videos in a special mailer provided by the Library. A home service application and reading interest survey are also required for this service.

On the state level, there are many programs available through the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library, headquartered in Milwaukee. RPL staff can direct you to these additional resources.

To get a Home Service application, or to inquire about any library service or programs, call the Library at 608-768-READ (7323) or email info@reedsburglibrary.org