{"id":145221,"date":"2026-01-22T21:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T21:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/145221\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T21:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T21:17:08","slug":"placentia-library-to-take-books-to-the-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/145221\/","title":{"rendered":"Placentia Library To Take Books to the Streets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Placentia community\u2019s local library is finally going mobile.<\/p>\n

For the first time, the Placentia Library District<\/a> will be launching a bookmobile program: a van hauling collections of books and other items to neighborhoods and schools across the city.<\/p>\n

The van will contain several hundred items, including books from many genres and items like internet hotspots, educational kits, Spanish learning games, board games \u2013 even a robotic cat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an extension of the library\u2019s mission to provide equitable access, information and resources to the community and be able to serve these areas where they were lacking resources because of their transportation barrier,\u201d said Yesenia Baltierra, assistant library director with the district.<\/p>\n

\"\"People rest and work inside the Placentia Library on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

The van will cost the library just over $100,000 a year to maintain, including the cost of insurance, internet, collection development, equipment servicing and general maintenance, according to Baltierra.<\/p>\n

The bookmobile will stop bi-monthly at specific locations and local events, where residents can checkout or return items.<\/p>\n

Some library patrons hope that this means that there will be more afterschool programming for their children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope the Placentia Library can provide more activities and programs for kids, like afterschool programs featuring arts and crafts,\u201d said Hana Yoon, who regularly visits the Placentia Library with her two daughters, Elaine and Irene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my kids to feel familiar in a library, to grow up with a library and books around them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Elaine Yoon, left, and her mother Hana Yoon, right, pose for a photo inside the Placentia Library on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

\u201cI bet the sky\u2019s the limit,\u201d said Kenn Holt of future programming through the bookmobile.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Holt, a longtime patron of the library, regularly visits the branch with his 13-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful idea that they\u2019re not just staying put, that they\u2019re going out and reaching out to the community, especially for underprivileged kids that don\u2019t have access to books easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Kenn Holt works from his phone inside the Placentia Library on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

Baltierra says the library is coordinating visits to Placentia schools, especially those operating Title I programs, to address gaps in access to library services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLibrarians are trained to do a whole range of things, like helping people find out where to file their taxes and register to vote,\u201d said Dr. Thuy Vo Dang, professor of information studies and Asian American studies at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are all ways that libraries help promote civic engagement. When you have something like a mobile unit from a public library going into communities to serve them better, you expand that access significantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A young boy works on a computer at the Placentia Library on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

Placentia joins other library districts across the county like Santa Ana, Anaheim and OC Public Libraries<\/a> in mobilizing local libraries to reach underserved areas in their communities.<\/p>\n

Recently, other agencies \u2013 like the Orange County Clerk-Recorder<\/a> \u2013 have also launched their own programs to provide mobile services.<\/p>\n

\"\"A man works on one of the computers available at the Placentia Library on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

The schedule of stops for the Placentia Library\u2019s bookmobile will be available on the library\u2019s calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the bookmobile will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 24 at the library, located at 411 E. Chapman Ave., Placentia CA 92870.<\/p>\n

Erika Taylor is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow and\u00a0photojournalist. Contact her at etaylor@voiceofoc.org<\/a>or@camerakeepsrolling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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