Murfreesboro City Schools (MCS) is preparing to take reading on the road this summer. MCS will add a library on wheels to encourage reading during the summer months and throughout the year. The MCS mobile library is funded through Christy-Houston Foundation grant.

“Summer reading loss can be a big issue in the success of a student,” says Caresa Dodson, Reading and Intervention Coordinator. “Bringing a mobile library to neighborhoods will help children and families have easier access to books and the power of reading.”

Through the mobile library, children can receive books weekly during the summer. Additionally, staff members will provide literacy activities work with parents to model good reading habits and help select age appropriate books. The bus will contain an array of children’s favorite books as well as extra activities and a Wi-Fi feature. The bus will be used in the fall and spring to extend learning opportunities for parents—with topics such as how to develop healthy habits in their children and what learning to expect in various grade levels.

“A child’s summer learning experience in early years will make a difference in high school and college careers,” says Joe Marlin, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction. “We need to take down barriers as well as nurture and cultivate a child’s natural curiosity. To borrow a quote from Dr. Seuss, ‘Oh, the places you’ll go…with a book’.”

An out-of-service school bus will be repurposed to house the mobile library. The air-conditioned bus will include shelving and seating as well as tablets and a video presentation lab for enrichment programs. This literacy initiative aims to help children discover a passion for reading.

Children from age two through sixth grade and their families can check out books, read and keep them in their home library or return them and be registered for prizes.

MCS is currently conducting a naming competition with students and staff to help name the mobile book bus. Additionally, a book drive will be held in April to help stock the bus’s library.

The Christy-Houston Foundation, Inc. is a private, health legacy foundation that strives to enhance the quality of life in Rutherford County, with special emphasis on health care, by distributing grants to local programs and projects that reflect their mission.