HANOVER — At least 39 communities in this parish will benefit from a new bookmobile that was recently handed over during a ceremony on the grounds of the Success Primary and Junior High, nestled in hills in the parish’s southeast.

Success was selected as the venue for the ceremony as the community has earned the distinction of being the most popular bookmobile stop, especially for adult readers, since the original service began in 1979.

In 1985, the service was terminated due to mechanical problems on the original vehicle; but in September 1997, in response to a growing hunger for knowledge, the parish library’s Mitsubishi Pajero SUV was introduced to service the routes.

This vehicle, however, was not designed to facilitate the requirements of a bookmobile — frequent entering and exiting, and the unpacking, sorting and repacking of numerous boxes of books.

Then the Japanese government came to the rescue, donating a Mitsubishi coaster bus with a spacious aisle between shelves on both sides of the vehicle.

The much-improved accommodations and larger capacity to hold books has been applauded by residents, some of whom gleefully ran behind the new bookmobile as it entered the parish for the dedication ceremony.

“Good move man, very good move,” said Shernette Frazer, who has been borrowing books from the bookmobile for years.

But the new vehicle will not hit the road right away. It will temporarily be used as Green Island’s branch library as that facility is now being extensively repaired.

However it is expected that the bookmobile will become mobile in July, when it will service at least eight routes and 39 stops every two weeks.

This is being greatly anticipated as there are only six branch libraries in Hanover and children sometimes find it difficult to raise the fare to get to these locations.

Soon, the bookmobile will come to them.

“There are several communities without a branch library so I hope that those that we reach out to will use the opportunity to read and subsequently reduce illiteracy,” acting senior librarian at the Hanover Parish Library, Marvetta Stewart, told the Observer.

Theo Chambers, president elect of the Rotary Club of Lucea, who delivered the keynote address at the handing over ceremony, stressed that “education is the most important factor for the growth of any community”.

“When people are literate they will have a better understanding of the economic structure and the political system and will be better able to support themselves,” he said.

Chambers, who is trying to encourage reading in the Success community, made separate offers of $2,000 and $1,000 in credit at Bank of Nova Scotia accounts to the two students who read the most books over the next month. He also promised to visit the school and teach the top readers how to create websites, as well as offer lessons in martial arts to one student who wants to be a martial arts instructor when he becomes an adult.