Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow?

Well, we survived our first taste of winter this past week and as always there were success stories (shout out to Brentwood) and stories with less success (too many to list). I travel to the North Shore from the very southern depths of Allegheny County, driving that lovely road Route 51. Apparently it is maintained section by section by the local community, so it is an interesting and challenging patchwork ranging from well-cleared and salted to surfaces that have seen a salt truck in recent history to wilderness travel (I exaggerate of course). Even the various neighborhoods of Pittsburgh that 51 winds through have an astounding range of clearing, Overbrook being good, West End not so good, North Shore - we won't talk about that.

This is always a challenging season for us bookmobilers. Trying to decide what the weather will do as the day progresses, how well the streets will really be cleared, how well the sidewalks to the senior facilities and the Head Start buildings will be salted - it is an art that we are constantly working to improve. We have to consider the sure-footedness of the particular vehicle. The big community route buses are like tanks. The senior bus is skittish even with wet leaves and ice is a more interesting challenge. We have to consider the communities we are going to and through, are we taking major roads that will be cleared or are we going to be on secondary roads in communities that don't get to salting for a while. We have to consider the weather forecast and what time of day we are going out. We have to consider the safety of our drivers, the librarians, the patrons and of course the vehicles.

Most libraries have a simple snow plan - if the school district closes, the library closes. Unfortunately, that doesn't work for us except for the preschool route. Many of our preschool sites are in schools, so our preschool librarian gets to watch for closures in a number of communities on a bad snow day. The community route runs mostly at night and weekends. By the end of a day, the roads might be nice and clear even if school was cancelled, and of course there is no school on weekends.

Since it is challenging for us to decide whether to drive or not, you should be ready to call us to check whether we are going to be at your community or facility. No book, movie or piece of music is worth risking your safety. We will keep or reorder whatever is on hold for you so that it will be waiting for you on our next visit. We are nice about waiving the fines, especially when the stuff is late due to weather conditions. But most importantly - CALL US!

Monday through Friday 8-4 call us at 412-321-1853. On Saturdays we will answer the phone between 8:30 and 9:30. If you still need an update for evening stops after our regular hours, you can call at 412-726-3525. That will answer only when the weather is bad, so if there is no answer, we plan to be at your stop. And if you call the center during our regular hours and no one answers - it's a snow day. No one could make it to work so get some hot chocolate, snuggle under a warm throw and we will see you next time.

Movie: Snow Day
Book: Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Book: The History of the Snowman: from the ice age to the flea market, by Bob Eckstein