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Fall River library expands bookmobile outreach; passport service paused pending administrative transfer
Summary
The public library’s director told the finance committee the city’s bookmobile is expanding school and community outreach, that fines are low for that program, and that passport service is temporarily paused while the city works to route passport fees into a revolving or general fund.
The Fall River Public Library reported to the finance committee that its new bookmobile is operating at schools, parks and senior centers and helping expand access to materials; the director also said passport processing is paused while the city determines how to route revenue.
Library Director Felicia Desmeris told the committee the bookmobile has been active at summer programs and in school visits; staff are currently not charging overdue fines for items circulated from the bookmobile and instead use replacement fees when items are lost. "There is no fines for anything that goes out on the bookmobile," Desmeris told the committee, adding that the vehicle’s limited storage footprint constrains how many titles can be carried and that the library is adjusting collection purchases accordingly.
The committee also asked about passport application processing. Desmeris said passport intake had been handled by the Friends of the Library (a nonprofit), which covered postage and operational costs and used receipts for programming. City staff recommended routing passport receipts into a city revenue account or a revolving fund so the library can use the proceeds directly for programming and operations; the director said the library will resume passport intake once the administrative transfer is finalized.
Why this matters: the bookmobile expands access to library materials for children and adults who do not easily reach the main library; the passport service provides a modest community convenience and generates fees that the library wants to direct toward local programming. Committee members asked staff to provide a timeline for restoring passport service and for a report on bookmobile usage and circulation statistics.
