FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Kathy Mayo, Lee County Library System
                (941) 390-3234

OFFICIAL UNVEILING FOR WINNING BOOKMOBILE DESIGN

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 26, 2001) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners and the Lee County Library System will recognize the winning design team for the newly painted Bookmobile at an unveiling ceremony Tuesday (Jan. 30) morning.

The ceremony will be at 9 a.m. in front of the Old County Courthouse, 2120 Main Street in downtown Fort Myers.

Brandon Cornellier’s idea was to have readers actively in motion: skating, swimming, biking, swinging and boating. The 7-year-old boy sketched the design and Joe Paso, his grandfather, airbrushed the artwork maintaining Brandon’s design, which has been painted on the Bookmobile.

The News-Press partnered with the Library System in promoting the contest, which was held during October and November.

The Bookmobile serves children and adults at several types of stops: low-income neighborhoods and housing projects, rural communities, correctional and rehabilitation institutions, programs for at-risk children, and summer parks and recreation programs. The 40-foot vehicle, purchased in 1991, has a cellular data (CDPD) connection to the library’s automation system and a computer providing patrons with access to CD-ROM products. The Bookmobile was the first countywide service when the Library System started in the mid-1960s. About 75 percent of its patrons are children and teens and the collection reflects that breakdown. Staff provides short programs – storytelling, puppet shows and craft projects – at many of the 26 biweekly stops.