The Book Bus Brings PA Children Books For Summer

School may be out, but a bus traveling around a Pennsylvania community is making sure local children are not without learning opportunities. The Book Bus is giving books to the children of West Allegheny School District’s younger students.

The bus is the result of a collaborative project between the school district, the Western Allegheny Community Library and Monark Student Transportation Corp. Monark, the district’s school bus contractor, donated the small bus to be repurposed into the mobile library.

“We are extremely excited about the partnership with the library and Monark, and anticipate tremendous benefit to our community as a result,” said Dr. Jerri Lynn Lippert, superintendent of the West Allegheny School District.

Lippert said meetings between the district, library, and Monark began back in October, to ensure the Book Bus was prepared to be making stops in the community this summer.

The mobile book resource, which is offering books for children of all ages, will be making many stops throughout West Allegheny, including stops at a park, pool community center, and local fire station. The full schedule of stops is available on Facebook.

In addition to donating the bus for the project, Monark also designed the interior and exterior for the Book Bus, as well as paying for the cost of converting the bus. The Book Bus holds over 1,500 books, along with storage and reading areas.

“The Book Bus represents a true community partnership that will remove barriers and promote literacy for all of our children,” Lippert said.