RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - The tried-and-true bookmobile of the past is no longer the same as the bookmobile of today, at least not in the way you remember it from childhood. According to Mike Cleaves of the Rutherford County Library System, the local bookmobile is a high-tech, fully functioning library on wheels that visits the rural areas of the community, often serving the underserved with a touch of technology…

While covering all 620+ square miles of Rutherford County is a significant undertaking, staff are grateful that they don’t have to camp out to reach every nook and cranny. In some of the more remote areas of the United States, you’d be surprised at what bookmobile staff do to ensure their communities are served. Cleaves shares one story from the deep northwest...

He recalled one story shared at a bookmobile convention that involved wildlife… There is a sizable white-tailed deer population in Michigan, estimated to be about 1.7 million, an increase from the 1.5 million reported in 2015. Michigan is also home to elk, moose, and even American bison, making its wildlife scene a bit more diverse than Tennessee’s deer population, which is estimated to be around 900,000. Elk and bison were once native to the Volunteer State, but moose never roamed the hills of Tennessee. Currently, the elk population in Tennessee includes 400 to 450 individuals, most of which reside in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cataloochee Valley. Tennessee also hosts about 350 domestic bison, with the majority living at Shelby Farms Park, where they are cared for by park rangers and veterinarians.

Back on the home turf, you can find out which adventurous area the local bookmobile will visit next in Rutherford County, by checking out “RCLSTN.org/Where-Is-The-Bookmobile.”

• Hear our past interview with the library - CLICK HERE.