Need a book? Look for this bike

Essex County Library is hitting the road next spring with "MIKe the Bike", a Wi-Fi enabled three wheeled bicycle.

"He is our 'Mobile Information Kiosk'," Manuela Denes, Manager of Community Services for the Essex County Library (ECL) told CTV News Friday. "The E stands for everything because we couldn't find another word."

Denes says the bike will tour local trails and attend upcoming public events as a way to find new library patrons.

"We can't always assume that people know about what we've got or even you know, assume that they can get to us. So us reaching them is so important," Denes said.

The bike will travel around with a tablet on board so patrons can sign up for a library a card and download a book "on the spot".

"MIKe the Bike" cost $20,000 and was distributed by the Windsor-Essex Community Foundation (WECF).

"We worked with community foundations in Southwestern Ontario as a hub to distribute over $2.5 million of funding in southwestern Ontario through this initiative," Stephane Marshall, Administrative Coordinator for WECF told CTV News.

Marshall says there are 1,000 projects across Canada that received similar funding through the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative.

"All of these projects are helping communities respond to the realities of COVID-19 and creating safe and healthy spaces where people can access technology, safely gather and use our outdoor space," said Marshall.

Bike Windsor-Essex jumped on board to help ECL select the right cargo bike and to train staff on how to operate it safely.

"I think that this is going to start even more companies, organizations thinking about how to get to reach the people that they're trying to reach," said Lori Newton of Bike Windsor-Essex.

Staff have already volunteered to take a shift on the bike as part of their outreach work.

Denes says they will be trained over the winter and MIKe will hit the streets next spring.