Moby Bookmobile of the Wind River Reservation

Moby Bookmobile’s main goal is to distribute literature and print resources to the tribal populations of the Wind River Indian Reservation, Wyoming.  COVID-19’s impact has interrupted the usual services of schools, libraries and other information centers and this proposal fills a gap in access to reading, health and other information materials.  Far more than mainstream populations Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho families lack Internet access and reliable transportation.  There are many square miles lacking computer access of any kind.  So, to serve families’ needs based on the realities of reservation life, outreach with physical reading materials is critical.  While some suggest outreach in the form of more hotspots and devices to address the population’s lack of technology, the truth is that transportation to reach those hotspots and bandwidth are serious impediments.  This is a typical picture: For those with Internet, about forty percent, imagine a home comprising three or four generations.  Multi-generational families typically live in overcrowded homes, with upwards of a dozen virtual students and office workers vying for Internet connectivity at the same time.  There is inadequate bandwidth to allow everyone to attend to his or her daily tasks, even when enough devices are available.  Then, transportation is similarly inadequate.  Neither public, nor sufficient personal transportation are present.  Of those who need to travel to work or to health appointments cars are in short supply, gas is expensive, vehicles  don’t run reliably.  Hotspots might be present, but getting to them is not always possible.  Moby Bookmobile arrives on schedule at central locations.  By displaying and giving free, new books to all ages the outreach answers two of the greatest problems facing our families.  Our forecast is to continue and expand patrons’ literacy by bringing new reading materials to the places where people can access them.