Cairo library awarded $10,000 for mobile expansion into Durham

CAIRO—The wheels are no longer hypothetical. After months of anticipation and a final push through a competitive national process, the Cairo Public Library has officially secured $10,000 from the American Library Association’s Transforming Communities initiative.

The funds will go toward the purchase and insurance of a reliable, year-round minivan, the backbone of what staff are already calling their “bookmobile,” a mobile extension of the library designed to serve neighboring Durham.

Library Director Corinne Tatavitto, who spearheaded the grant application back in November, sees the project as both practical and deeply personal.

“This is a huge passion project for Adrian and I and we want it to be impactful for many, many people in this new territory,” Tatavitto said.

That “Adrian” is Adrian Pierce, board representative and Mid-Hudson Library System ambassador, who has worked alongside Tatavitto to shape the initiative from concept to reality.

Together, they envision a vehicle stocked with books, materials, and programming—pulling into familiar places: school lots at dismissal, community hubs, roadside stops along Durham’s rural stretches.

The award follows the library’s advancement to the fourth and final round of the Accessible Small and Rural Communities Grant, a program aimed at expanding access to populations in towns under 25,000 residents. Cairo, serving roughly 6,000, stood out.

The need is not abstract. Since the closure of Durham’s reading room in 2023, residents have faced a quiet but persistent gap in access—particularly those with mobility challenges or limited transportation.

Though the van itself is still to be secured, the shelves are already beginning to fill.

The library has collected approximately 100 donated books, spanning genres and age groups, forming the foundation of a collection meant to serve both adults and young readers. Additional materials are being sourced from the remnants of Durham’s former reading room, giving the project a sense of continuity as well as renewal.

Community members are now encouraged to contribute.

Book donations are actively sought, with staff emphasizing accessibility and variety—materials that are digestible across generations.

Local businesses will be invited to sponsor the initiative by contributing funds in exchange for magnetic logos displayed on the vehicle’s exterior, turning the van into a moving testament to community investment.

At the same time, the library is opening the floor for public input.

Two upcoming gatherings will give residents a chance to help shape how the service operates. They will take place on May 13 at 1:30 p.m. at the Acra Community Center and May 19 at 11 a.m. at the library.

The goal, Tatavitto said, is to ensure the service reflects the needs of those it intends to reach.

“We want to bring something outside the walls of the library that will provide its traditional amenities and resources that we’ve all come to love,” she said.

If all goes as planned, sometime soon, a van loaded with books will begin making its rounds—quietly turning corners, crossing town lines, and bringing with it something Durham has been missing: a library, arriving right on time.

And it is not the only development on the horizon.

Tatavitto also announced that the library’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) program will host a grand opening on July 11 at 11 a.m., unveiling a new public-use 3D printer thanks to grant money secured by local Legislator Sherry True.