John Shannon, children’s librarian at the McArthur Library, restocks the little free library in Saco from the library’s new Libracycle, a book-mobile type bike designed to help expand library outreach outside the physical space, in Saco last week. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

BIDDEFORD — Away from his desk at the McArthur Public Library, children’s librarian John Shannon might be found, well, anywhere.

The last few weeks, Shannon has ridden up and down Main Street, crossed the Saco River and stopped on residential lawns, restocking Little Free Libraries on McArthur’s new electric cargo bike. He calls it the “Libracycle.”

“(It’s) like a bookmobile for the 21st century,” Shannon said, demonstrating the bike before a delivery run Monday. “It’s a lot of fun to ride around, mainly because anytime you’re stopped at a red light, people are like ‘What is that?’ They roll down their window, or they’re shouting from the street.”

Manufactured by German firm Riese and Müller, the bike can haul up to 120 pounds – or around 40 books, by Shannon’s estimation – without getting tangled in vehicle traffic. Shannon said it cost around $9,000 and was paid for by a grant from the nonprofit Maine Community Foundation. It’s one of several ways the Biddeford library is expanding outreach beyond its physical space.

The library announced its new wheels via a Facebook post in late August. Since then, Shannon said, the libracycle has been in a sort of soft-launch period, stocking little free libraries on both sides of the Saco River.

Shannon said library administrators hope to begin piloting a home-bound delivery program in the coming months, delivering books to those who can’t reliably make it to the library’s Main Street location. The pilot will likely be offered first at assisted living facilities, where Shannon can visit multiple residents in one stop, he said.

Others, like McArthur’s archivist, have signaled an interest in using the bike to haul materials for off-site lectures and events, Shannon said, though those plans are still in their infancy.

On several trips last week, Shannon carted around dozens of children’s books, stopping to refill libraries in the downtowns of Biddeford and Saco. Counting vehicle traffic and time spent parking, it was, at times, quicker to bike than to drive the few blocks between stops.

“It’s fast,” Shannon said after waiting for a reporter to catch up with him at a Little Free Library outside the Saco Scoop. He lined up the books inside, snapped before and after photos and hit the road toward a neighborhood a few blocks away; the whole stop took just a few minutes.

John Shannon, children’s librarian at the McArthur Library, rides off after restocking the little free library in Saco with the new Libracycle last week. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

As he filled a little library off Saco’s Main Street, a neighbor, Shonee Strickland, called out. She carried a basket of raspberries.

“I thought I heard your voice,” Strickland said from down the road. “There’s a commotion over at the little library. It must be Mr. John.”

She offered him one of the raspberries – picked moments earlier, she said. Strickland said she and her two children regularly visit McArthur for Shannon’s story time readings, and they’ve been excited to see him around tending the libraries around town.

“My daughter knows Mr. John. She would never forget him,” Strickland said.

STORIES ON THE GO

Shannon said book deliveries and wide selections at little libraries help extend access to those unable to make it to McArthur in person. That could include children walking from their bus stop after school, parents whose Saturdays are full with sports and grocery trips or older adults who may not have access to reliable transportation, he said.

Shonee Strickland, second from right, runs over to say hello to Carrow MacLean, left, as they and John Shannon, second from left, and Eli MacLean, right, chat outside of the little free library in Saco on Sept. 27. Shannon and Carrow MacLean both work at the MacArthur Library in Biddeford and Strickland comes in often with her daughters. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

For the past few weeks, Shannon has lent his voice to another project that aims to expand McArthur’s outreach beyond its walls: the weekly Story Line.

One of a handful in the nation – and one of only a few in New England – McArthur’s Story Line is a call-in service where children and families can hear a prerecorded story taped onto an answering machine. Children’s librarian Carrow MacLean, who leads the youth services department’s outreach team, recorded the project’s first story in February 2022. Shannon has covered for MacLean since she went on maternity leave in August.

MacLean said she aims for a wide variety of stories, and she tries to tie in the weekly selection with any upcoming holidays or events. When McArthur is closed for a holiday, she said the Story Line – like the Libracycle-stocked libraries – remains a point of connection.

“It’s saying ‘Hey, just a reminder, we’re closed today, but your library is still here for you,’ ” MacLean said. “Even if we aren’t physically in the building, your library still has lots of ways that you can interact with it.”

Since the program uses a traditional phone line and answering machine, MacLean said the library is unable to chart exactly how many people call the Story Line each week. But some listeners have made calling in a regular part of the weekly rhythm, she said.

“A lot of the feedback that I’ve gotten are from people that I don’t know, that I don’t see in the library often,” MacLean said. “They’ve invited us into their homes and their routines, and we’re part of that without really knowing.”

John Shannon, children’s librarian at the McArthur Library, outside of the little free library in Saco with the library’s new Libracycle on Friday. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

MacLean said that, without that data, she sometimes wonders how big an impact the line actually has, whether she’s just reading stories into a tangled abyss of phone lines. But the messages from listeners help ease that worry, she said.

Shannon, meanwhile, gets to see how many books have been taken and exchanged whenever he refills a library – even if he’s not there to see people browse.

Emma Bouthillette, 38, an author who lives in Biddeford, said Shannon has filled up the library on her lawn at least once. He came by after a friend tagged her on one of McArthur’s Facebook posts about the cargo bike.

“My neighbor snapped a picture him … in front of my little free library, and texted me saying that I was getting a special delivery,” Bouthillette said. “I think it’s really cool what they’ve started to do.”

She said Shannon’s deliveries are especially helpful for the handful of little libraries at the parks and public courtyards around town, which may not otherwise have someone paying attention to them.

“It’s nice to have McArthur Library engaged and refilling those,” she said. “Giving them a little love.”