BY SASHA VANALLEN AND CHRIS ZHANG
THIS IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE SCHOOL BUS, NOR AN AVERAGE SCHOOL LIBRARY, THIS IS A BUS CALLED HEAVEN, ALSO KNOWN AS THE DREAM BUS.
“THE DREAM BUS IS A PUBLIC LIBRARY ON WHEELS,” SAID AMY WINKELMAN, LIBRARY ASSISTANT FOR DANE COUNTY LIBRARY SERVICES.
THIS BUS HAS BEEN ROLLING AROUND MADISON SINCE LAST APRIL, PROVIDING RESOURCES TO SCHOOLS WHO ARE ISOLATED FROM PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
“THEY ALWAYS SAW THE BUS BUT, NO ONE HAD A LIBRARY CARD,” SAID LILIANA BARRERA GROUP LEADER FROM LEOPOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SAYS LILIANA BARRERA, GROUP LEADER FROM LEOPOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHO ASSIST STUDENTS WITH APPLYING FOR LIBRARY CARDS, TO SEE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE.
“THEY RENT MOVIES, SOMETIMES THEY GET BOOK, AND THEY GET VERY EXCITED ABOUT THEM, WHICH EXCITES ME THE MOST ABOUT THE DREAM BUS,” SAID BARRERA.
LEOPOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS NOT THE ONLY STOP WHERE MAGIC TAKES PLACE. THE DREAM BUS IS SERVING EIGHT OTHER SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY CENTERS ALL AROUND DANE COUNTY. BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO IMPROVE READING ACCESSIBILITY, ONE BOOK AT A TIME.