Get ready for Mary’s Mobile Library – a tricycle is ready to roll!
Library bikes are expensive, but Mary Jordan, SCTCC’s Librarian, had a vision. Jordan was looking at alternative options like a bike with a basket so she could easily bring materials to other campus buildings. Then SCTCC student MaryAnn Hallstein stepped in to donate a delivery bike to the library – it had been used to move items inside a factory in its early life, and now the bike was ready for a new life and new challenges.
While Jordan would have immediately started sharing Library news via bike, it was painted pink. So, she reached out to the Auto Body program and asked if it would be possible to customize the tricycle with SCTCC colors.
“The answer was an enthusiastic yes,” noted Lab Assistant Leanne Pearson.
When asked how she got the job of painting the bike, Auto Body student Alyssa Meadows shared, "I was like, 'I want to paint the bike!' It was interesting changing the fan pattern to make it smaller and then getting the different coverage on the circular tube was fun. I enjoyed it a lot. I want to go into painting, so I'm glad that Tyler and Leanne gave me the opportunity to do it."
Meadows took the project one step further and reached out to Erik’s Bike Shop to see if they could support the effort, and the response was also an enthusiastic yes. The manager donated labor by disassembling the tricycle so students could paint the frame, then reassembling and polishing the chrome after the paint job.
“Mary does so much for this College and creates such meaningful connections and partnerships with her passion for books. Helping her dream come true is something we are happy to be a part of,” Pearson added. “This project shows what happens when student initiative meets community support—learning becomes real, and dreams become possible.”
Now that the tricycle is painted and ready to roll, Mary’s Mobile Library is on the move.
the Before paint job