Evie is out and about on the road bringing library services, books, and much more to Larimer County but doesn’t use any fossil fuel.

At their regular Administrative Matters meeting, the Board of Larimer County Commissioners previewed the Poudre River Public Library District’s new mobile library, Evie, Colorado’s first all-electric mobile library. Evie was built to reach out to communities in Northern Colorado where residents don’t have easy access to library services.

To help foster transformational programs to benefit our community, the Board of Larimer County Commissioners contributed an Immediate Needs Grant through American Rescue Plan Act funding to the library district, to help purchase the van.

Evie is a Ford F-350 Transit Van that’s 11 feet tall and 20 feet long, powered by two 300 AH Lithium batteries, and three 175-watt solar panels on her roof to supply interior components like outlets, a retractable awning, and more. Lightning eMotors in Loveland https://lightningemotors.com/ converted the van to an all-electric vehicle.

Evie is a hefty vehicle since the van can carry up to 1,000 pounds, plus about 1,500 books and audiobooks while traveling up to 80 miles on a single charge. Evie’s time on the road is planned to focus on early childhood literacy programs as well as services for adults.

“Evie has got the coolest license plate ever – it says, ‘We Read’,” said Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally.

For more information or to reserve Evie for a visit, click https://www.poudrelibraries.org/locations/mobile-library.