A day in the life of the B.A.T. Mobile


Sara Webster has been waiting for its arrival for several days. She's been excited ever since she heard the The B.A.T.mobile was scheduled to arrive at the library where she works. Each time it has visited, she's been amazed at all of information that is available at her fingertips. As the designated B.A.T.mobile specialist at her community's library, she collects citizens' ideas of how the technology can be put to use during its week-long visit. Sara feels that this is the most invigorating part of her job. She's impressed with the thoughts that people in town have generated. She's also come up with some ideas of her own that push the technology found inside the B.A.T.mobile. So far, she hasn't been let down.

Sara notices that the B.A.T.mobile is pulling up in front of the building. The first time she saw it, she thought it was just an RV with a jazzy paint job and a bright TV stuck to its side. She didn't realize how it would enliven her library. It brings the most current technology to her small town and allows them to be connected to everything imaginable with just a few taps on a touch-sensitive screen. Each time it leaves, another piece of equipment remains to enable her library members to stay connected. She's noticed that the number of people using the library has increased dramatically.

Sara greets Don Starling, the driver and information systems manager of the B.A.T.mobile. She discusses the activities the library has planned for the week and hands him a stack of announcements that the local non-profit organizations have given her. Don tells her he'll have the community events calendar updated and running by noon. It's easy for the library's visitors to keep informed about what is planned for the week. The list continuously runs on the display panel mounted to the side of the B.A.T.mobile.

Sara and Don open the door into the public part of the vehicle. Inside are the pieces that are spread throughout the library. Sara spots the crate containing the dozen Data Slates that will be left behind this time. They take out each of the pieces and locate them inside. E-Study Carrels are placed on tabletops in the Reading Room, Data Slates are stacked next to the check-out desk, and a Multi-Screen Electronic Theatre is set up inside the Community Room.

Once they've unloaded all of the equipment, the storage space becomes one of the most popular features of the B.A.T.mobile -- the B.A.T. Cave. Sara anticipates this afternoon's visit by Mr. Wilkinson's seventh-grade science class. They've arranged for an interactive 3-D tour through the Florida Everglades that has been organized by the National Park Service for transmission to each of the B.A.T.Caves in B.A.T.mobiles across the country.

After all of the pieces have been distributed inside, Don takes his place within the B.A.T.mobile's control room. As he flips the switches to connect to the satellite feeds, Sara's eyes are brightened by the flickering of each of the display panels. She smiles while imagining the connections that she will be a part of this week.