Boulevard opens a new 24/7 library kiosk. Photo: County of San Diego

BOULEVARD–Boulevard has a new 24/7 Library-to-Go kiosk.

Boulevard residents celebrated the kiosk’s grand opening on Thursday, Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office said.

“This kiosk opens a whole new world for the residents of Boulevard and the outlying areas of Manzanita, Live Oak Springs and Tierra del Sol,” said County Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “Residents can now get free access to books, eBooks and movies at any time of day on any day of the week.”

All it takes to use the self-service kiosk is a County library card. Customers can check out, return and place holds on materials, download audio and eBooks, browse the catalog and tap into a Wi-Fi hot spot. The kiosk looks somewhat like a vending machine and will also stock 350 popular titles and children’s books.

The bookmobile will continue to serve Boulevard at three different stops every two weeks. The bookmobile stops at Live Oak Springs Resort, Clover Flat Elementary and the Boulevard-Campo Education Center every other Tuesday.

The nearest library is located in Jacumba and staff from that branch will replenish the kiosk on a regular basis. The second-nearest library is in Campo and it will provide additional support.

“This site was selected in response to requests from the community,” said County Library Deputy Director Susan Moore. “The new mini library will offer materials for customers of all ages and will provide convenient library services to local Head Start programs, Clover Flat Elementary School and the adjacent community center.”

The Boulevard kiosk is the fourth to become available in San Diego County. The others are located in Kearny Mesa, Bonsall and Chula Vista. A fifth kiosk is planned for Encinitas.

The County Library system also includes 33 branches and two bookmobiles.

For more information about the County Library, visit www.sdcl.org.