The literary appetites of primary school children in regional Victoria are being well catered for by the Department of Education, Employment and Training’s Mobile Area Resource Centre (MARC) program.

The MARC program involves a number of mobile libraries servicing groups of schools. Whilst the majority of these schools also have their own library, the MARC vans complement this role, giving the schools access to a wider range of stock and resources, provided through a qualified teacher librarian.

Operating in the outer western area of Victoria is teacher librarian Miff Hawkins and her MARC van, an Isuzu NPR 250 which services Bullengarook, Balliang East, Coimadai and Mickleham primary schools.

"I took on the position in April,1999. It was originally for six months, but when the chance came to stay on, I was very pleased as I found it a refreshing change after being in a classroom or library for the past nine years," Miff said.

"I was a little apprehensive about getting behind the wheel of the truck at first, but that didn’t last long, it’s so easy to drive."

Servicing approximately 180 children over the four schools, the truck holds a stock of 2,700 books and has its own computer catalogue and borrowing system.

Each school is visited on the same day each week, and administration and stock rotation is carried out weekly at a base school, in this case I,averton Plains.

Each MARC van has its own budget, allowing the stock to be tailored to the specific requirements and interest areas of the schools it services.

Covering around 500 kilometres in the truck per week, Miff is also responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the truck.

"I usually only need to fill the fuel tank once a week, and I also arrange the servicing through Westar in Footscray.

"It was a bit daunting dropping it off at first, all these trucks and truckies cruising about, but the guys there look after me," Miff said.

"At the end of the day we’re all driving trucks."