Students at the SUNY campus of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse will be able to borrow not only books, but a bike from the library starting this semester.
The new program is starting small, with five bikes available for students to borrow from the campus' Moon Library. All they have to do is fill out a waiver and rental agreement and pay a $20 bike membership fee, then they'll be entitled to unlimited rentals through the year.
Professor Melissa Fierke is the faculty advisor to the Bike Library Committee, and says it would be a great option for students living off campus.
"You can run errands on a bicycle, which is much faster than walking; so in between classes and you only have an hour or so and you need to run home and grab something, you can check out a bike and away you go," Fierke said.
She says if there is more demand, the program could grow. The idea has also gotten interest from SUNY's Neighbor.
"Syracuse University has been talking to us," Fierke said. "They would also like to implement a bike library program, so I've been talking to the people over there about the logistics of how we put this all in place."
Fierke will also be talking soon to the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council about expanding into the city.
"It's a beginning," Fierke said. "If Syracuse University picks up on it and does it as well, I just think it would be huge to have a solid biking infrastructure associated with the campuses here as well as all over the city of Syracuse."
