Boyne District Library Expands Student Access with AutoLend Installation at Boyne City High School

When Boyne District Library Director Monica Peck saw a gap in student access, she did what strong library leaders do best: she looked for a practical way to meet the need.

Boyne City High School no longer operates with a traditional, staffed physical library. Instead, the school partners directly with Boyne District Library to connect students with the resources they need, including digital materials, research databases, LearningExpress Library, and now, automated lending.

With support from local donors, community partners, library funding, and the Friends of the Boyne District Library, Peck helped secure the funding needed to bring an AutoLend installation to Boyne City High School. The result is a new access point designed specifically for high school students—one that brings library materials closer to where students already spend their day.

A Community Partnership Built Around Student Access

Boyne District Library has long served as more than a downtown library building. The library's mission is rooted in connection, learning, and community service, and its outreach model already reaches students across Boyne City Public Schools.

Through its bookmobile, Boyne District Library provides library service to elementary and middle school students, helping ensure younger readers have regular access to books and materials throughout the school year. The bookmobile has become an important bridge between the public library and the school system, bringing resources directly to students instead of waiting for students to come to the library.

The new AutoLend installation extends that same outreach strategy to high school students.

Meeting High School Students Where They Are

High school students have different schedules, responsibilities, and learning needs. Between classes, extracurriculars, jobs, homework, transportation, and family commitments, getting to the public library is not always simple.

By placing AutoLend inside Boyne City High School, Boyne District Library is creating a more convenient way for students to access physical library materials on campus. The installation supports a larger service model where students can benefit from both digital resources and automated lending without depending on a staffed school library space.

This is not just a technology installation. It is a service solution.

As more schools transition away from traditional staffed libraries, public libraries are exploring new ways to ensure students continue to have convenient access to books, technology, and learning resources. Innovative solutions such as automated lending kiosks, expanded digital collections, and community partnerships are helping libraries extend their reach beyond their buildings and into the places students already learn.

It helps answer a practical question many communities face:

How can libraries continue supporting students when the traditional school library model is no longer available?

For Boyne District Library, the answer is partnership, outreach, and smart placement. By bringing AutoLend directly into Boyne City High School, the library has created a practical, scalable solution that keeps library resources within easy reach of students throughout the school day.

Supporting the Whole School Community

Boyne District Library's student outreach model now includes multiple access points across age groups.

For elementary and middle school students, the bookmobile brings materials directly to school buildings and community stops. For high school students, AutoLend creates an on-campus lending option that supports independent access, research, reading, and discovery.

Together, these services create a more complete library access ecosystem.

Students can connect with library resources through:

• Bookmobile service
• Digital collections
• Research and learning databases
• LearningExpress Library
• Public library cards and student access
• Automated lending through AutoLend

This type of model reflects the evolving role of public libraries as educational partners. Libraries are not only serving patrons inside the building. They are extending service into schools, neighborhoods, community centers, and other places where people already live, learn, and gather.

Local Support Made the Project Possible

The Boyne City High School AutoLend installation was made possible through community investment.

Local donors, partners, library funding, and the Friends of the Boyne District Library all played a role in helping bring the project to life. That support reflects a shared understanding: student access to library materials matters.

When a community invests in access, it invests in student success.

The project also demonstrates how libraries can use technology thoughtfully. AutoLend is not replacing the relationship between students and the library. It is strengthening that relationship by making access easier, more visible, and more convenient.

A Model for Modern Library Outreach

The Boyne District Library and Boyne City High School partnership offers a meaningful example for other communities facing similar challenges.

Not every school has a traditional staffed library. Not every student can easily visit the public library after school. Not every access challenge can be solved by adding more hours or more staff.

But with the right combination of leadership, partnership, funding, and service placement, libraries can create new pathways to access.

Boyne District Library's investment in bookmobile service and automated lending shows what is possible when a library looks beyond the building and asks where resources are needed most.

For Boyne City High School students, that answer is now right on campus.

More Than Access

For Monica Peck, the goal has never been simply placing books in students' hands or installing new technology. It is about creating opportunities, building connections, and making sure young people know their library is there for them.

Through the bookmobile, digital resources, research tools, and now AutoLend at the high school, Boyne District Library has intentionally woven itself into the educational experience of students throughout the community.

Peck hopes that years from now, today's students will look back and remember just how present the library was in their lives.

Not because of a specific machine, program, or initiative, but because the library consistently showed up for them.

Whether it was a book discovered through the bookmobile, a research database that helped complete a project, a library card that opened new opportunities, or a book checked out between classes, every interaction is part of a larger investment in student success.

The library's hope is simple: that students leave Boyne City knowing they always had a community partner in their corner.

Looking Ahead

International Library Services is proud to partner with Boyne District Library on this AutoLend installation and to support a project centered on student access, community collaboration, and practical outreach.

Director Monica Peck recognized a need and brought people together to meet it. The result is a forward-thinking service model that helps ensure students continue to have access to books, learning tools, and library resources—even without a traditional school library space.

That is what modern library outreach looks like: flexible, collaborative, and built around the people it serves.