LA PLATA — Charles County residents who can no longer get to a library branch because of illness, disability or recovery from an injury can have books, audiobooks and movies brought to their door each month at no cost through the Charles County Public Library’s Homebound Delivery service.
The library publicized the service Oct. 20, pitching it as a way to keep residents who are stuck at home connected to reading and to the library itself. Under the program, a member of CCPL’s Mobile Outreach Services team visits each participant once a month, drops off up to 10 items and collects the previous month’s materials, according to the library’s Homebound Delivery page.
“The library is a connection to stories, information, and the community,” said Annie Adams, CCPL’s outreach supervisor. “Homebound Delivery allows us to make that connection possible for Charles County residents who may not be able to visit us in person.”
The service is aimed at the readers a branch-based library is most likely to lose: people who can no longer drive, patients recovering at home and residents of assisted living or nursing facilities. For them, the library comes to the house on a regular schedule instead of waiting for a visit that may never happen.
Who qualifies
The service is open to Charles County residents who meet one of three tests, according to the library:
- A medical condition permanently or temporarily limits their ability to visit the library.
- They cannot leave home because of illness, disability or injury.
- They live in an assisted living, nursing or retirement community.
Because the first test covers conditions that limit a visit “permanently or temporarily,” the service is not limited to people who are homebound for good. It also covers residents whose mobility is limited for a stretch, such as during recovery from an injury.
The potential pool is not small. The U.S. Census Bureau’s QuickFacts estimates Charles County had 176,593 residents in July 2025. About 15.4% were 65 or older, roughly 27,000 people. Separately, 8.1% of residents younger than 65 reported a disability in the 2020-2024 survey period. Not everyone in those groups is homebound, and the library did not say how many people are enrolled or how many it can serve.
How it works
Participants can ask for specific titles or let library staff pick items based on their interests and reading habits, which CCPL describes as bringing the experience of browsing the library to customers at home. Items are checked out for the full month between visits.
Deliveries can include regular and large-print books, audiobooks on CD and DVDs. Staff can also help homebound readers with downloadable e-books and e-audiobooks.
To sign up, residents first review the library’s Homebound Delivery Services Guidelines, then apply one of three ways: online through the library’s website, by emailing a paper application to MobileLibrary@ccplonline.org, or by calling 301-456-4333. A member of the Mobile Outreach team then contacts the applicant within about a week to confirm their information, talk through reading preferences and schedule the first delivery.
The library’s page lists no fee for the service and describes it as running year-round.
Part of a wider outreach push
Homebound Delivery is run by CCPL’s Mobile Library branch at 2 Garrett Ave. in La Plata. Beyond it, the library system operates four branches, the Mobile Library, the Discovery Lab, a 24-hour library kiosk at the Nanjemoy Community Center and a library location inside the Charles County Detention Center, according to the library. It holds more than 200,000 volumes, and more than 75,000 county residents carry library cards.
The service is the latest in a string of outreach efforts from CCPL this fall. In September, the library teamed up with the Department of Social Services to get books to children and rolled out free AI literacy workshops. It also follows a period of labor tension: CCPL employees ratified their first union contract in late August, weeks after workers and management declared an impasse after 14 months of talks.
Neighboring systems take different approaches. St. Mary’s County Library’s Mobile Library and outreach program schedules monthly visits of 30 to 90 minutes at senior facilities, along with community stops, but its outreach page does not list delivery to individual homes. CCPL’s program goes to the reader’s own door, whether that is a private home or a care facility.
CCPL’s Homebound Delivery page was posted Oct. 7, and the library’s announcement did not say when deliveries first began. Residents who think they qualify can apply now through ccplonline.org/homebound or by calling the Mobile Library at 301-456-4333; the first delivery is scheduled once outreach staff complete the follow-up contact.
