Delivery Diary: Dedicated to Service with Alan Schnelle

RAILS Delivery is arguably one of the most crucial services provided to member libraries and one of the most recognizable parts of RAILS' services. According to our RAILS: Numbers that Count data, “In 2024, our 46-delivery staff produced a 2813% return on investment by delivering 7.9 million items to our member libraries.”  RAILS Delivery service operates five days a week. RAILS has five locations that provide service to the library system: Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge, Coal Valley, East Peoria, and Rockford. Delivery service is an integral component of RAILS. 

Without our team of delivery staff, delivery service would not be possible. Their hard work and dedication result in satisfied patrons and more accessible collections. Without drivers, sorters, and floaters, delivery would not be possible, and resource sharing throughout Illinois would suffer. To connect our member libraries to those who work every day to provide them with this essential service, we’ve developed our Delivery Diary series. Read on as we get to know more about RAILS Delivery staff, and hopefully, our libraries as a whole. We will be interviewing one RAILS driver, sorter, or floater in each blog post to learn more about who member libraries rely on for continued service. 

This week’s featured employee, Alan Schnelle, has worked at RAILS for 14 years as a Driver and Sorter and works at the Bolingbrook hub. Bolingbrook is the largest of RAILS' delivery hubs, with 30 staff members, and a service area covering over 600 RAILS member libraries. 

I spoke with Alan Schnelle about his experience at RAILS and some of his favorite activities as of late.  

GG: Why is delivery important to you?  

AS: All the libraries have the same needs, but each one has its individual identity to go along with their communities. Delivery is a constant that they do appreciate. I have people, when I'm unloading the truck at the library, they come over, and they'll tell me how they appreciate the services that we do for them...I very rarely, if ever, have heard somebody say something negative about what they provide because a lot of libraries [are] not just about books. 

They can have spokespeople come, or they have their book clubs. When I'm there in the mornings, there's a lot of mothers who are taking their kids to the activities that the libraries have. I just appreciate what they do. Anyway, that's where I can start out here.

GG: Thank you so much for starting us out. What is your position, and how long have you been at RAILS?

AS: I'm starting my 14th year at RAILS. My position is delivery driver and sorter. I do a double function for RAILS. Yes, I've been here [for] a long time. I have stayed here as long as I have just because I feel like I'm providing a service.

GG: We wouldn't be able to have the same library service without you.

AS: Oh, absolutely. For all the functions that RAILS provides, I think that delivery is the most noticed of all of them. Just because we're out there on the road, we got our trucks with the RAILS logo on the vehicles. I have people, again, tell me, "I saw your truck. Your truck is out there on the road." We do have an identity that people notice.

GG: So, what does a typical day look like for you?

AS: We leave the warehouse with our trucks loaded with the bins that [are to be] delivered to the library. The bins are identified by each library with a tag. We start off early in the morning. Some start off at around six o'clock in the morning to get where we're going. Depending on the weather, because we have to deal with elements, we're fairly consistent with our scheduling. 

I'll do my stuff at the library, and we unload the bins onto a cart. Some libraries might have just one bin, but some of the larger libraries can have 20 or 25-plus bins. The amount of material that is delivered to some of these libraries is pretty impressive, just because they have a staff that can fill 20 bins of material daily. That much material that's being processed and then delivered to the libraries is, in my view, pretty amazing for us. We're not Amazon, of course, or UPS or whatever, but we still do quite a bit of volume to the library.

I get to libraries, [and] I swap bins. I give them what I have, and then I pick up what they have, put it back in the truck, and go to my next stop. I have about 13 stops on my route. Some have more, some have less. It depends on where they have to drive to because some of the drivers have a further drive, but they might have fewer stops. I do around 85 to 100 miles a day on my route. At the end of my last stop, I head back to the warehouse, and we unload the trucks. I will pick up what they've [the sorters] processed during the day, and get the truck loaded and ready for the next day.

GG: Do you like to listen to anything when you drive or work?

AS: All the time. I got my iPod that I listen to either my music or I do some radio podcasts. I do old-time radio programs...Sometimes I'll listen to people being interviewed. There's a person I like; his name's Bob Lefsetz. He interviews mainly people in the music business, but once in a while, he'll have a political person on. 

I can only listen to things in bits and pieces for the most part, just because, like I said, I'll have my stops. One stop might be 5 minutes from my previous one, but then I might have one that's 20 minutes away. Normally, I'm done with the route around noonish, and then I head back.

GG: What's your favorite thing you've watched or read recently?

AS: I like dark comedies. There's one called Vice Principals that I've been watching. There's [another] one called The Righteous Gemstones. They're both on HBO.

I just like stuff that's just a little off-center. That's just like my music. I like a variety of music, not just one genre. I can't say I like some of the newer stuff that's out there, but I grew up in the '70s, and that's where my home base is.

GG: Got you. More classic rock, do you think?

AS: Yes, more like a progressive rock. I do like some of the classics, but I've heard those so many times. Let's say I've listened to something a thousand times, but then somebody else comes out with a cover version of some of the songs. Then I like the cover versions that are done, just because they put a different spin on it.

GG: Do you have a favorite hobby you've been enjoying recently?

AS: Not really a hobby, [but] I have a grandson, and we'll spend time with him when we're able to. I have a fairly big yard, so I take care of the outside with the lawn, and the shrubs, and all that stuff. Just maintaining the home takes up a lot of my time. 

GG: Windows down or windows up?

AS: I'm usually windows up just because of my music. 

GG: It's hard to hear because of the wind.

AS: Yes, that, plus I don't want to annoy people. The trucks have a pretty decent stereo in them, which is nice because we are on the road a lot. If the weather's fairly decent, not when it's 90 degrees above 0, or 20 [degrees] below 0, I'll keep the windows cracked open a little bit. Mainly up, yes.

GG: What's the best interaction you've had while on the job?

AS: The best interactions are [with] the people in circulation. They are just the nicest people, and they're always happy to see me. That's why I like my job, just because the people in circulation are just good people. I think their job is pretty hard because they have to do each individual book. I only have to bring the bins in. I'm amazed at how much they can process, which I've said previously, in a day...I don't sit and chat with them, but we can talk a little bit while I'm doing my job. Sometimes I'll get a patron to come over and just thank us for what we do. 

Then, interactions with the people I work with. We have a really good group of people over at Bolingbrook. I enjoy working with them, and we have some good managers. Demond is fantastic overseeing and managing operations between Burr Ridge and Bolingbrook and that requirements of employees are met and workflow is carried out safely and according to RAILS' policies and Brock holds a lot of things together. He manages the schedules for people. He's the guy that everything centers around him to be able to— 

GG: Keep running.

AS: —keep the place running! We all respect both Demond and Brock.

GG: What do you wish librarians knew about delivery and library employees?

AS: What do I wish they knew?

GG: Yes.

AS: They pretty much know how we function. You know what, I wish they knew how we operate; that they would be able to come to the warehouse just to see operations and how much material we do process. A lot of libraries are impressed with the speed that we're able to get something. They'll be like, "I just ordered this book yesterday!," and I'll get to them. 

Of course, that's not all the time, but it's not a rarity either that we get stuff really quickly from one library to the next. Again, I wield all that to the people in the warehouse. Their job is to get those books sorted, get them in the right bins to be able to get them to the right library.

Interviews for the Delivery Diaries series occurred in June 2025. Special thanks are given to Alan Schnelle and Demond Warfield for their assistance with this post.  

For more information on delivery, please refer to our RAILS Delivery webpage.