A Tribute to the Bookmobile
There
are few visions of library service that are more inspiring than that of a
bookmobile and its staff providing books to young children. The concept and
reality of bookmobile service started in
Hagerstown, Maryland in April, 1905 when Mary L. Titcomb, the Librarian of the
Washington County Free Library, sent out the first book wagon
in the United States from the library. Titcomb had designed the book wagon
which had space for 200 books on the outside of the wagon and storage space for
more books on the inside. The driver of the wagon which was pulled by two horses was the janitor for the
library. This envelope was mailed from the Washington County Free Library just
10 months after the book wagon service was initiated.
Preceding bookmobiles as the primary method of library outreach to rural areas were small rotating collections of books called traveling libraries. To find out more about these libraries click here.
The Washington County Free Library was also one of the first libraries in the United States to use a motorized vehicle as a bookmobile. This image from the Wisconsin Historical Society's International Harvester Company digital collection shows the Washington County Free Library's first motorized bookmobile. The image is from the May 1913 issue of Harvester World magazine. More information on this vehicle can be found at the Western Maryland Regional Library's website.
Click here to see the Western Maryland Regional Library's digital record of Washington County Free Library's bookmobile.
In
1957 the Gerstenslager Co., a major maker of bookmobiles, issued this postcard
advertisement which saluted the Washington County Free Library for being the
first operator of book wagons in the United States. The postcard notes that
Gerstenslager is honored to have recently delivered bookmobile No. 12 to the
Washington County Free Library. The bookmobile is pictured on the front of
the postcard which is shown below.
Postcards
depicting bookmobiles is one of the categories of
library postcards that I collect.
This
metal coin commemorates the first bookmobile in Hagerstown, Maryland. It
was issued in 1968 by the Interstate Coin Club.
This
1924 restored bookmobile may be the oldest existing bookmobile in the world.
It belongs to the Everett Public Library in Washington and is named "Pegasus".
It was the first bookmobile in Washington State. Thanks to the Everett
Public Library for permission to use this photo. To see more images of the
bookmobile and its restoration click
here.
A
postcard showing an early bookmobile serving Staten Island, New York.
A
stereo-view showing a bookmobile serving children in the City of Chicago.
The
Cumberland County Library in New Jersey used an illustration of an antique
bookmobile on its meter stamps in 1968.
This
is a photograph of the Blue Grass Regional Library bookmobile in front of the
Maury County (Tennessee) Public Library, probably in the late 1950s or early
1960s. Note that the bookmobile and the two women are being filmed. Early
in my library career I worked for the Clinch Powell Regional Library in
Tennessee and on occasion I had the opportunity to drive a bookmobile with
similar signage. The regional libraries in Tennessee are administered by
the Tennessee State Library and Archives. The photograph is courtesy of the
Maury County Public Library.
This postcard shows the bookmobile of the Monroe County
Traveling Library in Rochester, New York sometime in the 1920s. An
enlargement of the bookmobile is shown below.
To see bookmobiles on postage stamps click here.
Where
bookmobiles go to die. I came across this "retired" bookmobile while
vacationing in Washington state. One can only imagine the the impact that
it had on the lives of children and adults before it gave up the ghost.
The Smith Branch of the New Orleans Public Library was made unusable as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The librarians, Friends of Libraries, and other citizens of Medina, Ohio came to the rescue by refitting their recently retired bookmobile and donating it to the New Orleans Public Library to serve the area formerly served by the Smith Branch. This prompted Theresa Laffey, Outreach Services Manager for the Medina County District Library to observe “Some bookmobiles never die; they just change locations”. To read more about the donated bookmobile click here. To see pictures of the dedication of the bookmobile click here.
For more images of bookmobiles go to the Flikr Bookmobile Group.