Books on the Move: Bookmobiles, Mobile Libraries and More

A library that comes to you is a dream for big readers like myself. But the mission of initiatives like bookmobiles and other moving or temporary libraries is about more that just convenience. Bringing the joy of reading as well as providing free access to knowledge is the ultimate goal. As I sit in one of the three main buildings of the largest library in the world, I am spoiled for choice. But what if there was no library within reach of you? One way libraries carry on the mission of sharing their collections more broadly is through bookmobiles–libraries on wheels!

Here we have the Gastonia Public Library’s customized bookmobile, ready to roll through Gaston County, North Carolina, bringing a librarian and books to established book stations. The bookmobile debuted in 1937 and was cleverly referred to as Parnassus, from the book “Parnassus on Wheels” by Christopher Worley. It’s an apt literary reference, as “Parnassus on Wheels” tells the story of a woman who owns a traveling bookstore, books piled high atop a horse-drawn wagon.

Decades later, bookmobiles continue to thrive, using larger trucks and buses to take literature on the road. Here is an example of the Library on the Go truck, part of the Baltimore County Public Library system in Maryland.

A peek inside reveals rows of neatly shelved books, and a librarian on hand to check out titles to eager readers.

Some mobile libraries look far less elaborate but accomplish the same goal. Workers for the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s were often laboring in remote areas. Here we see a shelf or two of books and magazines attached to the back of a wagon that visited these work zones and provided entertainment after a long workday.

Temporary libraries, or ones set up to serve a specific community for weeks or months at a time, are another way the library can come to you. For example, at a Farm Security Administration mobile camp for migratory farm workers in 1941, a temporary library provides reading material for the off hours, as seen below:

In that same way, soldiers are often removed from amenities like libraries when they are in camp or deployed. During World War I, the American Library Association established the Library War Service. They then took on the job of collecting and bringing books directly to soldiers, providing entertainment and education. Dozens of camp libraries were established in the U.S. and Europe to facilitate this process. Here we see a group of avid readers crowding around a book truck at Kelly Field Library in San Antonio, Texas.

The camp library was sometimes a more substantial building, as seen here at Camp Kearny. The original caption for this photo describes the camp library as “the most popular place in camp.” The long porch full of soldiers holding books and reading supports that statement!

Have you noticed any mobile, makeshift, or otherwise temporary libraries in your neighborhood?

Learn More:

• See additional photos of the work of the ALA’s Library War Service and read this Teaching with the Library blog entry for more information: Bringing Books to World War I Soldiers: The Library War Service.
• You may have seen mini libraries around your neighborhood, where you can swap books with fellow readers. Peruse an assortment of these small literary outposts.