Long before Amazon was bringing books to your doorstep, there was the Bookmobile! A travelling library often used to provide books to villages and city suburbs that had no library buildings, the bookmobile went from a simple horse-drawn cart in the 19th century to large customised vehicles that became part of American culture and reached their height of popularity in the mid-twentieth century. Let’s take a little trip down memory lane with this forgotten four-wheeler…
Above via Nurismatic Bibliomania
The Public library of Cincinnati’s first bookmobile, circa 1927 / via the Public library of Cincinnati
Bookmobile in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. 170.770 volumes were circulated in 1936 / via the Crossett Library
“Books free for everybody if you vote “yes” / via the ‘librariana’ collection, Hans Krol.
Inside a bookmobile, date unknown / via Bibliobussen
A bus with a view, 1967 / via Bibliobussen
An early bookmobile horse and cart in Washington D.C / via Crossett Library
An impatient queue for a Dutch bookmobile / via BiblioBussen
The Library’s bookmobile in Sharonville, circa 1938/ via Public Library of Cincinnati
Bookmobile staff / via the Public library of Cincinnati
Onboard the Connecticut State Library’s Bookmobile with Margaret Sullivan and Marcella Finan, 1967/ via Bristol Public Library
A rather elegant Book Caravan in Iowa, USA circa 1927 / via the ‘librariana’ collection ofHans Krol
Kern County Library Bookmobile at the school / via Kern Country Library
The Library’s bookmobile on Compton Road, circa 1933 / via the Public library of Cincinnati
Utah State Library Bookmobile on the Road circa 1970 / via USL
So what happened to the Bookmobiles?
While there are still a few libraries around that have managed to find a budget for a modern-day bookmobile, sadly, most of the oldies have ended up rotting away in a junkyards or eventually disappeared altogether.
Paul Buttars, former manager of the Utah State Library Bookmobile Program, in one of the “older” bookmobiles. Taken in Chesterfield, UT circa 1975 / via USL
No longer in service, this old TRL bookmobile residing on private property just south of Amanda Park, Washington. Photo taken 19 Dec 2011. (Library Service to this area of rural Washington is now provided by the Amanda Park branch of Timberland Regional Library)/ via Washington State library
The Henderson County Bookmobile bides it’s time before making its last trip to the bone yard. Rest in Peace, or pieces? / via Davis Bell
There was one sighting however, of an old bookmobile at the 2007 Burning Man Festival…
via Espresso Buzz and Caryn Solly
Let’s hope there is room in this world for a comeback of the beloved bookmobile …
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