travel mobile library

For the love of books: Mobile libraries around the world

This World Book Day, we meet the people behind mobile libraries serving communities from Nigeria to the Netherlands.

Buses in Lagos, shipping containers in the Netherlands and even a couple of Colombian donkeys are enjoying a new lease of life as bookmobiles, spreading knowledge in their communities.

Travelling from place to place, mobile libraries around the world aim to bring the benefits of reading to those without access to books.

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The idea has been around since as early as the 19th century  but – d espite the availability of ebooks and increasingly widespread internet access – mobile libraries, also known as bookmobiles, have not disappeared.

Instead, they are adapting to meet the needs of their communities by providing not only books but workshops and training or simply a human connection  for people living in remote areas.

To mark World Book Day   on April 23, Al Jazeera speaks to the people behind the mobile libraries putting books in the hands of communities in Syria, Colombia, Nigeria and the Netherlands.

Bringing books to kids: iRead Mobile Library, Nigeria 

Funmi Ilori believes it’s her calling to bring books to children in Nigeria ‘s Lagos state.

When the educational psychologist and social entrepreneur was asked to write down a big, unachievable dream at a leadership conference in 2004, building Africa ‘s biggest library was what came to mind.

From visiting houses with two baskets full of books, Ilori has grown iRead Mobile Library, the country’s first mobile library, according to Ilori, whose four buses have visited over 3,000 children so far.

“Libraries are one of the most important spaces for every community,” says Ilori. “I saw a huge gap [in Nigeria] because, even though public libraries exist, they are scarce and children are not able to travel far enough to enjoy the public libraries’ spaces.”

While the reaction from parents and children has been largely positive, local councils have caused delays in iRead’s service by insisting they pay fees to operate.

The buses make 44 stops each week at schools and community centres, as well as a monthly trip to rural areas outside of Lagos state. 

Each child who visits iRead can choose from around 13,000 books and receives a library bag and a review book in which they can write down what they thought of the book they borrowed.

iRead’s team also host workshops to educate children on topics, such as sustainable development using songs, drama and art.

Ilori and her team of 12 plan to apply for grants to expand their fleet to 14 buses within the next five years, enabling them to extend their work across Nigeria.

The donkey library: Biblioburro, Colombia

“The first time people saw me up on the donkeys, they laughed,” says Luis Soriano, the founder of Bibliburro, a donkey-powered mobile library that travels around northern Colombia .

“They said he’s gone crazy. The circus has come to town.”.

Taking its name from the Spanish words for library (“biblioteca”) and donkey (“burro”), Biblioburro began more than two decades ago when Soriano, 48, first hit the road with his two donkeys: Alfa and Beto.

A teacher by trade, he wanted to improve his pupils’ access to books after noticing that many of them were not progressing as expected in school. 

“I visited each of their homes and I realised there was a real lack of books,” Soriano tells Al Jazeera. “So one day, I decided to visit them with books.

“At first, I carried the books in my arms, but it was too far between the houses, so that’s when I decided to go by donkey.”

When he began operating in Colombia’s mountainous Magdalena Province, in 1997, the area was difficult to access by car, so donkeys were an ideal solution. 

Using specially designed saddlebags, each donkey can carry up to 150 books.

Over the years, Soriano has grown a network of donkey libraries, encompassing around 20 employees, as well as a brick-and-mortar library in La Gloria, Soriano’s hometown, and a digital programme.

“The rural population have difficulty accessing technology,” explains Soriano. “So we take laptops, which we charge overnight and whenever we can get electricity, to rural areas with our modem so children can learn about the internet.”

Improved infrastructure and government investment in expanding libraries in the last 20 years has improved access to books and education for those living along Soriano’s route, but his work with Biblioburro continues.

The project now receives funding from a regional NGO and runs a lifelong learning programme with the National Library of Colombia. 

“When I started, I could never have imagined that 20 years would pass so quickly, but when it’s work you enjoy, you don’t count the hours or think about when it will end.”

Education and escapism: The Mobile Library, Syria

In July last year, children in the rural areas of Syria’s Idlib and Aleppo provinces met an unusual sight: a brightly coloured van full of books.

Visiting schools, mosques and other public places, the Mobile Library is a project that aims to encourage children’s education through reading in areas where many schools have been forced to close because of the country’s ongoing war .

In October 2017, more than 1.75 million children in Syria were not attending school and one in three schools were out of use, according to Save the Children. 

“Reading books instills a sense of openness,” says Malek Refai, the Mobile Library’s project manager. “We are trying to help young people to find their way to the future.

“Maybe they can find something interesting or something they are passionate about by accessing these books,” he tells Al Jazeera.

Reading books instills a sense of openness. We are trying to help young people to find their way to the future. by  Malek Refai, project manager, The Mobile Library

So far, the seven-person team, that works as part of Syrian NGO Dari Sustainable Development, have been able to reach around 4,000 children.

The team were inspired by mobile libraries launched during conflicts in other countries, as well as by their experience protecting books during the years-long siege of Daraya, a suburb of the capital, Damascus.

“We constructed a secret library [underground] to save the books from shelling,” says Refai. “This increased our interest in books and libraries.”

Modified with shelves and lighting, the Mobile Library houses a collection of around 2,000 children’s books , acquired through a complicated process of brokering between bookshops in Idlib and Damascus.

“I don’t know how exactly [we] managed to get them,” Refai confesses.

War creates a raft of challenges for the team, including negotiating with the various groups controlling the area and ensuring that staff and visitors are safe.

Occasionally, the project has had to suspend its services, most recently because the region’s unpaved roads became impassable during winter, but Refai and his team are committed to providing education and escapism to the region’s children.

The reading container: BiebBus, the Netherlands

Aimed at children between four and 12 years of age in the Netherlands’ Zaan region, the BiebBus is a mobile library uniquely suited to its environment.

The bus’ design is based on a standard 12-metre shipping container that expands to reveal a “treasure room” that houses the books, while the container becomes a glass-floored reading and play area with computers.

Once expanded, the bus can accommodate a whole class of children.

“Because of all the narrow streets, a conventional mobile library was not an option,” says Pien Jongenelen, senior communications adviser for The Library for Zaanstreek, who runs the BiebBus.

“[It] would require too much parking space, so architect Jordden Hollander designed a smart solution, he developed a vertically expanding mobile library,” she tells Al Jazeera.

There are now three BiebBussen that, combined, reach some 10,000 school children in the Netherlands each year, returning to locations on a monthly basis.

“Unfortunately, it’s financially impossible to offer every area its own permanent public library, [but] we think it’s very important that boys and girls who attend primary schools in the Zaan region have access to a vast collection of free books,” says Jongenelen.

“Children learn how to read at school, at the library, they learn that reading is not only imperative, but can also be a lot of fun.”

Transport Your Mind: Books About Bookmobiles and Mobile Libraries

Bookmobile, Bronx, 1950s. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: ps_mss_cd7_95

Updated 4/18/2023

Since the first known bookmobile—a horse-drawn wagon—hit the road in 1904, intrepid librarians and booksellers across the world have traversed great distances by foot, by wheel, and by four-legged creature to bring reading materials to remote and underserved regions. 

The New York Public Library has employed various "book vans," "bookwagons," and "traveling libraries" throughout its history to bring books and information directly to communities. The most recent iteration of Bookmobile services relaunched in the Bronx in 2019 bringing Library services, including books and digital resources, to communities whose neighborhood libraries are closed for an extended period due to capital projects and renovations. 

Celebrate bookmobiles with these stories about the creative ways libraries and bookstores bring books and resources to their communities. Stay up-to-date with The New York Public Library's Bookmobile services by following us on Twitter , and by visiting us online . 

Adult Titles

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by Kim Michele Richardson

A last-of-her-kind outcast and member of the Pack Horse Library Project braves the hardships of Kentucky's Great Depression and hostile community discrimination to bring the near-magical perspectives of books to her neighbors. A last-of-her-kind outcast and member of the Pack Horse Library Project braves the hardships of Kentucky's Great Depression and hostile community discrimination to bring the near-magical perspectives of books to her neighbors.

The sequel is  The Book Woman's Daughter .

Parnassus on Wheels 

by Christopher Morley

"When you sell a man a book," says Roger Mifflin, the sprite-like book peddler at the center of this classic novella, "you don't sell him just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue, you sell him a whole new life." In this beguiling but little-known prequel to Christopher Morley's beloved  Haunted Bookshop , the "whole new life" that the traveling bookman delivers to Helen McGill, the narrator of  Parnassus on Wheels , provides the romantic comedy that drives this charming love letter to a life in books.

The Bookshop on the Corner 

by Jenny Colgan

A "literary matchmaker" who takes joy in pairing readers with perfect books moves from the city to a sleepy village where she becomes a bookmobile driver and rediscovers her senses of adventure and home while searching for a happy ending of her own. 

The Uncommon Reader 

by Alan Bennett 

Obliged to borrow a book when her corgis stray into a mobile library, the Queen discovers a passion for reading, setting the palace upon its head and causing the royal head of Great Britain to question her role in the monarchy.

Better Off Read 

by Nora Page

Bookmobile-driving, septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins fights an upstart new mayor to prevent the closure of the town's storm-damaged library, an effort that is complicated by an eccentric benefactor's untimely murder and clues that point to Cleo's best friend.

The Night Bookmobile

by Audrey Niffenegger

One night a woman encounters a disappearing library on wheels that contains every book she has ever read, but seeing her most intimate self in this library, her search to once again find the bookmobile turns into an obsession.

Mobile Library

by David Whitehouse

Bobby Nusku spends his nights cataloging all traces of the life his mother left behind. By day, he and his best friend Sunny hatch plans to save Bobby from schoolyard torment and his abusive father. Then Bobby encounters a peculiar girl named Rosa and her mother, Val, a lonely divorcee whose job is cleaning a mobile library. When Bobby and Val form a bond that draws unwanted attention, they all abscond in the bookmobile for a picaresque adventure across England.

Middle Grade & YA Titles

Angel of Greenwood 

by Randi Pink

Isaiah Wilson is, on the surface, a town troublemaker, but is hiding that he is an avid reader and secret poet. Angel Hill is a loner, mostly disregarded by her peers as a goody-goody. Her father is dying, and her family’s financial situation is in turmoil. Though they’ve attended the same schools, Isaiah never noticed Angel as anything but a dorky, Bible-toting church girl. Then their English teacher offers them a job on her mobile library, a three-wheel, two-seater bike. But life changes on May 31, 1921, when a vicious white mob storms the Black community of Greenwood, leaving the town destroyed and thousands of residents displaced. Only then, Isaiah, Angel, and their peers realize who their real enemies are.

Wish on All the Stars 

by Lisa Schroeder

A sequel to  See You on a Starry Night  finds official new Starry Beach Club member Juliet working with her friends to make wishes come true, a vocation that is challenged by the possible closing of the local bookmobile.

Children's Titles

Big Truck Day

by Rosanne Parry; illustrated by Niki Page

Get ready for Big Truck Day! Friends and neighbors of all ages head to the library for a very special event—a book drive and the unveiling of a new library bookmobile made possible by donations from the community. Joyful verses about reading, sharing, and trucks and vehicles of all kinds and sizes—especially bookmobiles!

Stanley's Library

by William Bee

Stanley the hamster has a busy day as he takes his bookmobile to the park, hands out books, hosts an author signing and then partakes in his comforting nighttime routine, in the colorful salute to reading, libraries and librarians!

Library Lil 

by Suzanne Williams; pictures by Steven Kellogg

A formidable bookmobile librarian makes readers not only out of the once resistant residents of her small town, but out of a tough-talking, television-watching motorcycle gang as well.

Moose's Book Bus

by Inga Moore

When Moose runs out of stories to tell his family after dinner, he ventures to the town library for books. No sooner is he settled in at home to read them aloud than Bear, Badger, Fox, Hare, Mole, the Three Wild Pigs, and even the Beavers crowd in to listen. Soon everyone is packed in like sardines. What's a clever Moose to do? With its warm, whimsical cast and a snug woodland setting evoked by earthy illustrations, this playful nod to the power of books and libraries to create community will reward new and returning fans alike.

Ready to Fly: How Sylvia Townsend Became the First Bookmobile Ballerina 

story told by Lea Lyon and A. LaFaye; illustrated by Jessica Gibson

A picture book inspired by the early life of African American dancer Sylvia Townsend describes the limited opportunities that compelled her to use books from her hometown’s bookmobile to teach herself classical ballet.

Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile 

by Gloria Houston; illustrated by Susan Condie Lamb

Dorothy has always wanted to work in a library like the red brick one of her girlhood, but after moving to rural North Carolina she discovers that the type of library is less important than the books and the people who read them.

Library on Wheels: Mary Lemist Titcomb and America's First Bookmobile 

by Sharlee Mullins Glenn

As librarian at the Washington County Free Library in Maryland, Mary Lemist Titcomb was concerned that the library was not reaching all the people it could. She was determined that everyone should have access to the library—not just adults and those who lived in town. Realizing its limitations and inability to reach the county's 25,000 rural residents, including farmers and their families, Titcomb set about to change the library system forever with the introduction of book-deposit stations throughout the country, a children's room in the library, and her most revolutionary idea of all—a horse-drawn Book Wagon.

The Library Bus 

by Bahram Rahman; illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

It is still dark in Kabul, Afghanistan when the library bus rumbles out of the city. There are no bus seats—instead there are chairs and tables and shelves of books. And there are no passengers—instead there is Pari, who is nervously starting her first day as Mama’s library helper. Pari stands tall to hand out notebooks and pencils at the villages and the refugee camp, but she feels intimidated. The girls they visit are learning to write English from Mama. Pari can’t even read or write in Farsi yet. But next year she will go to school and learn all there is to know. And she is so lucky. Not long ago, Mama tells her, girls were not allowed to read at all.

Waiting for the Biblioburro 

by Monica Brown; illustrations by John Parra

Ana loves stories. She often makes them up to help her little brother fall asleep. But in her small village, there are only a few books and she has read them all. One morning, Ana wakes up to the clip-clop of hooves, and there before her, is the most wonderful sight: a traveling library resting on the backs of two burros carrying all the books a little girl could dream of, with enough stories to encourage her to create one of her own. Inspired by the heroic efforts of real-life librarian Luis Soriano.

My Librarian Is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World 

by Margriet Ruurs

An intriguing photo essay shows the many unconventional ways that librarians deliver books to children who live in remote areas, including by boat, bus, train, elephant, donkey, and even wheelbarrow.

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.

Concept of Mobile Library

Introduction: Mobile libraries are a transformative concept that brings the magic of books and the joy of learning directly to communities that may otherwise be unable to access traditional library services. These innovative mobile units, equipped with a treasure trove of books, digital resources, and dedicated librarians, travel to various locations, serving as gateways to knowledge for people of all ages and backgrounds. Whether reaching remote rural areas, underserved neighborhoods, schools, or community centers, mobile libraries ignite a love for reading, promote literacy, and empower individuals by ensuring that the transformative power of books is available to all. Embark on this literary journey and explore the captivating world of mobile libraries.  Mobile Library

1.1 What is a Mobile Library ?

A mobile library is a unique and dynamic service that directly connects books, media, and educational resources to communities through a mobile vehicle or unit. It is designed to overcome geographical, social, and economic barriers to library access, reaching individuals with limited or no access to traditional library facilities. Mobile libraries serve diverse populations, including rural communities, remote regions, schools, prisons, hospitals, senior centers, and other underserved areas. These mobile units are equipped with various library materials, and their dedicated staff travel to scheduled stops or visits, providing opportunities for people to browse, borrow, and return books and other resources. By bringing the library experience to the doorsteps of those who need it most, mobile libraries promote literacy, foster a love for reading, and ensure that knowledge is accessible to all.

1.2 Benefits of Mobile Libraries.

Discover the transformative benefits of mobile libraries, where knowledge and opportunity travel to your doorstep. Mobile libraries offer an array of advantages that extend beyond the traditional confines of a brick-and-mortar library, reaching communities that may face barriers to access. With their ability to bring books, resources, and learning experiences directly to underserved areas, mobile libraries promote inclusivity, literacy, and community engagement. Here are some of the key advantages:

• Accessibility for All: Mobile libraries excel at bridging the accessibility gap, ensuring that individuals from diverse backgrounds and geographical locations can access knowledge in books and educational resources. By reaching remote rural areas, underserved neighborhoods, and communities with limited infrastructure, mobile libraries provide a lifeline to education and enlightenment. These libraries-on-wheels break down barriers related to distance, transportation, and physical limitations, making knowledge accessible to all, regardless of their circumstances.
• Bridging the Access Gap: Mobile libraries play a vital role in bridging the access gap, particularly for communities with limited access to traditional libraries. By reaching remote rural areas, underserved neighborhoods, and other hard-to-reach locations, mobile libraries ensure that individuals from all walks of life have an equal opportunity to explore books, media, and educational resources. These libraries-on-wheels act as catalysts for learning, empowering individuals and promoting a culture of lifelong education.
• Promoting Literacy: Literacy is the foundation of personal and societal development, and mobile libraries are powerful tools for promoting literacy. They engage children, teens, and adults through captivating storytelling sessions, reading programs, and educational activities. By fostering a love for reading from an early age, mobile libraries improve literacy rates and instill a lifelong passion for learning. They become beacons of inspiration, sparking curiosity and encouraging individuals to explore new ideas, perspectives, and worlds.
• Serving Underserved Communities: Mobile libraries are champions of inclusivity, serving marginalized and underserved communities. Whether it’s bringing books to remote villages, providing resources to incarcerated individuals, or reaching out to low-income neighborhoods, these mobile units break down barriers to information and education. They empower individuals who may not have access to transportation or face physical limitations by bringing the library directly to their doorstep. Mobile libraries ensure that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has an opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.
• Community Engagement and Outreach: Beyond their role as book repositories, mobile libraries are vibrant community hubs. They create opportunities for social interaction, engagement, and learning. Librarians and volunteers on board foster a sense of belonging and facilitate community activities, such as book clubs, workshops, and educational programs. Mobile libraries become a meeting point for like-minded individuals, fostering a sense of community pride and shared intellectual growth.
• Adapting to Changing Needs: Mobile libraries are agile and adaptable, evolving with the changing needs of communities. In the digital age, they incorporate technology, offering access to e-books, digital resources, and online library services. This integration of digital platforms ensures that even in areas with limited physical resources, individuals can still access a vast array of knowledge. Mobile libraries leverage technology to connect individuals with information, empowering them to embrace the digital world while preserving the essence of a traditional library experience.
• Flexibility and Adaptability: Mobile libraries are flexible and adaptable to the needs of the communities they serve. They can evolve with changing times and embrace technology to enhance their offerings. Many mobile libraries now integrate digital resources, including e-books, audiobooks, and online databases, to provide a broader range of educational materials. This technology integration ensures that even in areas with limited physical resources, individuals can still access vast knowledge. Mobile libraries leverage technology to bridge the digital divide, empowering individuals with the digital skills needed in today’s world.

Mobile libraries are a beacon of hope, bringing the transformative power of books and educational resources to communities that may otherwise be left behind. They bridge the access gap, promote literacy, empower underserved populations, and foster a sense of community. By ensuring that knowledge is accessible to all, mobile libraries unlock the doors to imagination, inspiration, and personal growth. Let us celebrate the invaluable contributions of mobile libraries as they continue to change lives, one book at a time.

1.3 Features of Mobile Library

Mobile libraries are versatile and adaptable, designed to meet the unique needs of communities and individuals. Here are some key features commonly found in mobile libraries:

• Mobility: The defining feature of mobile libraries is their ability to move and travel to different locations. They are typically housed in specially designed vehicles, trailers, or buses equipped with shelves, storage space, and other amenities. This mobility allows mobile libraries to reach underserved areas, remote communities, schools, and other locations where access to traditional libraries may be limited.
• Collections and Resources: Mobile libraries offer diverse books, multimedia materials, and educational resources. These collections are carefully curated to cater to various age groups, interests, and educational needs within the community. Mobile libraries may carry fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, newspapers, audiobooks, e-books, DVDs, educational kits, and other learning materials. The selection is often tailored to the specific demographics and preferences of the communities they serve.
• Outreach Programs: Mobile libraries go beyond lending books and offer a range of outreach programs to engage and empower the community. These programs may include storytelling sessions, reading programs, workshops, educational activities, author visits, and cultural events. Outreach programs promote literacy, foster a love for reading, and create a sense of community engagement. They often collaborate with schools, community organizations, and local institutions to deliver targeted educational initiatives.
• Flexible Spaces: Mobile libraries are designed to provide users with a comfortable and inviting environment. The interior of the mobile unit is often configured to accommodate reading areas, study spaces, and browsing sections. The layout can be flexible, allowing for the rearrangement of furniture and shelves to accommodate different programs and activities. Some mobile libraries may have seating areas or outdoor spaces for community gatherings and events.
• Expert Staff: Mobile libraries are staffed by trained librarians and dedicated personnel who provide guidance, assistance, and support to users. They help individuals find relevant materials, offer reading recommendations, organize programs and activities, and provide information about library services. The staff members of mobile libraries play a crucial role in building relationships with the community, fostering a love for reading, and promoting educational initiatives.
• Customization and Adaptability: Mobile libraries can be customized to meet the specific needs of communities. The design, layout, and services can be adapted to cater to different age groups, cultural preferences, and community requirements. Mobile libraries often seek input from the community they serve, allowing for ongoing feedback and adjustments to ensure their services align with the evolving needs and aspirations of the users.

These features make mobile libraries flexible, accessible, and community-centered, allowing them to serve as dynamic resources that bring knowledge, literacy, and community engagement to individuals and communities.

1.4 Navigating Challenges and Solutions in Mobile Libraries

Mobile libraries have become powerful tools for extending library services to underserved communities, fostering literacy, and promoting a love for reading. However, like any initiative, mobile libraries face challenges and problems that must be addressed to ensure their effectiveness and sustainability.

• Limited Resources and Funding: One of the most significant challenges mobile libraries face is the availability of resources and securing sustainable funding. Mobile libraries require funding for vehicle maintenance, fuel, staff salaries, collection development, and program implementation. Relying solely on grants or donations can be unreliable and may limit the scope and impact of the mobile library. To address this issue, partnerships with local government agencies, philanthropic organizations, and community sponsors can help secure long-term funding and resources.
• Outreach and Targeting: Effectively reaching and targeting the intended audience can be complex for mobile libraries. Identifying communities with limited access to traditional libraries, understanding their needs, and promoting the mobile library’s services requires thoughtful research and community engagement. Collaboration with local schools, community centers, and organizations can help identify the most underserved areas and ensure effective outreach and targeting strategies.
• Limited Space and Collections: The confined space within mobile libraries poses a challenge in providing a diverse and extensive collection of books and resources. Mobile libraries must carefully curate their collections to meet users’ needs and interests. Regular assessment and rotation of books and incorporating digital resources can help optimize the limited space and provide users with a broader range of materials.
• Connectivity and Technological Challenges: Mobile libraries that integrate digital resources and technology face connectivity challenges, particularly in remote or rural areas with limited internet access. This can hinder the delivery of online services and limit users’ access to digital resources. Mobile libraries can address this issue by investing in mobile hotspots, offline access to e-books, and collaborating with local internet service providers to improve connectivity in underserved areas.
• Maintenance and Upkeep: The physical condition of the mobile library vehicle or trailer requires regular maintenance and upkeep to ensure its functionality and safety. This includes regular inspections, repairs, and upgrades. Mobile libraries should establish maintenance protocols and allocate resources for ongoing vehicle upkeep to ensure a reliable and efficient operation.
• Staffing and Training: Recruiting and retaining qualified staff members passionate about community engagement and willing to work in a mobile library setting can be challenging. Mobile librarians must possess a diverse skill set that includes knowledge of community outreach, program development, and adaptability in working within limited space and resources. Continuous professional development and training opportunities can help build a skilled and dedicated workforce for mobile libraries.

Despite their challenges, mobile libraries are powerful vehicles for bringing knowledge, literacy, and community engagement to underserved areas. By acknowledging and addressing the issues associated with limited resources and funding, outreach and targeting, space constraints, connectivity, maintenance, and staffing, mobile libraries can overcome these obstacles and enhance their impact on communities. Collaboration between stakeholders, including government entities, local communities, library associations , and funding organizations, is crucial in developing sustainable solutions and ensuring the long-term success of mobile libraries. Through collective efforts, we can transform these challenges into opportunities, ensuring that mobile libraries continue to empower and enrich the lives of individuals and communities on the move.

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Bookmobiles: Home

Bookmobiles and outreach services as an integral part of library service, bookmobiles and direct-delivery outreach services are, and continue to be an integral, vital part of libraries around the country.  for over 100 years bookmobiles have served rural, urban, suburban and tribal areas, bringing access to information and life-long learning resources to all classes and communities.   .

This resource guide provides information on bookmobile and outreach service support organizations, resources for library workers engaged in mobile and direct-delivery outreach, and historical notes on bookmobiles in the United States. 

General Information

Bookmobiles and direct-delivery outreach services are, and continue to be an integral, vital part of libraries around the country.  For over 100 years bookmobiles have served rural, urban, suburban and tribal areas, bringing access to information and life-long learning resources to all classes and communities.  Bookmobiles are a central part of library service, and the ALA, through its Subcommittee on Bookmobiles, is firmly committed to recognizing their contribution to public life with the goal to highlight their value and extend their reach.

According to the most currently available Public Libraries Survey  report from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (FY 2019), about six percent of public libraries had one or more bookmobile outlets, with a total of 671 bookmobiles delivering library services in the U.S.

Bookmobiles, in use in the United States since 1905, are just one form of mobile delivery of library services. The former IFLA Mobile Libraries Section ,  now part of the Public Libraries Section, investigated delivery services around the world. In a survey conducted in in 1999-2001 they offered the following options for delivery: Bicycle, Wagon, Donkey Cart, Camel, Motorbike, Boat, Helicopter, Train, and the more usual bookmobiles in the form of special trucks, vans or mini-buses.

• ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS) supports library and information science workers in creating safe, responsible, and all-inclusive spaces that serve and represent the entire community. To accomplish this, we decenter power and privilege by facilitating conversations around access and identity as they impact the profession and those we serve.
• Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) The Association for Rural & Small Libraries, Inc. is a network of persons throughout the country dedicated to the positive growth and development of libraries. ARSL believes in the value of rural and small libraries and strives to create resources and services that address national, state, and local priorities for libraries situated in rural communities.
• Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services (ABOS) The Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services is comprised of libraries of all types and sizes. Library administrators, support staff, library staff, governmental officials, trustees, friends of libraries, and professionals from other fields comprise this movement.

History of Bookmobiles

The first bookmobile was a horse-drawn buggy at the Hagerstown (Md.) Public Library, now part of the Washington County Free Library, in 1905. Another form of outreach to areas, particularly rural areas, without library service were traveling libraries.

• 100 Years of Bookmobiles For the centennial of mobile library services, the ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) prepared a slide show (133 PowerPoint slides, which will open in a new window).
• Traveling Libraries - Library History Buff Blog
• History of Libraries: Mobile Libraries and Bookmobiles About midway down the page is a brief history of bookmobiles and other mobile libraries

Resources for Bookmobiles

• Association of Bookmobiles and Outreach Services Guidelines (2004) Bookmobile guidelines written by ABOS.
• Mobile Library Guidelines (from IFLA) These guidelines have been prepared by a team from around the world and are intended to provide a basis for planning the development of a mobile library service but the end result must inevitably reflect local conditions.
• National Library Outreach Day National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day) celebrates library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are. Whether it's a bookmobile stop at the local elementary school, services provided to community homes, or library pop-ups at community gatherings, these services are essential to the community. Each year, National Library Outreach Day is celebrated on the Wednesday of National Library Week. It is coordinated by the ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS), the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services (ABOS), and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL).
• Stories from the Field - ODLOS Blog The goal of the Bookmobiles Column is to provide information, answers, successful program reviews, interviews with interesting Bookmobile staff like yourself, and any other exciting ideas or news that comes our way about Bookmobile Service.
• Bookmobiles - a WorldCat List A collection of books on bookmobiles, primarily in the United States, that are available in libraries.

• Handbook for Mobile Services Staff (2008) Prepared for and Includes presentations from the American Library Association Annual Conferences of 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Bookmobile Statistics

• Bookmobiles in the U.S. Figures collected from the annual Public Library Survey, conducted by IMLS.

• Last Updated: Jun 23, 2022 5:42 PM
• URL: https://libguides.ala.org/bookmobiles

The Relevance of Bookmobiles and Mobile Libraries in 2018

by Gavin J. Woltjer on July 20, 2018

Bookmobiles have always held a special place in my heart. As a kid, the third Thursday of every month was a joyous occasion for me because that was the day the bookmobile visited the elementary school in my neighborhood. On these Thursdays, beginning from the time I awoke, to the time I heard the powerful engine of the bookmobile, I eagerly gathered my previously borrowed items—constantly stealing anxious glances out the living room windows to ensure I had not missed this treasured visit from these mobile librarians—and mentally prepared my young mind for the upcoming arrival. Every item gathered was meticulously splayed out on the dining room table, and like an archaeologist unearthing rare artifacts, I examined each of the books previously borrowed to decide if I was ready to let it go back to the collection in order for it to be discovered by another reader. (More often than naught, I solicited the help of my mother when making these decisions as she was the one that read these chosen stories aloud before bedtime.) Decisions made, I placed the selected books with affectionate care into my tote bag. Before too long, the song of the bookmobile’s engine climbing the small hill on my street reverberated between the houses. It was only a matter of time before my mother would give me the look that said I could go out and wave to the driver of this magical machine. Once the bookmobile was parked, leveled, electricity connected from the charger on the wooden light pole, and the stairs descended from the underbelly of this wheeled house of knowledge, did my mother take my little hand and walk me across the street to visit the librarians. Thinking about this moment now, excitement still wells in my chest, a smile crosses my face, and the anticipation of what will be discovered on the shelves resonates in my mind.

Fast forward thirty years. The magic of the bookmobile remains. But the magic has evolved. Whereas the bookmobile of my youth was a place for my imagination to run amok (and today’s bookmobiles still provide this outlet for all), bookmobiles today have changed the way a library connects to the people it serves. Bookmobiles today serve a more effectual purpose than before—but that is not to say bookmobiles of my youth were ineffectual. As a valued part of any library’s arsenal, bookmobiles today help to disseminate information, erase barriers, and equalize opportunity for all patrons—much like in the past, only in different guises today. Bookmobiles today have spawned other mobile outreach vehicles: vans, buses, campers, bicycles, and scooters; and it is within all these different vehicles that a new type of outreach has developed.

As the Director of a library that serves a population of almost 170,000 people, in a county the size of Connecticut, outreach to our rural and remote patrons is a constant focus and priority. While 90% of the population has immediate access to the library, 10% of the county population depends on the library’s outreach services to remain connected. It is within this population of 10% that I have witnessed how pivotal and transformative bookmobiles and mobile outreach services can be for a community. (NOTE: the Billings Public Library (BPL) uses a Pedal-Powered Bike Library, and Senior Outreach Van within the city limits. The bookmobile serves both city and rural patrons.)

To fully list all the reasons and ways a library utilizes outreach to better serve a population is beyond the scope of this post. But a small sampling illustrates the importance and relevance of bookmobiles (and their mobile offspring), and how these different entities help create community, bridge technology gaps, reinforce education, and create connections:

• Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services provide a place for rural or remote communities to gather . People enjoy coming together to commune. By acting as a place for human connection, bookmobiles proffer a community to connect with each other, share stories, and be a social gathering place. This is especially important in rural, isolated places where the opportunity to connect with others is limited.
• Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services provide rural and remote patrons with the same one-on-one services offered in brick and mortar libraries. Even with the advent of the Internet, the immense popularity of e-books and online library services, human interaction and instruction remains the greatest form of customer service. The human animal yearns for physical connection over digital abstraction.
• Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services provide access to technology. In many rural or impoverished communities, technology may be spotty, outdated, or even nonexistent. Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services provide access to technology in the form of hardware, hotspots, Wi-Fi, iPads, laptops, and/or software to name a few. Recently, Patti, the BPL’s Bookmobile Librarian, shared a story of how a child, who had recently received a robot for his birthday, used the bookmobile’s laptop computer to update the robot’s software because the computer he had at home was unable to support the robot’s software.
• Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services help to supplement rural schools through its collection, technology, personnel expertise, and services. Many rural schools have a limited library. In some cases, rural schools served by the BPL do not have a school librarian or are severely hampered by budget restrictions. Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services allow for these rural schools to use the public library’s collection to enhance education, spread the joy or reading, increase access and exposure to technology, and install the love of life-long learning.
• Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services provide access to information about the plethora of other aspects and services a library provides to a community. Information about adult programs, children’s programs, teen programs, and special events is easily shared to those without access to the Internet or a library’s website. Additionally, in some cases, programming conducted at the brick and mortar library can be altered in order to be shared at these rural or remote locations.
• Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services have access to the library’s entire collection of resources. Although a bookmobile or mobile outreach service vehicle may be limited to the number of titles on hand, or the type of technology equipped on the vehicle, they have the capacity to bring these resources to rural or remote patrons. By developing relationships with rural or remote patrons, and by understanding the needs of these patrons, bookmobiles and mobile outreach services can customize or curate specific collections for patrons.
• Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services create relationships and promote inclusivity. Patrons who are unable to access a brick and mortar library can sometimes feel as if they are excluded from library services. By creating relationships, and thus striving for inclusivity, libraries are able to better understand the needs of a rural population, incorporate their voice within strategic planning, increase program development, increase access and exposure to technology, and ensure quality service to all.

Bookmobiles and mobile outreach services strive to make connections between the library, the community, and the patrons. As technology continues to advance, bookmobiles and mobile libraries will continue to develop new services, incorporate new methods for reaching patrons, and enhance engagement all with the goal of providing access to every woman, man, and child regardless of social station, ethnicity, sexual orientation, education level or any other socially constructed label. The future of mobile outreach is promising, and I am excited for the next boy or girl to discover this incredible mode of public service.

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Mobile libraries bring books and more into communities

For those who don’t have transportation to get to a library, bookmobiles and other traveling library services bring books and resources directly to those who need them.

As the Cobb County Public Library’s bookmobile came to its weekly stop at a local church, a four-year-old boy with his mom jumped excitedly up the stairs, eager to see if the librarians had found a new dinosaur or shark book for him to borrow.

“They are always here. Even if there is bad weather, the boy’s mom will come to pick out books for him,” said Mary Wood, community engagement manager at Cobb County Public Library. “During these visits, they received their first library card. The bookmobile enabled us to share the power of reading, literally bringing the library closer to this little guy.”

For those who don’t have transportation to get to a library, bookmobiles and other traveling library services bring books and resources directly to communities.

There are 10 bookmobiles across Georgia’s public library systems: Cobb, Forsyth, Piedmont, Middle Georgia Regional, Bartram Trail, Moultrie-Colquitt County, Chattahoochee Valley, Conyers-Rockdale, Southwest Georgia Regional, and Gwinnett libraries offer mobile service.

Additionally, more than 20 public libraries have other types of mobile outreach, such as a van or even a bicycle that travels to community events, day cares, senior centers, and more.

These services have become even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people began working and attending school remotely. While all public libraries in Georgia provide free high speed Wi-Fi access in their parking lots, many people who lack internet access also lack a way to get to the library.

Mobile outreach now increasingly includes ways to bring the library’s free internet into communities.

For example, the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries’ bookmobile provides internet for local nonprofits when requested, including one group that needed a safe, outdoor space for their participants to access the internet and power. The bookmobile also spends four hours a day at four regular weekly stops in areas with a high concentration of families without internet access.

Forsyth County Public Library launched its bookmobile in November. It includes a wide collection of books, an interactive screen on the exterior of the vehicle for programming, and internet access. With nearly 250 square miles to cover in the county of over 236,000 residents, demand for the bookmobile services is expected to be high. The library worked with local organizations to determine places that are underserved by library branches, as well as areas where transportation options are limited.

Library bookmobile.

Forsyth Library has found that their most successful recent visits have been to lower income housing developments that have lots of children. Many residents are Spanish speakers, and the library’s bilingual staff member has made a big difference in providing quality library services to parents and their children’s reading adventures.

COVID-19 has both amplified the need for these services and also made changes necessary in the way bookmobiles operate. In Forsyth, masks are required, and patrons are given a limited amount of time on board to ensure safety for themselves and for library staff.

Cobb County Public Library modified its bookmobile strategy due to COVID-19 in several ways. The library now partners with a local drive-through food distribution site to give out 1,100 craft kits to families each month. They work with two middle schools in high-needs areas to connect children to books and build home libraries for school breaks. They also host bookmobile pop-up in the park events where families attend an in-person storytime and check out books.

Library book bike.

“We are responding to the changing needs of Cobb County residents to support learning and literacy in meaningful ways,” said Mary Wood.

The Piedmont Regional Library System launched its new outreach vehicle in November 2020. Their Pop-up Rolling Library (PuRL) visits farmers markets, day cares, community events, and senior centers across three counties.

“COVID-19 hit just as we were getting PuRL,” said Alicia King, community engagement and office administration coordinator at Piedmont Regional Library System. “As our communities are opening up, and safety standards have been established, PuRL is helping each library reach beyond their four walls to engage the whole community and promote all that the library offers.”

One of PuRL’s senior center patrons said that they could no longer travel to their local library.

“If it wasn’t for the library bringing its large print collection and sharing about low vision accessibility services, I would have had to give up my lifelong love of reading,” she said. “I love the days they come to our center!”

In 2020, Middle Georgia Regional Library launched both a bookmobile and a book bike that travels by request into the community for events and festivals. It is the third bike of its kind in Georgia (the others are at Fulton County and Thomas County public libraries).

Both vehicles serve Middle Georgia’s Library Without Walls mobile branch (Library WoW), which has brought library services to the community since 2017 and can be requested through the library’s website.

Library WoW provides both English and Spanish services, and it is especially focused on populations who may have difficulty accessing the library in a traditional way, such as senior citizens, the homeless, those who have been incarcerated, and those who might not be comfortable accessing traditional libraries.

“Georgia’s public libraries have long been leaders in developing innovative ways to serve their communities,” said State Librarian Julie Walker. “It’s no surprise to see them respond quickly to COVID-19 to bring mobile literacy resources, internet, and more to those in need.”

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Traveling Libraries and Bookmobiles: How Librarians Have Served and Empowered American Communities

• Reference work entry
• First Online: 23 October 2019
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• Isaac Willis Larison 3  

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This chapter is a brief historical overview of Traveling Libraries and bookmobiles. In addition, it is an acknowledgment of the services librarians have provided (and continue to provide) to citizens in their communities. An attempt has been made to demonstrate how from the inception of lending libraries more than 300 years ago, librarians had one goal in mind. They have done their best to bring books and readers together. They have not been deterred by war, poverty, distance, or geography. Librarians have used a variety of means to satisfy our insatiable need for having a good book to read. Therefore, a few words have been offered regarding several colorful services librarians have used in the past – book boxes, the first book wagon, and the Pack Horse Libraries of the 1930s and 1940s during the Great Depression. While most of the information shared here celebrates opportunity and the independent spirit of America, not all American citizens were so fortunate to receive services. Heroic efforts were made to provide reading materials to soldiers during times of war and to those living in remote and isolated areas, but a disproportionate number of African Americans were neglected and underserved. Finally, ideas regarding the importance of providing books to families and children cannot be understated. Researchers have made it abundantly clear. If children are going to learn to read, they must have books. So, hurrah for librarians! Their dedication to providing the best in library services has built a nation of readers.

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Larison, I.W. (2020). Traveling Libraries and Bookmobiles: How Librarians Have Served and Empowered American Communities. In: Brunn, S., Kehrein, R. (eds) Handbook of the Changing World Language Map. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02438-3_176

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The Earliest Libraries-on-Wheels Looked Way Cooler Than Today’s Bookmobiles

These traveling libraries used to travel around bringing books to the people

Rose Eveleth

Contributor

This is a bookmobaile—a library on wheels. These mobile libraries used to travel around bringing books to the people. The blog Messy Nessy Chic has a great roundup of images of these vehicles of bibliographic wonder:

A traveling 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.

One of the earliest recorded bookmobiles was the Perambulating Library. Here’s a photograph of the cart from 1859 in Warrington , England.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

The bookmobile didn’t make it over to the United States until the early 1900s. This pictures shows an American bookmobile, from Washington, D.C., still drawn by a horse.

Image: Crosset Library

Eventually, bookmobiles were motorized. The Public Library of Cincinnati got its first bookmobile in 1927.

Image: Cincinnati Public Library

In 1936, a bookmobile visited Greensboro, North Carolina.

And here’s one from the Anne Arundel Country Public Library.

Image: AACPL

Messy Nessy Chic has more images, which are worth checking out.  Today’s bookmobiles are far larger and fancier than these older versions . But the books themselves are just as great.

More from Smithsonian.com:

A Trio of Outstanding Picture Books Science Books for Kids

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Rose Eveleth was a writer for Smart News and a producer/designer/ science writer/ animator based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in the New York Times , Scientific American , Story Collider , TED-Ed and OnEarth .

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All locations of The Seattle Public Library and book returns at the Central Library will be closed on Juneteenth, Wednesday, June 19.

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Mobile Library Services

With Mobile Services, we bring the Library to you! We want to ensure that everyone in Seattle has access to information, ideas, and stories. Our bookmobiles bring Library services to kids and people who may not be able to get to the Library easily.

Who we serve

We bring the Library to you!

• Kids : Bookmobiles visit eligible preschools and childcare centers throughout the city
• Older adults : Bookmobiles bring books and other library materials to retirement homes, senior housing, and senior centers.
• People with disabilities : Bookmobiles visit housing for people living with physical disabilities or special needs. That includes visits to nursing homes and group homes. Through the Home Service and Books by Mail programs, we also deliver items right to your home.
• Our community : Bookmobiles also travel to special events and support selected initiatives to help people access the Library and learn what we have to offer.

Requesting Mobile Services

We have guidelines for receiving Books by Mail, Home Service and Bookmobile visits. Please review our  Mobile Library Services Eligibility Criteria before making a request.

For services outside of Seattle city limits, see the  Library2Go service offered through the King County Library System.

Using Mobile Services

Once you are signed up for Mobile Services, we visit you once a month at a regular date and time. We bring new Library materials and accept returns from the previous visit.

To receive Library materials that meet your needs, you can make requests two weeks before your visit. You can do this a few ways:

• Place holds in our  online catalog  (select Mobile Services as your pickup location)
• Ask Us  online or call 206-386-4636
• Talk to us in person when we visit!

Using Books by Mail and Home Service

These free services are available to Seattle residents who are unable to travel to the library. Please review our eligibility criteria before requesting these services. Once enrolled, you can:

• Have library materials delivered once a month, either through the mail for Books by Mail or right to your front door for Home Service.
• Borrow any circulating library materials, including books, audiobooks, magazines, DVDs, and music CDs.
• Request specific items by placing holds in our  online catalog  (select Mobile Services as your pickup location), or by calling the Library at 206-386-4636.

Contacting Mobile Services

Please let us know as soon as possible if:

• Your contact information changes
• You will be gone during your scheduled delivery
• Your needs have changed
• You have questions

Mobile Services' bookmobile runs may vary or be cancelled during holiday periods; if you are not sure when our next visit will be, please call 206-386-4636 .

If you would like to sign up for one of these services or have a question, Ask Us or call 206-386-4636.

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The Bookmobile goes to community events all over Mobile County! Contact us for more information.

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Search our Online Catalog for items & request to pick them up on the Bookmobile.

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Check-out items! Return them when the Bookmobile comes back in 3 weeks, or if due earlier, to any MPL location.

Many stops include a Storytime and/or fun activities for kids. We carry a wide variety of materials for children.

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Saraland Public Library will reopen on Monday, June 17, 2024.

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All Ventura County Library branches will be closed on Wednesday June 19 in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day. Your eLibrary is always open at vencolibrary.org.

Todas las sucursales de la Biblioteca del Condado de Ventura estarán cerradas el miércoles 19 de junio en conmemoración de Juneteenth (Día de la Liberacíon). Su biblioteca electrónica siempre está abierta en vencolibrary.org.

Mobile Library

based out of 5600 Everglades Ventura , CA 93003 United States

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The VC Mobile Library 

The Mobile Library is currently scheduled to make visits throughout Ventura County, bringing WiFi on Wheels services and library materials to underserved locations. 

The vehicle serves as a WiFI hotspot, providing WiFi access outside the vehicle for several feet, allowing students and the community to socially distance and connect to the Internet.  Mobile Library staff also provide book services and issue new library cards.

Mobile Library Report 2018-2023

Watch a video about the Ventura County Library Mobile Library Program [March 2021]

Mobile Library Visit Requests

Ventura County Library boasts having the first bookmobile service in California, dating back to 1924 when Elizabeth Topping, then County Librarian, loaded saddlebags on horseback to deliver books throughout the county.

Almost a century later, the Ventura County Mobile Library hits the road in May 2019. Playing an important outreach role, the Mobile Library is connecting new users and raising awareness of library services throughout the county. The Mobile Library also is a great opportunity to introduce the love of reading to children and to discover the benefits of lifelong learning.

“The mobile library is such a great opportunity for our Nyeland families who do not have access to even the closest library.”      -- Monique Garcia BGCOP Nyeland Unit Director

The Mobile Library offers a full range of library services, including :

• Popular materials for all ages and in multiple formats: books, DVDs, audiobooks  
• Checkout and return
• Wireless Printing
• Laptop lending
• 3D Printing
• STEM & Makerspaces activities
• Class visits
• Participation in community events 

Mobile Library FAQ [collapse collapsed]

Click on the questions to see the answer:[collapse collapsed]

How was the Mobile Library funded?

The Ventura County Mobile Library was completely funded through grant and donated funds. It was funded through a generous donation from the Ventura County Library Foundation, which included significant donations from Premier America Credit Union and the Port of Hueneme.  In addition, the Ventura County Mobile Library project was also funded through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and awarded through the California State Library.

The Ventura County Library established partnerships with neighboring libraries to reach all corners of the county with library services. Grant partners include: Santa Paula Public Library, Moorpark City Library, Simi Valley Public Library, and the Museum of Ventura County. 

[/collapse]   [collapse collapsed]

What does it do? 

The Mobile Library provides service to the underserved areas where many people have little or no library service due to lack of transportation or mobility issues which may prevent residents from having access to library buildings.

The Mobile Library offers a full range of library services including: Free Wi-Fi, Wireless Printing, Laptop lending, 3D Printing, STEM & Makerspaces activities, Storytimes, and Class visits. The Mobile Library serves communities with collections that include materials for children, teens, adults, and seniors in English and Spanish. Patrons may also request material. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

How big is the Mobile Library?

The Mobile Library is 312” long (26 feet), 95.5” wide (8 feet), and 120” high (10 feet). The interior height is 78.2” high (6.5 feet). It holds approximately 2000 books, DVDs, and audiobooks depending on the type. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

Is the Mobile Library Fuel Efficient and Green?

The Mobile Library uses clean diesel fuel, a type of fuel highly refined to improve combustion efficiency and reduce harmful emissions. In addition, electric power in the vehicle is supplemented by solar panels on the roof of the vehicle which work to recharge the vehicles batteries during the day. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

How does the Mobile Library work?

The Mobile Library visits stops once or twice a month and materials are checked out until the following month. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

What does the service cost?

Mobile Library service is free to all community members in Ventura County. Library cards are free. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

Where will it go?

The Mobile Library will travel Countywide primarily serving those underserved populations who may experience barriers or limited access to brick and mortar libraries. To see a current list of stops and special events, check out the Mobile Library Event Calendar   (the schedule is in process of being finalized). [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

How long does the Mobile Library stay at each stop?

1-2 hours, depending on the stop. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

Can you get a Library card on the Mobile library?

Yes. As in the Library, you just need to bring an ID and something that verifies your address, to get a card. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

How long do materials check out from the Mobile Library?

Most Mobile Library materials can be checked out for three weeks and renewed for an additional three weeks. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

Do I have to return materials checked out from the Mobile Library to the Mobile Library?

Materials charged out from Mobile Library can be returned to the Mobile Library or any Ventura County Library location. Fines are charged for late, lost and damaged materials. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

If I see something in a branch that I want, can I place a hold to pick it up at the Mobile Library?

Yes. When you place a hold on the website, select Mobile Library as your pickup location.   [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

Can I pay my account balance at the Mobile Library?

No. You can:

• pay your account balance at any library building location
• sign in to your account and pay fees online 

[/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

When is the Mobile Library closed?

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Presidents' Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

What happens in bad weather or unforeseen emergencies, including road closures, etc.?

Some inclement weather or other emergencies may prevent the Ventura County Mobile Library from operations such as severe storms. In such cases, all materials will be renewed and there are no charges. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

What if the Mobile Library doesn't stop at its usual time and I have items to return?

You will not be charged overdue fines if there is an interruption to regular Mobile Library service. [/collapse] [collapse collapsed]

Can I contribute to the Mobile Library?

If you wish to make a donation to keep the Mobile Library on the road, please visit www.vclibraryfoundation.org . [/collapse]

[/collapse]

Special Events and More

• Mobile Library Events Calendar  

We offer our sincere thanks to the following organizations for contributing to the Mobile Library!

Other Locations

Ventura county library administration and support services.

5600 Everglades Street Suite A Ventura , CA 93003 United States

Travel for Library Lovers

A nd if you’re going to be in one destination or an extended period of time, you may be able to get a temporary library card giving you access to books and services for the time you’re there. For a book lover, that’s a big travel bonus. (If you’re looking for reading ideas, you can find some of my recommendations here.)

I asked a few traveling friends to share some of their favorite ideas about libraries.

The Long Room, Dublin: when Jedi knowledge meets monastic Ireland

When I think of libraries one that is top of mind is Trinity College and the Book of Kells. When Marta visited, however, she saw a comparison between Trinity College’s Long Room and Star Wars’ Jedi Temple archive. Do you see the similarity?

The Long Room is the most imposing and beautiful part of the vast Trinity College Library, an impressive collection of over 3 million manuscripts and books hosted in the grounds of Dublin’s oldest university. Trinity college dates back to 1592 when it was funded by charter of Queen Elisabeth, but the oldest library buildings we see now only date back to 1712, when construction started following the designs of Thomas Burgh. 

Read original article here: The Long Room, Dublin: when Jedi knowledge meets monastic Ireland

Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Ontario – Photo Essay

Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto is home to the two courts and the Law Society. It also houses the largest private law library in Canada, the Great Library, with over 100,000 volumes. Mary captured the grandeur of the building in photos.

I recently had an opportunity to tour the inside of Osgoode Hall and although it wasn’t a requirement or even necessary, I couldn’t help but whisper as I walked through the halls. You are after all in a place of law! Another thing was that I felt really small, especially in the library…with its high ornate ceilings and walls filled with books.

Read original article here: Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Ontario – Photo Essay

Underwhelmed in Alexandria, Egypt

Although he was underwhelmed, in general, with Alexandria, Lance was impressed with the collections at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (that’s his photo above).

We LOVED the area dedicated to the late President Anwar Sadat. It included a number of items from Sadat’s life, including a letter from then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter praising him for his role in bringing peace to relations with Israel as well as the clothes he was wearing when he was assassinated. Being American and woefully ignorant of Egyptian history, seeing this room (especially in the aftermath of the January 25 revolution) helped bring context to the political struggles of the country.

Read original article here: Underwhelmed in Alexandria, Egypt

Getting Booked at New York’s Library Hotel

The Library Hotel in New York City combines two of my favorite things – books and a luxury stay – in an enticing environment. I’ve put this on my to-stay list.

Lance liked it too (that’s his photo above) and says:

One of the unusual aspects of the hotel is its number system. The entire hotel is laid out on the Dewey Decimal System. Each of the floors and all of the rooms have a theme based on the Dewey system. Our room was the Middle Eastern Language room and featured Islamic art (one of our favorites).

Read original article here: Getting Booked at New York’s Library Hotel

As for me, my favorite library in the New York Public Library with Patience and Fortitude (the two stone lions out front) to welcome you. You’ve likely seen the library in movies (Ghostbusters, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Sex and the City, to name just a few), but you should get there to see it in person.

NOTE :   This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and purchase something it helps support this website (and you get the same low price). Thank you for your support.

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Mobile libraries now available in Moscow railway stations

Mobile libraries service presentation on Belorussky railway station.

'A Book for a Trip' launched on Dec. 8 at airports, railway terminals and other locations around Moscow, setting up virtual bookshelves to provide travelers with quality literature in Russian for the road.

Amusing floor stickers were placed in the Aeroexpress hall of Belorussky railway station: to download a book, stand or kneel on the ‘bookshelf.

The e-books are also available in the Belorussky station waiting and ticketing areas, the business lounge and the waiting area at Kazansky station, and the waiting areas in Paveletsky station.

The download is very simple and intuitive. Each image has a QR-code with a link to the library website. Choose a book, download and read whenever you like; your selected book will be saved to your device.

The virtual library includes, among others, the books of Zakhar Prilepin; Peter Aleshkovsky (2016 Russian Booker prize winner ); The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , by Stieg Larrson; Viktor Pelevin ; Dina Rubina ; Stephen King; and even children’s tales. All in all, almost 150 bestsellers are available to download.

Importantly, the initiative demonstrates the possibility for legal distribution of electronic books. Access to all books, including free ones, is granted on a strictly legal basis.

When Leo Tolstoy left home for a trip in 1910 and he forgot to bring a book, he asked his daughter Sasha to bring him the second volume of The Brothers Karamazov . Why so much hassle? Because there was no Internet back then and Tolstoy couldn’t download an e-book to read on the road!

‘A Book for a Trip’ is the joint initiative of Russian Book Union and Russian Railways, Ltd. The project was successfully implemented in several airports last year, with more than 4,000 books downloaded in Sheremetyevo in about half a year.

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This free line-cutting app could save you hours at the airport

Skip the wait at customs and immigration with Mobile Passport Control, travel’s best open secret.

A month ago, I flew from Paris back to Baltimore full of despair: My vacation was over , and the trip home seemed to take an eternity .

Then I saw the snaking line for customs and immigration.

What could have sunk me into a deeper woe actually revived me, because I didn’t have to wait in that soul-sucking purgatory. I didn’t have to wait in the shorter but still well-populated Global Entry line, either.

Instead, I headed to a third option that most people miss: the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) line. Thanks to this secret national treasure, I was out of the airport and hailing my Uber in eight minutes. (I timed it.)

You, too, can experience this completely free VIP treatment the next time you fly internationally. Here’s how.

What is Mobile Passport Control?

Think of Mobile Passport Control like a fast pass for international travel. It’s a free service that allows select travelers to access a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) express lane with a smartphone app.

To be eligible, you must be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, a Canadian B1/B2 citizen visitor or a returning Visa Waiver Program traveler with approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

You can use the app only when returning from an international trip at an MPC-approved site . That includes more than 30 U.S. international airports, 14 pre-clearance locations (among them airports in Abu Dhabi, Aruba and Ireland) and four seaports.

Why don’t more people use it?

Although you’ll see signs promoting Mobile Passport around those sites and sometimes ads on in-flight entertainment systems, most people aren’t taking advantage of the service. Just 8 percent of eligible travelers used the app in the 2024 fiscal year, according to CPB spokesman Aaron Bowker, though that’s a 50 percent increase from the year before.

The company Airside Mobile originally developed the app and launched it in 2014, first at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Awareness of its powers seemed to spread mostly by word of mouth and some signs around airports. In 2022, CBP officially took over the app, launching an updated version that left the original defunct. Some travelers missed the memo and figured the service had been discontinued when their app no longer worked.

But CBP is invested in the program’s growth.

“We’ve expanded the population of travelers that are able to use it. We’ve started to educate the airports. Airports have started to put in a better queuing system,” Bowker said. “And so we’re expecting to see this continue to increase.”

How Mobile Passport works

First, download the Mobile Passport app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store . Unlike line-cutting services such as Global Entry or TSA PreCheck , MPC doesn’t require preapproval or an application process. Even if you forget to do it before your trip, it’s so quick to set up, you can install it as you’re walking up to customs.

When it’s time to pass through, eligible travelers can fire up the app, answer the standard few questions about their trip that they would at a customs kiosk, take a selfie and proceed to a dedicated Mobile Passport lane, where an officer will confirm their details and wave them through. Individual travelers and families of up to 12 people can use the app at once.

It makes me feel like a fancy diplomat — not someone who just spent 12 hours in economy — every time I use it.

Mobile Passport vs. Global Entry

Mobile Passport and Global Entry both promise a faster airport experience. Both also come with pros and cons.

One MPC downside: Although it’s free to use and rarely has a line of more than a few travelers, it’s not at every airport. And Mobile Passport lanes may not always be available even in places that claim to offer it.

CBP spokeswoman Corey Daboin said the agency is aware of that problem. Sometimes, issues are due to infrastructure constraints — some airports may not have the lanes available to operate MPC continuously — or management. The agency stresses, however, that Mobile Passport is a priority, and “we are working on making that so it’s not an issue moving forward,” Daboin said.

If you fly internationally and your home airport doesn’t have MPC yet, Global Entry is a great option. It does cost $100 and requires an application and interview process. But it also comes with a TSA PreCheck membership and is good for five years — plus it’s still light-years better than waiting in that endless regular line.

More travel tips

Vacation planning: Start with a strategy to maximize days off by taking PTO around holidays. Experts recommend taking multiple short trips for peak happiness . Want to take an ambitious trip? Here are 12 destinations to try this year — without crowds.

Cheap flights: Follow our best advice for scoring low airfare , including setting flight price alerts and subscribing to deal newsletters. If you’re set on an expensive getaway, here’s a plan to save up without straining your credit limit.

Airport chaos: We’ve got advice for every scenario , from canceled flights to lost luggage . Stuck at the rental car counter? These tips can speed up the process. And following these 52 rules of flying should make the experience better for everyone.

Expert advice: Our By The Way Concierge solves readers’ dilemmas , including whether it’s okay to ditch a partner at security, or what happens if you get caught flying with weed . Submit your question here . Or you could look to the gurus: Lonely Planet and Rick Steves .

• Creative Cloud Libraries

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Learn how Creative Cloud Libraries help you keep project-specific design elements together so you and your team can access them from your Creative Cloud apps.

What are Creative Cloud Libraries?

Creative Cloud Libraries let you gather design elements for specific projects, clients, or teams for use within any of your Creative Cloud apps. Libraries help ensure you and your team access the same elements for a project throughout its lifecycle – from creating initial imagery in Photoshop and Illustrator to mocking up website interactions in XD, or creating print collateral in InDesign.

Collect assets

Gather design assets created in various apps for a project or client – from color palettes, character styles, logos, mnemonics, or approved imagery. A library can contain up to 10,000 assets.

Organize and share

Organize design assets into groups or save them into separate libraries based on brands, projects, types of assets, or clients. Share the libraries with team members so everyone can access the approved design elements and assets.

Incorporate into designs

Create unified designs, websites, brochures, presentations, artwork, and more using the most up-to-date assets from your libraries.

Create and use libraries

Create and use libraries in creative cloud apps.

You can view and use only the assets relevant to the app you are working in. For example, while you can add Photoshop layer styles to a library, those styles are relevant only to Photoshop.

Click the links below for details on how to create and use libraries in your Creative Cloud apps: 

For step-by-step information on how to create and use Creative Cloud Libraries, see the style guide .

Use libraries in mobile apps

You can access Creative Cloud Libraries in all mobile apps such as Adobe Capture, Creative Cloud mobile app, and Adobe Fresco. Most mobile apps can use applicable library assets, but can't save assets to a library. In contrast, you can't use library assets in Adobe Capture , but you can save shapes, color themes, brushes, and patterns directly to a library.

Access libraries in your Creative Cloud desktop app

The Creative Cloud desktop app is a convenient place to manage and organize your assets in a workspace that provides more elbow room than the Libraries panel in applications. You can access Your libraries in the  Files  tab of the Creative Cloud desktop app.

You can also access and manage your Creative Cloud Libraries in the  Creative Cloud website .

Add Adobe Stock images to libraries

Access adobe stock images from libraries in a creative cloud app.

Search for an Adobe Stock image directly from the library in your Creative Cloud app. When you've found an image you like, you can do any of the following:

Save an Adobe Stock image to your libraries

You can go to the  Adobe Stock website  and save a watermarked preview of an Adobe Stock image to any of your libraries. For more information, see  Using Adobe Stock .

Create library assets using Capture in-app extension

With the Capture in-app extension in Photoshop, quickly turn images into various design elements, such as color themes, patterns, vector shapes, and gradients. These are automatically saved to your libraries and instantly usable in your current project, or other Adobe applications. Learn more .

Use libraries in the Adobe Express app

Access assets from your Creative Cloud Libraries and the libraries shared with you within the Adobe Express app. Learn more .

Access libraries in other apps

Ms word and powerpoint.

The Creative Cloud add-on for Microsoft Word and PowerPoint lets you access your libraries within Word and PowerPoint. Incorporate your design assets into your presentations, reports, brochures, and other collaterals. For details, see  Adobe Creative Cloud Add-in for Word and PowerPoint .

Create automatic workflows called zaps by connecting your Creative Cloud Libraries with Google Sheets, Slack, or any of the other 1,500+ apps available on Zapier. For details, see  Creative Cloud Libraries for Zapier . 

Adobe Creative Cloud for Gmail  lets you share links to content stored in Creative Cloud Files, Libraries, and Mobile Creations directly in your Gmail messages. 

Share libraries with your team

You can share libraries with your team using the Creative Cloud website, the Creative Cloud desktop app, or any of your Creative Cloud desktop apps. Your team members need either a free or a paid Creative Cloud membership to use Creative Cloud Libraries. When you share, you can also give them either view or edit permission. For details on sharing, see  Collaborate on libraries .

Use Creative Cloud Libraries to create and share design systems in Adobe XD

Creative Cloud Libraries help your team to centrally manage and distribute design and brand systems assets at scale in Adobe XD.  To learn more, see  Work with Creative Cloud Libraries in XD .

Browse and follow public libraries

Learn how you can browse and save publicly available libraries in the Creative Cloud desktop app and later use them for your brand and creative projects. 

Export or import Creative Cloud Libraries

Learn how to export or import your Creative Cloud Libraries to your other account .

Libraries support color data for a single swatch or color themes. Libraries only support process colors. Spot colors are not supported and are added as process colors to libraries.

Your assets are stored locally on your device and synchronized with Creative Cloud.

The maximum number of collaborators is 1000 regardless of whether they have view or edit capabilities. If the library is public, it can have unlimited followers.

The maximum file size for a single library element is 1 GB.

See  What files can I add to Creative Cloud Libraries?

Learn which file formats are supported by Creative Cloud Libraries .

You can learn more about Creative Cloud Libraries with these resources:

• Get started with Creative Cloud Libraries (overview)

Video tutorials where Creative Cloud Libraries are demonstrated in mobile apps:

More like this

• Export and import Creative Cloud Libraries
• Creative Cloud Libraries panel stopped working
• Creative Cloud Libraries panel doesn't load in desktop products

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The Moscow Free Library and Reading Room opened in March of 1901 in one room of the Brown Building in downtown Moscow. The library was open two afternoons and two evenings a week and was operated by the Pleiades Club and the Moscow Historical Club. In 1903 members of the two clubs formed a committee to secure funding for a library building from the Andrew Carnegie Library Endowment. The Endowment granted the group $10,000. In 1904 Moscow residents approved a special tax to raise money for the building’s operation. A lot was purchased on the corner of Second and Jefferson Streets and Boise architect Watson Vernon was hired to design the library in the Mission Revival style, unique for northern Idaho. The building was completed in 1906 for just under $9,500, making it one of the last Carnegie libraries funded. The first major building improvement was made in 1931 with an addition that doubled the available space. In 1938 the front steps were rebuilt, replacing the curved stairs which had been a feature of the original architecture. In 1964 the basement was remodeled into a children’s library. Construction started in August 1982 to remodel and add to the original Carnegie building. In April 1983 the building was opened to the public, with the Carol Ryrie Brink Reading Room in the historic Carnegie building designated a special place for the children of the community. This addition more than doubled the space again. The Moscow branch serves as headquarters of the Latah County Library District, housing the administrative, adult services, youth services, access services and technical services departments. The Moscow Carnegie Library was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. More information about the library may be found on the Society of Architectural Historians’ “Archipedia” website.

110 S. Jefferson St. Moscow, ID 83843

Mailing Address: 110 S. Jefferson St. Moscow, ID 83843

208-882-3925

[email protected]

Friends of the Moscow Library

The Friends of the Moscow Library meets regularly to plan their semi-annual book sale held at the Latah County Fairgrounds. Funds raised by the Friends support Moscow programs such as Summer Reading, Everybody Reads, Books for Babies at Gritman Medical Center, and various capital projects.

Moscow Community Resources

Discover the people and organizations working to keep your local community a great place to live.

Moscow Storytimes

Babes & Books : Introduce your littlest family members, babies 15-months and under, to the library. Enjoy stories, toys, and meeting new faces. Tots and Tales : Bring your kids ages 3-5 for songs, rhymes, stories, and fun activities!

New on the Shelves in Moscow

New adult books.

New Youth Books

Upcoming Events in Moscow

Moscow – death café, moscow – summer reading kickoff party, moscow – tuesday teabirds book club, moscow – adventure storytime, moscow – jenks the musician, holiday closure, moscow – reptile man, moscow – teens try it: open make.

110 S. Jefferson St. Moscow, Idaho 83843

208.882.3925

Digital Library

Events Calendar

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San antonio, texas, fire department, mobile integrated health division: “harm reduction,” the new “fire prevention”.

This brief by the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) and its partners discusses the San Antonio (TX) Fire Department’s implementation of the Texas Targeted Opioid Response (TTOR) program.

This publication by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP), along with the Center for Health & Justice at TASC and the International Association of Fire Chiefs, highlights the San Antonio, Texas, Fire Department, Mobile Integrated Health Division’s 2018 implementation of the Texas Targeted Opioid Response (TTOR) program, in collaboration with the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing and Office of the Medical Director. The goal of this program is to work toward stabilizing patients with a history of opioid use in a pre-hospital setting and refer them to a facility to assist with the long-term rehabilitation and recovery. The SAFD MIH team compiles a list of patients to contact within a few days after SAFD Fire or Emergency Medical Services (EMS) administers Narcan for an opioid reversal during an emergency response. The patients who qualify for the TTOR program have a history of having Narcan administered by EMS staff, family, friends, or other first responders. Patients may also qualify for the program if they have been seen at an emergency department for an overdose and are recommended as part of their discharge plan. The MIH TTOR program aims to be the bridge between overdose and the counseling/ recovery center, distribution of Narcan, and education of patients and families. Within a year of operating the TTOR program, the MIH team recognized the need for another viable option to assist patients who wanted counseling and treatment but required more immediate treatment to curb their opioid addiction. Fire and EMS agencies across the country are in a unique position to assist existing community partners with harm reduction strategies.

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