Book Mobiles

Library ready to hit the road

Blake — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:58:29 -0400

Librarian Sandi Purcell is preparing for a journey. On her packing list: "The Lord of the Rings" series, "Nancy Drew" and "Captain Underpants." Purcell and librarian Lucy Ford will drive North Central Regional Library system's new bookmobile across the library district's 15,000 square miles to North Central Washington's smallest towns. Their mission is to hook kids on reading by bringing the library to them.

MN Readmobiles may end up parked in garage

Blake — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:34:19 -0400

With its budget tightening, Hennepin County library administrators propose cutting the service to save $340,000.

So far it's a cut proposed by library administrators who say they're looking for the most cost-effective ways to continue library service. With five staffers and the cost of fuel, the Read- mobiles are on the block.

Post Apocalyptic Library Commercials

Great Western Dragon — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:05:30 -0400

This one from the good folks over at Boing Boing:

"When I was in fifth grade, Mississippi Public Broadcasting decided to introduce a series of short films to educate children on how to use the library. For some godforsaken reason, the people at MPB decided that the best way to do this would be through a post-apocalyptic science fiction serial with children roaming the blasted earth in a… bookmobile… like a cross between 'Reading Rainbow' and 'Damnation Alley.' Confused? So was I. I loved the library and post-apocalyptic movies and television programs, and even I was completely nonplussed. Apparently someone has uploaded the entire run onto YouTube. The music still gives me the creeps!"

The adventure begins!

Digital Bookmobile to Launch National Tour in the Big Apple

Blake — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:49:05 -0400

The Digital Bookmobile ( www.digitalbookmobile.com), a traveling community outreach exhibit for public library download services, will kick off a national tour on August 10 in Central Park with The New York Public Library ( http://ebooks.nypl.org). The inaugural event will allow readers of all ages to experience digital audiobook, eBook, music, and video downloads from their public library and immerse themselves in an interactive learning environment. Events are scheduled at Queens Borough Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library in the days following the Central Park launch.

The library lady

nbruce — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:59:10 -0400

At the coffee shop today Tina, the counter clerk who loves "true crime" books and often tells me about her latest read, told me about a program of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Perhaps other large cities have this as part of the bookmobile feature, but I wasn't familiar with it. Tina was visiting her friend who has a daycare in her home, 6 children, two shifts. She can't get to the library, so the library comes to her. A van driver brings a package of selected, age appropriate books to her home and she selects what she needs and the items are recorded. The library staff person also drops off used, donated children's books for the daycare provider to keep.

Tina said the children in the home get so excited when "the library lady" comes, and she thinks it's building interest in reading.

This reminds me a bit of a service my mother told me about when she attended a rural, one-room school in Illinois in the 1920s. The state library provided the schools with rotating boxed collections of books which would stay at the school for awhile and the children could use them, then they would be moved to a different school.

Tina is currently reading The devil in the White City which I recommended. It may be the only (and last) true crime book I ever read, but it sure is a spell binder and great history of Chicago and the 1890s. Her enthusiasm for reading and libraries is refreshing.

I noticed when I previewed this the entry box says I posted it on Dec. 31, 1969, which would make me 30 years old again with 2 babies.

From the first bookmobile driver...

Blake — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:51:51 -0500

An Obit from Monroe,MI, for Evelyn Obenchain, the first Monroe County bookmobile driver.

The Monroe woman began working for Monroe County Library System in 1942 and worked for a total of 23 years, most of them as the bookmobile driver. She drove until poor health forced her to stop.

Bookmobile reminds us libraries are for books

Blake — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:12:00 -0400

I'll never miss an opportunity to post a story on Book Mobiles! Here's One From Wisconsin State Journal: Since 1967, the big green bus has been chugging around the county, making sure those who can 't get to a bricks and mortar library can maintain their contact with literacy.

But the bookmobile is becoming something of a dinosaur around the country. Though there are still about 900 operating -- it is a big country, you know -- they are slowly being displaced. The Boston Globe reports bookmobiles are going out of business all over Massachusetts and that those that remain in operation are struggling.

Asia Foundation Launches Mobile Library Initiative

birdie — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:15:00 -0400

bookieincolorado writes "Asia Foundation Launches Mobile Library Initiative in Sri Lanka.
The San Francisco-based Asia Foundation, with support from the AIG Disaster Relief Fund and Give2Asia, has announced a new mobile library initiative designed to serve an estimated eighty thousand families and children living in southern and eastern Sri Lanka.

The mobile libraries will be stationed in the communities of Hambantota, Hikkaduwa, Kattankudy, and Thirukkovil, all of which were affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. The foundation has retrofitted buses as mobile libraries stocked with books selected by local authorities and available in Sinhala, Tamil, and English, as well as a laptop computer, multimedia projector, and educational DVDs.

http://www.asiafoundation.org/Locations/srilanka_m obilelibraries.html"

Stamford CT's Purple Bus Has An Anniversary

birdie — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:21:00 -0400

Article from the Stamford (CT) Times about their Purple Bus,...and here's a photo of same. From the paper: What is big and purple and carries school children? The Ferguson Library's Purple Bus, of course. This fall marks the 10th anniversary of the library's Purple Bus service.

The eye-catching Purple Bus brings classes from Stamford pre-school and elementary schools to the library during the school year. Last year, 138 pre-school and elementary school classes visited the library on the Purple Bus; a total of 2,953 students all together.

Younger children receive an introduction to the library while the older students learn how to perform research using the library's many resources, including the online catalog and research databases.

Mobile library leaves trail of bookworms

Blake — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:06:00 -0400

A mobile library is changing the lives of children in this remote village in Uttar Pradesh. This library does not move in a van or a car. A team of 45 dedicated volunteers carry books to different areas of the block, which is about 20 kilometres from Amethi district, and the adjoining areas on bicycles or on foot.
Each library has 400 to 700 books but the librarian carries 100-125, which are circulated. The NGO Pratham provides the books and pays the librarians an honorarium of Rs 500 per month. Sanjay Tiwari, a Pratham volunteer in Gauriganj, says: "We also give books free now and then."