Long before Amazon, Audible, and other digital book distributors, bookmobiles were bringing literature to peoples' doorsteps. Their mission was to provide remote villages and city suburbs that had no libraries with books to read. We invite you to remember these almost forgotten four-wheelers of the past.
The first mobile library is believed to have appeared in Warrington, England in the late 1850s. It was a horse-drawn cart and lent about 12,000 books during its first year of service. Later, such mobile public libraries were installed inside vehicles and reached the height of their popularity in the mid-20th century when they had become a part of Americal life and were loved by every bookworm.
Although bookmobiles are still operated in some parts of the world by libraries, schools, activists, and other organizations, they are widely thought to be an outdated service due to high costs, advanced technology, and impracticality.
Now scroll down below and check the vintage photos showcasing a piece from our past!
(h/t: vintageeveryday, messynessychic)
#41 The Library's First Bookmobile, C. 1927
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#43 Onboard The Connecticut State Library’s Bookmobile With Margaret Sullivan And Marcella Finan, 1967
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#46 Patrons Visit The Bookmobile In 1962. Mrs James B. Wilson, Librarian, Performs Readers' Advisory Service At Far Right
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#47 Carolyn Herntz Assists Patrons Visiting The Bookmobile, 1958
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#49 A Photo Of The Bookmobile From Washington County (md) Free Library
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#51 Presentation Of The New Bookmobile At The Paris Colonial Exposition Held In Paris France, 1931
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