Libraries on Wheels

Especially in the past, bookmobiles proved a delight for many rural families across the country. In my early childhood, I can still remember the thrill of walking into the large van that had rows and rows of shelved books for me to choose from, and likely some of you can too.

Bookmobiles came remarkably early.  Fairfax County, Virginia, had a horse-drawn one operating as early as 1890. Washington County, Maryland, had one in 1902, and Chester, South Carolina, started one in 1904. However, bookmobiles didn’t become widespread in the United States until they were funded as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration program from 1936-1943.  Even though the WPA ended in 1942-43, support for these mobile libraries did not. They'd become too successful because they had the unique flexibility to go to the clientele rather than requiring those patrons to come to them.

Add caption

The state of North Carolina provides a good example of bookmobile growth. Durham County offered the first bookmobile service in North Carolina in 1923. The one-ton, blue Chevrolet held 600 books. Other counties followed, especially in the forties and fifties, when federal funds were readily available. Prior to 1926, only thirty-two percent of North Carolinians had access to library books. By 1942, over eighty percent did. In a survey done in fifty-seven North Carolina counties in 1978, only three did not have a bookmobile service. The survey also showed that nearly one book was put into circulation for each contact minute of a bookmobile, an excellent ratio. North Carolinians used their bookmobiles.

Davidson Co., NC, 1960

These mobile libraries made stops wherever people needed them. This included places like schools, daycares, and children’s centers; recreation centers; rest homes; churches; post offices; fire stations; stores, and private residences. Bookmobiles began to decline in the seventies and eighties when federal funding for them began to dwindle. Federally funded bookmobiles ended in 1972.  Local county commissioners often argued that they were not necessary anymore since more people now owned cars and could get to a library themselves. However, there were grant monies to be had and agricultural funds kept the mobile libraries going in some locations. Even though it’s rarer nowadays, it’s still exciting to see a brightly painted bookmobile on the road or pulled into a stop for people to check-out books. 

________________________________