9 8 ] www.tusclibrary.org Celebrating 75 Years of Mobile Services Libraries have a long history of finding a way to get library materials into the hands of those who need them. The Tuscarawas County Public Library System’s Mobile Services has been crisscrossing the roads of Tuscarawas County providing library services to area schools, daycares, institutions, senior centers, neighborhoods, and special events for 75 years! Evolving to Meet Community Needs The history of mobile services began in 1949 when the library purchased its first bookmobile. While our service models have changed through the years, the goal of bringing the library to you has remained the same. When the bookmobile first took to the road, it was a library on wheels. It traveled from community stop to community stop providing a place for people to get on the bookmobile, browse the collection, and check out materials of their choice. Stops included residential neighborhoods and farms, as well as church and grocery parking lots with many stops being in the most rural areas of our county. Bookmobile day was a day the community anticipated and marked on their calendars. Individuals and full families would come to the bookmobile to return materials from their last visit and select new items to take home. Through the years, the library has adapted mobile services to meet the needs of the community. In the fifties and sixties, for instance, libraries were almost non-existent in elementary schools. The bookmobile started making stops at schools to provide support for the curriculum, as well as recreational reading for the students. The bookmobile would park in the school lot and students would come out, classroom-by-classroom, to visit the library on wheels and select materials. In the seventies, the bookmobile began providing collections to the jail, attention center, county home, and nursing homes. In the eighties, the bookmobile began making stops at area preschools. The library also started to bring storytimes to its youngest customers. Preschoolers and elementary kids could gather on the bookmobile or just outside the bookmobile to enjoy the reading of a book, as well as singing songs and reciting rhymes before checking out materials. In the nineties, the library began delivering materials to homebound customers. In addition to community needs, economic factors, like fuel prices and library funding, have shaped the 75-year history of mobile services. There were times when the number of stops had to be reduced, summer service had to be suspended, and even community stops and homebound services had to be suspended for a period. Still, the library believed in the importance of mobile service and was determined to find an efficient way to provide mobile services to the community. In the 2000s, the library downsized from large bus-sized vehicles to a smaller bookmobile and eventually to a cargo delivery van. Staff reinvented mobile services to work with the smaller vehicles and found a way to include community Pop-Up Libraries and classroom crate deliveries. Today and Into the Future Today’s library mobile vehicle with its purple, orange, and green branding can be seen throughout the county delivering materials to home delivery customers, schools and daycares, as well as nursing homes and senior living communities. They provide storytimes and programming for seniors at many of their stops. You will also find them conducting Pop-Up Libraries, attending special events, filling Little Free Libraries, and participating in parades and festivals around the county. We invite you to join us in celebrating 75 Years of Mobile Services delivering to you. Celebrations will continue throughout the year, including a special announcement and celebration planned this fall. Be sure to wave to us when you see us out and about! To inquire more about services offered by the library’s Mobile Services team, visit www.tusclibrary.org/ mobile-services. HOW DO I LOVE MY BOOKMOBILE? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS... Drop your letter off at any TCPL location or submit it through our website at tusclibrary.org by March 20th. Dear Bookmobile, I love you because... 1949 1959 1974 1985 1991 2006 2016* 2022 There have only been eight vehicles in the 75 years of TCPL Mobile Services – six bookmobiles and two cargo delivery vans. Each new purchase brought changes in features and service models. * The 2016 van was totaled in a non-library fault accident leading to the purchase of our latest 2022 cargo delivery van.
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