Bookmobile

A bookmobile is a mobile library. Today, it usually is a bus, that is designed like a library. Usually, these mobiles have a fixed schedule. They serve the same stops, all the time. Often, these bookmobiles stop at schools: The idea is to incite children to read books, to improve their reading skills. Usually, they also allow to pre-order certain books. The first such libraries date from the 19th century.

In 1833, the Brothers Harper started with several identical collections, that toured around the united states. The brothers also published Harper’s Weekly.  Their library was called "American School Library". They started in 1839.  Probably the last complete set of these books is at the  National Museum of American History. 

In 1857, the monthly journal The British Workman reported on a library that regularly served 8 villages in Cumbria. George Moore, a merchant and philanthropist ran this library,  to "serve good literature to the people in the countryside."

In 1905, there was such a library with a horse-drawn carriage in Maryland.

Category:Libraries