Airstream Bookmobile

You knew it was only a matter of time. And what a rockin' awesome bookmobile a 1959 Airstream makes! The Mobilivre was based in Quebec, but stopped operation in 2008. Y'all need to argue for a comeback tour!
     Thanks to Webecoist for the heads up and more great pictures of odd buildings and vehicles that have been transformed into bookstores and libraries! Also thanks to poetic home for the original post and pictures: An Airstream Ingeniously Repurposed into a Library.

Lafayette Book Store

We have another book mobile! Although this one has an interesting start - it's an evolution from a struggling bookstore. The owners of the Lafayette Book Store decided to put the whole thing on wheels and now the Bay Area Bookmobile, or "Big Blue," can go straight to the people at schools, festivals, book clubs, you name it! It's the first "Independent Bookstore on Wheels" that I've ever heard of, and I think it's a great idea.

Big Purple Bus!

It's not a giant grape, it's the San Antonio Public Library's Bookmobile! And here I thought bookmobiles were a fading thing. Not at all!
 I love the quote they include on their site:

The book goes to the man, not waiting for the man to come to the book." - Mary Titcom, the first bookmobile lady.

Bookmobile Parade!

Bookmobiles ROCK! And the American Libraries site recently posted Bookmobiles on Parade held during the 2010 ALA (American Library Association) Annual Conference in Washington, DC. (Click the image to view the slideshow.) How cool is this!?
(Thanks to the RIF - Reading is Fundamental - blog for the heads up!)

Camel Book Drive

On the subject of bookmobiles, the Camel Book Drive in Kenya has got to be the most unusual. But maybe one of the most important.
     Hubbie and I honeymooned in Kenya and it is a truly magical place. However, literacy is LOW and very few kids actually own a book. Kenya is also a very big place. So if the kids can't go to the books, the books will humpity, humpity on a camel to the kids. Fantastic!
     Click the photo (from the website) to learn more.

Bookmobiles in History

I've posted before about some unusual bookmobiles, like the bicycle book mobile and the tank bookmobile. Well, the Saint Paul Public Library has a page dedicated to bookmobiles from the past: Bookmobile History and Photo Album. Including the one below. It's groovy to see the evolution of these, and to see how eager the kids were to find a new treasure. In fact, this may have to become a new tag theme at dulemba.com - bookmobiles. Gotta luv 'em.

Thanks to Julie Fortenberry at children's illustration for turning me onto this!

The Book Bike

Another bookmobile! This one is a bike-book-mobile! How's this for a brilliant set-up? This one is a custom set-up by Gabriel Levinson. Publishers donate books and Gabriel gives them away at free public events. How's that for promoting literacy? Visit Shareable.net to read more about it and see more photos.
Again, thanks to Reading Is Fundamental for the heads up!

Argentine Book Tank

How's a tank for a bookmobile? A bit in your face? Artist Raul Lemesoff turned a 1979 Ford Falcon into a 'Weapon of Mass Instruction.' Visit Book Patrol to read more about it and see more photos!
Thanks to Reading Is Fundamental for the heads up!