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Posts tagged ‘library’

Jun 6

“Books on wheels” spread the joy of reading

Since the printed word came into being, people have been promoting literacy one way or another. An early way of doing so was via bookmobile. The first “books on wheels” were developed in the 1800’s in England as a way to get books to rural areas far away from city or town libraries.

I remember waiting with barely-contained excitement each week for our local bookmobile “Little Chief” to drive up to my parents’ grocery story. Being the only business in our small bayside community, we were a natural location for the bookmobile to offer its weighty words and bright, shiny covers to patrons.

I’m sure Little Chief was one of the reasons I became an avid reader. I devoured my books each week so I could experience the joy of choosing new ones the next week.

Despite the internet and the e-book revolution, the bookmobile still exists in our county. I passed the big, purple behemoth the other day and had an instant flashback to those early days of learning to love to read. The adventures of Huck Finn, the Swiss Family Robinson, and the Lone Ranger echoed my own adventures as I discovered the ample forests of my childhood. The bookmobile was my bat mobile where all kinds of adventures awaited me each week.

Bookmobiles are still used in many countries and some are run without a vehicle. Examples include:

Jun 3

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Build a Little Free Library to promote literacy

Little Free Libraries is an organization looking for help to build and place Little Free Libraries where kids and adults need good books.

Their mission is to:

  • Promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide.
  • Build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity, and wisdom across generations. 

Their goal is to build 2,510 Libraries–as many as Andrew Carnegie–and keep going!

To find out how you can help promote literacy and spread the word, please visit their website.

“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.” – Andrew Carnegie

Apr 10

Write a six-word story about why you belong at the library

This week is National Library Week, and it reminds me of how my addiction to libraries began. I struggled with reading until I got into the second grade. But once I could really read, I fell in love with books – and libraries.

When we were kids, my friend Tracy and I would ride our bikes to the library during the summer. We’d take brown paper grocery bags and stash them in the shrubs. Then we’d go in and check out a huge stack of books, put them in our bags, fold the top over our handlebars, and ride home. We’d pour ourselves a glass of fruit punch, line up our books in the order we wanted to read them, and launch ourselves into other worlds. Read more