{ "item_title" : "Library on Wheels", "item_author" : [" Sharlee Glenn "], "item_description" : "Sharlee Glenn's picture book Library on Wheels tells the true story of America's first bookmobile. If you can't bring the man to the books, bring the books to the man. Mary Lemist Titcomb (1852-1932) was always looking for ways to improve her library. As librarian at the Washington County Free Library in Maryland, Titcomb was concerned that the library was not reaching all the people it could. She was determined that everyone should have access to the library--not just adults and those who lived in town. Realizing its limitations and inability to reach the county's 25,000 rural residents, including farmers and their families, Titcomb set about to change the library system forever with the introduction of book-deposit stations throughout the country, a children's room in the library, and her most revolutionary idea of all--a horse-drawn Book Wagon. Soon book wagons were appearing in other parts of the country, and by 1922, the book wagon idea had received widespread support. The bookmobile was born! Readers will be inspired by Titcomb's dedication to her work and indifference to naysayers. The book's attractive layout resembles a scrapbook, where archival photos, reproductions of letters, and other historic ephemera grace most pages. Glenn's accessible writing provides just the right amount of historical context to highlight the extraordinary nature of Titcomb's work and unquestionably establishes her as a true American pioneer. --Booklist (Starred Review)", "item_img_path" : "https://covers3.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/41/972/875/141972875X_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "18.99", "online_price" : "18.99", "our_price" : "18.99", "club_price" : "18.99", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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A fun history lesson for budding bookworms

For most Americans today, it’s hard to imagine a world without a library, but there was a time when libraries were scarce. Before the Works Progress Administration sent packhorse librarians to reach rural Appalachia in the 1930s, there was the bookmobile. The first of these was created by a Maryland librarian in 1905. Part library history and part biography, Sharlee Glenn’s Library on Wheels: Mary Lemist Titcomb and America’s First Bookmobile is an interesting look at a forgotten piece of America’s past.

Glenn’s book begins by looking closely at the life of Mary Lemist Titcomb, who was born in a time when career paths for women were limited. After a failed nursing career (she would get queasy), Titcomb heard of a new field of work called librarianship. Glenn traces Titcomb’s path to becoming the head of the Washington County Free Library in Maryland and highlights the literacy programs she founded.

In language easily understood by capable readers, Library on Wheels is both entertaining and informative. With original photographs and color prints from the era, the book feels like a scrapbook, which makes it fun to read. Don’t skip the final pages, which include an interesting author’s addendum, endnotes, select bibliography and an index.

 

This article was originally published in the April 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.