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LA County’s bookmobiles started rolling in the 1940s. Now they’re electric
The electricity- and solar-powered LA County Library East Bookmobile can hold more than 2,500 books.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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L.A. County's newest bookmobile is powered by electricity and the sun, but the books on board are still paper.
County officials, librarians and community members held a ribbon-cutting Friday in Azusa for the electric vehicle that can carry 2,500 books. The 29-foot white truck resembles a motorhome — but with the living furnishings swapped for bookshelves.
Laptops, state parks passes and wi-fi hotspots are available to check out in addition to all those books.
“I feel so passionate about providing the service to the community,” East Bookmobile manager Eliana Medina said. “We will try our best to get them the material that they're looking for.”
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East Bookmobile manager Eliana Medina and library assistant Juan Montero make two stops each day Tuesday through Saturday. "It's less intimidating, I think coming into something small," Medina said of the bookmobile. "You see the same people all the time and you create this kind of rapport with the customers that come in— friendships."
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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County Supervisor Hilda Solis of District 1 paid for the bookmobile with $250,000 from her district’s utility fund.
” I just want to make sure that everybody takes advantage of this, whether you're a senior citizen, whether you're a single mom, whether you're a high school student, a college student, or you're someone who's looking for a job,” Solis said. “There's access to information in this vehicle and all of our libraries to help you to empower you.”
LA County Library bookmobiles through the years
Although the electric-powered vehicles are new, the mobile library concept dates to the 1940s, when L.A. County debuted its first gas-powered bookmobiles.
“In the 4,600 square miles of the county, we can't have a library everywhere, so we have to mobilize the service to get out into our communities,” said County Librarian Skye Patrick. She said that data — including from the county’s anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion initiative — shows where people live in “information deserts” and guides the bookmobiles’ routes.
A 1949 "mobilibrary" in the Santa Clarita Valley.
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LA County Library
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An LA County Library bookmobile rolls through the Antelope Valley in 1951.
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LA County Library
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“We're looking to institute more of these [electric bookmobiles] county-wide because it makes good sustainable sense,” Patrick said.
The transition is also in line with the county’s goal to have a fully zero-emissions fleet by 2035.
A 1954 bookmobile.
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LA County Library
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The 1980s bookmobile was also known as the Information Express.
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LA County Library
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A day on the bookmobile
East Bookmobile makes two stops a day, and its route includes a school, a community center and several parks.
“A typical library, it's much more routine,” said Medina, whose library career started 18 years ago. “But here you're kind of like all hands on deck at all times. It's fun, and you interact with the community a lot more.”
"People who haven't been to a library have this bridge," Library Assistant Juan Montero said of the bookmobile. "They know what to expect when they go to an actual library."
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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Saira, 11, first spotted the bookmobile at Azusa’s Valleydale Park a few months ago.
“I was curious,” she said, as she perused the fiction on Friday. That curiosity led her to sign up for her first library card.
“I feel like there's like more books, and they're more interesting than a regular school library in my opinion,” Saira said. Plus, the people are “really nice.”
Saira, 11, is a fan of Harry Potter and books with drama. Library Assistant Juan Medina said graphic novels, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dog Man series are among the bookmobile's most popular titles.
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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Her mom, Saira Alvarez, said she brings her daughter and 6-year-old son to the park, partially to get them off their phones. And the library provides another opportunity to learn.
Sometimes they check out books to read or find a new recipe to try in a cookbook.
“Es muy, muy bonito porque ayuda mucho a los niños,” Alvarez said. “It’s really beautiful because it helps the kids a lot.”
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Find a bookmobile near you
East
- Established: 2001
- Spot it in…
- Unincorporated L.A. County District 1
- Azusa
- East Los Angeles
- La Puente
- Hacienda Heights
- Pomona
- Rowland Heights
- See the schedule or call (626) 505-1662
- Did you know? It has an electric motor, solar panels and provides free public wi-fi.
Gateway
- Established: 2001
- Spot it in…
- Unincorporated L.A. County District 4
- Hawaiian Gardens
- Hollydale
- Huntington Park
- Lakewood
- Lynwood
- Paramount
- Whittier
- See the schedule or call (626) 338-8373
- Did you know? It can hold 2,500 books or more and is wheelchair accessible.
Antelope Valley East
- Established: 1958
- Spot it in…
- Littlerock
- Pearblossom
- Llano
- East Lancaster
- See the schedule or call (661) 948-0796
- Did you know? It was first known as the Newhall Mobilibrary and served outlying Santa Clarita Valley Schools.
Antelope Valley West
- Established: 1940s
- Spot it in…
- Lake Hughes
- Leona Valley
- Lake Elizabeth
- Holiday Valley
- Antelope Acres
- Green Valley
- See the schedule or call (661) 948-8270
- Did you know? Its weekly stops include schools, a senior living complex, mobile home parks and Papa’s Country Store.
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