Celebrate bookmobiles with the Iowa City Public Library and Antelope Lending Library on National Bookmobile Day Wednesday, April 12, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Mercer Park, 2701 Bradford Dr.

Visit both Bookmobiles as well as other vehicles that provide mobile services in town, including a fire truck, police car, University of Iowa Mobile Medical Clinic, a Table to Table van, and an Iowa City Transit bus.

Live entertainment will be provided by The Dandelion Stompers, with free activities led by Zen Den Yoga, massage therapist Jamie Nevins and Katie Ross with ZIPS Zines in Public Schools. The Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department will offer a bookmaking workshop.

Don’t forget to pick up bookmobiles' summer schedules and nab a special bookmobile-themed giveaway. Cookies will be provided by Hy-Vee.

If it rains, all activities will move to the Mercer Park Community Room.

What is the Bookmobile?

The Bookmobile is a mobile library service from the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL). In addition to a collection of new and popular books and DVDs on the Bookmobile, you can check out anything from ICPL’s collection by placing a hold and requesting pick-up at the Bookmobile.

How do I check out books?

Anyone who has an ICPL Library Card can check out materials at the Bookmobile.

How do I get a Library Card?

Any Iowa resident may obtain an ICPL Library Card on the Bookmobile or at the Downtown Library. Register for your card in person or pre-register online. A photo ID and Iowa address verification are required.

How do I return books?

You can return your books at any of the Bookmobile’s weekly stops, at any of our remote bookdrops, or at the Library's downtown location.

Can I pick up my holds at the Bookmobile?

Yes, you can! When you ask for a hold through ICPL, let us know if you’d like to pick it up at the Bookmobile.

Are there Library programs on the Bookmobile?

The Bookmobile will stop at Stories in the Park programs in the summer on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Other special programs are planned periodically.

The Bookmobile will operate on three annual schedule periods.

The Summer Schedule runs from June 1 through August 18, and will focus on serving children and visits high visibility locations. Go here to see the summer schedule.

The Fall (August through December) and Spring Schedules (January through May) focus on serving locations throughout the community. Keep checking the Bookmobile website for more information as it becomes available.

At the turn of the 20th Centrury, librarian Mary Titcomb introduced mobile book services to the United States, specifically the Washington County Free Library in Maryland.

The goal of her book transport system was to reach people living in rural communities. Titcomb used a horse-drawn library wagon to send boxes of books to nearby general stores and post offices. By 1904, 66 deposit stations dispensed books throughout the county.

The first motorized bookmobiles were born in 1912, serving not only rural communities, but schools and senior centers. Seen as a cost-effective way to promote literacy in poor communities, bookmobiles experienced a bit of a boom, with as many as 60 active bookmobiles by the late 1930s.

Bookmobiles' progress was stalled by The Great Depression and World War II, but saw a resurgence in the 1950s. The Library Services Act of 1956 is often credited for expanding bookmobile services to more than 30 million people in rural communities.

Rising fuel costs and budget cuts contributed to the decline of bookmobiles in the 1970s and 1980s. Their popularity continued to wane in the 1990s and early 2000s. Advances in digital technologies are often cited as the reason for bookmobiles' disappearance. As it turns out, this technology will later contribute to the service's regrowth.

According to the American Library Association, the number of bookmobiles in the United States grew by more than 10 percent from 2003 to 2005 in order to meet demand for mobile library services. We're excited to join our mobile library friends on this journey of bringing literacy, learning and fun to the people. We'll see you on the road!