A Day in the Life of a Bookmobile Librarian
May 24, 2025 1:28 PM Subscribe
EVERY kid should automatically have access to public books! Take a name and address and give them a temp 2 week card right then and there. Personally, I think every person in the US should have access to any library nationwide without charge. That's nearly a reality now, what with library requests and ebooks.
The right to an education shouldn't stop at the gate to the school house. Andrew Carnegie was a typical rich a**hole, but IMO, he earned his way into heaven with the establishment of public libraries. Supposedly, his worth is estimated somewhere around $300 billion in today's currency, and that should have been enough to fund libraries forever.
I lived for the bookmobile as a kid. They usually had to pry me out of there, and I was always trying to push the limit on the number of books I was allowed to take. Juat one more, pleeeeese! Occasionally they would allow me 1 or 2 over, and believe me, I would bug'em every time after that.
posted by BlueHorse at 3:17 PM on May 24 [4 favorites]
The right to an education shouldn't stop at the gate to the school house. Andrew Carnegie was a typical rich a**hole, but IMO, he earned his way into heaven with the establishment of public libraries. Supposedly, his worth is estimated somewhere around $300 billion in today's currency, and that should have been enough to fund libraries forever.
I lived for the bookmobile as a kid. They usually had to pry me out of there, and I was always trying to push the limit on the number of books I was allowed to take. Juat one more, pleeeeese! Occasionally they would allow me 1 or 2 over, and believe me, I would bug'em every time after that.
posted by BlueHorse at 3:17 PM on May 24 [4 favorites]
that should have been enough to fund libraries forever.
I have always been led to believe that his deal was, half the money to build (one of his designs), no running costs. Not a bad deal, but designed to engender the right mindset in the community: he wasn’t giving you a library, he was making affordable for communities who shared his vision all while avoiding the taint of charity.
Generally pretty buildings though, even if library design has moved on.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 5:32 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
I have always been led to believe that his deal was, half the money to build (one of his designs), no running costs. Not a bad deal, but designed to engender the right mindset in the community: he wasn’t giving you a library, he was making affordable for communities who shared his vision all while avoiding the taint of charity.
Generally pretty buildings though, even if library design has moved on.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 5:32 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
« Older Two fascinating videos on the History of London
posted by dfm500 at 1:34 PM on May 24