A Look at the Mobilibraries of the Los Angeles County Library

For National Bookmobile Day (newly dubbed National Library Outreach Day), here is a quick look at the Mobilibraries of the Los Angeles County Library (aka County of Los Angeles Public Library). For a history of the Los Angeles Public Library Traveling Branches click here.

From September 17 through October 3, 1948, Los Angeles County Fairgoers in Pomona got their first glimpse of the Mobilibrary. It was parked right there in front of the race track grandstand on the main thoroughfare and was visited by approximately 1000 people according to the library's staff newsletter. Mobilibrary Unit No. 1 was the first bookmobile of the Los Angeles County Library system and two librarians were there from 2pm to 8pm daily to explain how it would be used. The bookmobile, or mobile unit as the library called it, had been on display for one day, September 9, at the Antelope Valley Fair. Its purpose was to provide service to smaller communities in the Antelope Valley, not including Lancaster and Palmdale which already had library branches.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Roger W. Jessup takes a look at Los Angeles County Library's Mobile Unit No. 1. Note the shelving which was custom built in the "Library Shop" (aka Property and Transportation Division). Photo dated February 8, 1949. Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection

Monday, February 7, 1949 marked the beginning of the Mobilibrary's weekly 600-mile tours of the Antelope Valley. The bookmobile initially carried 1000 books on custom-made shelves. The shelving was the work of James E. Cobb, head of the Library's Property and Transportation Division, and his crew. By mid-1949, a duplicate of Mobilibrary Unit No. 1, this one owned by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was also pressed into service. This bookmobile, which had one library-appointed driver and librarian, provided service to road camps and forestry camps in remote areas of the county. This bookmobile, later dubbed Wayside Mobilibrary, was housed at Wayside Honor Rancho (now known as Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center).

The end of 1949 saw the start of Mobilibrary Unit No. 2 service to western Los Angeles County--Malibu, Topanga, Cornell, Agoura and Calabasas, which was not already served by branch libraries. The bookmobile--which also provided reference, reader's advisory and accepted requests for any book in the system-- stopped at schools, fire stations, post offices and beaches. Some stops were as short as fifteen minutes while others stretched to three hours. Scheduled stops were adjusted over time based on popularity and use. However, the wear and tear of servicing such large areas weekly necessitated the request for new Mobiliibraries in 1950.

The Los Angeles County Library Antelope Valley Mobilibrary in 1951.
County of Los Angeles Public Library History Collection

Although owned by the Sheriff's Department, an agreement was reached in December 1951 to allow the Wayside Mobilibrary to service the lower Mint Canyon and Bouquet Canyon communities on a trial basis for two days a week. This supplemented the service of the Newhall Branch Library and the Library Stations in the Saugus and Sulphur Spring schools. This route also served Castaic and Val Verde. According to The Newhall Signal at the time, County Librarian John D. Henderson hoped the service would be useful to the communities and that a future budget would allow the library to purchase a bookmobile dedicated to full-time library service in the area. Children made use of the bookmobile but adult circulation was low. Unfortunately the resignation of the librarian in May 1952 meant the temporary suspension of service to this area.

Responding to the rapid growth of the Lakewood area, Mobilibrary Unit No. 4 was added in late 1951 to supplement the small branch library there. The bookmobile was initially housed at Bellflower and would become known as the Los Cerritos Mobilibrary. It was later housed in Norwalk. One fun tidbit about that bookmobile--when the driver/attendant retired after almost sixteen years of working with the Mobilibrary, his younger brother took over as driver/attendant.

One of the Los Angeles County Library's Mobilibraries parked at an unknown location, circa 1954.
County of Los Angeles Public Library History Collection

A new Mobilibrary, with capacity for 1700 books, was added in March 1956. It was broken in by subbing for a Lancaster bookmobile which was in the shop. It would soon make its way to the Malibu route and the (old) Malibu Mobilibrary will take over for the Puente Valley Mobilibrary, which will become a spare bookmobile. Additional mobile units on some routes and replacement vehicles for the bookmobile service were often noted in the staff newsletters. Three $9,000 bookmobiles were ordered in 1957 and arrived in 1958. This meant a second Mobilibrary (aka Newhall Mobilibrary) could be added to the Antelope Valley, which allowed for longer stops, and better service, for the outlying areas. The late 1950s summer schedules of the Newhall Mobilibrary even included brief stops to homes! Second mobilibraries were also added to the East San Gabriel Valley Region (housed at the West Covina Branch) and Malibu.

The East San Gabriel Valley Region Mobilibrary as seen in the Monrovia Daily News-Post, 
October 17, 1958

Housing the bookmobile was a challenge. The first Malibu Mobilibrary is a prime example. It was originally housed in the garage of the driver. When the driver retired it briefly lived at the Las Flores Canyon Fire Station before a Beverly Hills real estate developer allowed the bookmobile to park at a property he had on Malibu Road. That accommodation lasted six months and the Malibu Mobilibrary was moved to the Lennox Branch. One perk to this arrangement was the quicker filling of requests and more varied rotation of stock than at previous housing locations.

At the height of Mobilibrary service there were seven community Mobilibraries and one institutional (Wayside) Mobilibrary that, along with branches, served an area of 3315 square miles (per 1959-60 Los Angeles County Library Annual Report). That is a pretty impressive feat. Today, the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita (aka Newhall) bookmobiles continue to provide service. A third, known as the Urban Outreach bookmobile, serves areas of Whittier, East Los Angeles, La Puente, Rowland Heights and Azusa. A tip of the hat to Los Angeles County Library bookmobile drivers and librarians, past and present!

Sources: LA County Library staff newsletters and various newspapers including Monrovia Daily News-Post, The Signal (Santa Clarita, CA), The Van Nuys News, Los Angeles Times, The East Whittier Review and more.

Los Angeles Library History: Building library service to the San Fernando Valley

The city of Los Angeles began annexing the San Fernando Valley in 1915. There were three Los Angeles Co. Free Libraries (present-day County of Los Angeles Public Library) which became city/LAPL branches post-annexation. They remained in rented spaces until standalone branches could be built. The Owensmouth (present-day Canoga Park) and Van Nuys branches opened in 1927, followed by the Lankershim/Sidney Lanier branch (now North Hollywood Regional) which opened in 1929.

Prompted by community requests, delivery stations soon began springing up in the Valley. Stations carried between one hundred and one thousand books for circulation, and were meant to extend borrowing service to those that could not easily reach a branch or the Central Library. Only open a few hours during the week, stations were set up in stores, fire stations, nursing homes, churches, summer camps, clubs, etc. (The stationery store below housed the Reseda station at one time). In most cases they were staffed by paid or unpaid volunteers that did not have library training. Use patterns were monitored and some lesser-used stations were discontinued while others flourished and provided a base for later branches.

In 1948, when their current space needed to be vacated, the Reseda Woman's Club and the Reseda Chamber of Commerce began looking for a new space to rent for the Reseda Station. They were allotted just $25 a month for rent, and it was noted that Los Angeles Public Library Assistant City Librarian Roberta Bowler made the suggestion that the Library Commission was looking into the purchase of a mobile library (aka bookmobile) that could carry 2000 to 4000 books to various parts of the San Fernando Valley on a regular schedule.

The Los Angeles Public Library began bookmobiles service in 1949. Dubbed the Traveling Branch, it was a cost-effective way to expand library service to the rapidly growing San Fernando Valley.

In May 1949 Sherman Oaks received its first library service in the form of a 2-hour bookmobile stop in a vacant lot at Ventura and Vesper. The stop was such a success plans were soon made for a Sherman Oaks Station. Basilone Homes, a low-rent housing community for WWII vets created on the site of the present day Hansen Dam Golf Course, also received a bookmobile stop. Stops for Victory Center (approx. Lankershim and Victory), Encino and Studio City followed. Reseda Station's circulation had risen quickly at their location (18555 Sherman Way), enough to elevate it to full branch status with daily hours and additional staff and books.

Spring of 1950 saw the addition of a second 'Traveling Branch' with stops in Granada Hills, Panorama City, Tarzana, and Winnetka. A depot, not open to the public, was set up on Vanowen Avenue near Tujunga Avenue that would serve as a hub for the loading and unloading of the bookmobile. In October 1950 an Encino-Tarzana branch was created to replace two popular bookmobile stops.

The 1951 Los Angeles Public Library Annual Report indicates Stations will gradually be eliminated and replaced by bookmobile service.

The Sunland and Tujunga stations were closed and replaced with a joint Sunland-Tujunga branch library. By 1956 there are four Traveling Branches from which half-a-million books are circulated annual. One bookmobile, known as Little Toot, catered strictly to children and made stops to San Fernando Valley elementary schools during the school year.

City Librarian Harold L. Hamill notes a survey has been completed by the Library Department that indicates a need for 17 public library buildings to meet the growing needs of San Fernando Valley residents. One step forward is the move of the Reseda branch into a space at the new West Valley Municipal Building, with hopes that with funding secured, a regional branch could be built nearby. (The Reseda branch became the West Valley Regional Branch with the opening of its new building in 1960).

A $6,400,000 library bond passed in May 1957. This allowed for the creation of branches in Chatsworth, Granada Hills, Northridge, Panorama City, Studio City, Sylmar and Woodland Hills. Branches currently in rented quarters would get their own city-owned building, this included Encino-Tarzana, Pacoima, Sherman Oaks and Sun Valley. Canoga Park (previously Owensmouth) and Van Nuys would receive new buildings.

It couldn't come soon enough. For the 1958-59 fiscal year the nine San Fernando Valley libraries circulated more than 2.7 million books, almost one-fourth of the total LAPL circulation that year (which was 11 million across all 52 LAPL branches).

A MAP OF LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE TO THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY THROUGH THE YEARS (branch locations are dark blue, known stations are turquoise, and known bookmobile stops are green) Click the link below the map to see dates associated with the locations-
View San Fernando Valley library service history in a larger map

Sources:

Los Angeles Public Library. Annual Report, various years.

Los Angeles Public Library. Hand Book of the Branch Libraries. Los Angeles: LAPL, 1928.

Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection

Los Angeles Times

Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet

Bookmobiles in Los Angeles

Today is National Bookmobile Day, which is part of National Library Week.

I wondered about the history of bookmobiles in Los Angeles. A trip through history via the Los Angeles Times did not disappoint. The Los Angeles Public Library unveiled the first bookmobile that catered exclusively to children at the Los Angeles Children's Show at the Shrine Auditiorium in September 1949. Little Toot, as the bookmobile was affectionately known (the LAPL Photo Collection has a photo here), could carry 2500 books and initially made stops to 20 elementary schools in congested areas of Los Angeles.

Little Toot's big brothers were busy as well. By 1953, three of LAPL's four bookmobiles serviced the San Fernando Valley, an area growing so fast in the post-war years that library branches couldn't be built fast enough. LAPL's 'Traveling Branch' bookmobile service made 28 stops a week and, by 1957, were circulating almost 500,000 volumes a year. A 1961 article mentions that bookmobile librarians don't bat an eye when a patron rides up on horseback in a rural part of the Valley, but do object to patrons leaving books on the street before the bookmobile's arrival.

In 1959, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles County Library had six bookmobiles in addition to it's services in 88 communities. By 1972 (and with a budget of $13 million for the year), the County Library had 94 community libraries, serviced 21 libraries in jails and hospitals, and operated nine bookmobiles!

The Los Angeles Public Library has a great collection of their bookmobile photos, which you can find here. This bookmobile photo from LAPL's 1972 centennial celebration is my favorite, check out the Peanuts-esque booth that reads 'Mind-Bending' with the 5 cents sign crossed out.

You should also check out Library History Buff's bookmobile homage which contains links to Pinterest and Flickr.