There is much nostalgia among long-time residents of Levittown for the Public Library’s bookmobile. This neighborhood service took the library to the streets of Levittown, making books available to the community outside of the library’s brick-and-mortar from 1952-1995.
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| Bookmobile staff welcoming residents onto a bookmobile, 1967-09. Identifier: PHO.650 |
Because its purpose was unique, the bookmobile was custom built onto a truck body. Book shelves were constructed to line the interior, circulation counters were built at the drivers end, and the exterior was painted to bear the library’s name. The shelves were stocked with an assortment of items available for check out, carrying a cargo of about 2,500 books, magazines, and records.¹
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| Person measuring wood for a bookmobile interior, 1974. Identifier: PHO.755 |
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| Staff inside of a completed bookmobile, 1974? Identifier: PHO.799 |
In the 1950s, having a single car primarily used by one parent to get to work, while the other stayed at home to look after young children, was the status-quo. This hindered residents of certain sections of Levittown from getting to the library during the week, making the traveling library a necessary convenience.
The bookmobile quickly became a part of everyday life and a center for social activity. “Housewives meet there to make dates with friends…Chess players, music-lovers, amateur artists, do-it-yourself fanatics come to the bookmobile to take out records and books, and to trade banter.”² The bookmobile created a more casual library experience compared to a visit to the library proper– household pets wondered in, mothers juggled babies as they fished for library cards in their purses, and children rushed in to check out as many books as they could carry, and return for another armful.³ The popularity of the bookmobile warranted the creation of a second in 1958, which allowed the library to make weekly stops in all of the neighborhoods in Levittown.⁴
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| First schedule for the bookmobile, February 1952. Vertical File Folder: Levittown Public Library, Bookmobile 1. |
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| Children browsing on a bookmobile, 1974? Identifier: PHO.748. |
In 1995, due declining use by the community and the degrading condition of the Bookmobile, the service was retired.⁵ The library replaced this service with a Homebound program that would continue to deliver books to those residents who cannot so easily make the trip to the library themselves.
References
- 1963, March 26. (The Bookmobile). Levittown Eagle. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (Vertical File, Levittown Public Library: Bookmobile, Folder 1), Levittown, N.Y.
- Bard, Bernard. 1957, October 4. The bookmobile’s an old friend. Levittown Press. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (Vertical File, Levittown Public Library: Bookmobile, Folder 1) Levittown, N.Y.
- 1957-11-02. In L’town, everybody reads as library comes to people. Newsday. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (Vertical File, Levittown Public Library: Bookmobile, Folder 1) Levittown, N.Y.
- 1958. Second bookmobile rolls with new year. Long Island Press. Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (Vertical File, Levittown Public Library: Bookmobile, Folder 1) Levittown, N.Y.
- News 12. (1995). (Bookmobile segment). Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library (Audiovisual Collection, Identifier: VHS.22) Levittown, N.Y.