The year was 1939. FDR was President of the United States, Arthur James was Governor of Pennsylvania. It was perhaps the greatest year in film history with the release of such all-time classics as “Gone With the Wind,” “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and “Gunga Din.” Sadly, it was also the year that World War II began with Hitler’s invasion of Poland. Locally, Charles Wolfe was Mayor of Williamsport. More enduringly, the James V. Brown Library’s Bookmobile made its debut on July 10, 1939. Miss Frances Kilburn began driving that first Bookmobile on rural Lycoming County roads to bring library service to the people.

Since that time, a variety of vehicles have continued to travel throughout the county, bringing books, music, movies and more to the people in rural areas, schools, and care facilities.

According to the Institute of Museum and National Library Services, in 2014 there were 23 Bookmobiles in Pennsylvania. The Brown Library operates two of those with the Bookmobile and Storymobile, the early childhood vehicle that visits local childcare facilities.

Library officials state that Bookmobiles are a cost-effective means of providing library services to large geographic areas. Bookmobiles, like libraries, continue to meet the needs of their communities by offering free access to the latest technology and materials to users of all ages. The Lycoming County Library System’s Bookmobile visits nearly 50 sites during its two-week rotation, including senior centers, low-income housing, personal care homes, private schools and more.

“Last year we went 6,011 miles — that’s travel, year-round,” Kevin Renehan, outreach manager at the library, told Webb Weekly. “In a county of our size — the largest in the state — mobile libraries support Pennsylvania’s initiative to provide social and civic literacy to our underserved and rural communities.”

Bookmobile driver, Vanessa Martin stated, “I think the Bookmobile has a wonderful impact on the community. It is utilized at every location. Not only do people look forward to the DVDs because not everyone has cable in our community, but the books are always taken out and returned. The Bookmobile is amazing because the service it does for the community, it provides the magic of stories and possibilities in different forms to people that appreciate it and look forward to it.”

Some of the people that the Bookmobile serves weighed in with their thoughts.

Gretchen Kennedy of Williamsport is a faithful Bookmobile user. “Today, things are not so easy for me getting around, so when the Bookmobile comes to my home. I am so thankful as I can continue to read the books I like,” Kennedy said. “The elderly need the Bookmobile so that we can enhance our lives with books and videos.”

Theresa Bessette, a resident of Williamsport Manor, looks forward to the Bookmobile because she can’t get to the library with her mobility issues. “I read a book every couple of days. “I can get ten DVDs at a time and 100 books if I wanted.”

Renee Moore, LPN, a resident care manager at Presbyterian Home, said her residents also look forward to the Bookmobile. “Residents involved with Bookmobile enjoy the genre options and having access to this,” she said. “I’ve worked here for five years, and as long as I’ve been here, the Bookmobile has been coming. We appreciate Vanessa and all she does for our residents.”

The Bookmobile is part of the library’s outreach services. Also included in that is the Storymobile. The Storymobile visits childcare facilities across Lycoming County, providing hundreds of children in these centers with carefully selected and age-appropriate books that enrich their early learning experiences.

The Storymobile services primarily preschoolers with a set schedule, but it also appears in parades and community festivals.

According to Barbara McGary, Executive Director, “Coming this fall, the James V. Brown Library is launching a community campaign for a new vision for outreach services. Our goal is to create a new expanded service model for outreach that specializes in reaching specific target populations of children, rural residents, the workforce, seniors and senior care facilities. Our mission is to take library services to where the people are, to established deep connections with the people we serve, to bring life-changing stories and knowledge of the outside world to individuals with mobility and transportation issues, to foster the love of reading, and to bring opportunities for lifelong learning to our rural citizens and the people that need us the most. Our vision is to replace our aging Bookmobile with three specialized vehicles that will revolutionize our outreach to the community. The first of the specialized vehicles will serve as a second Storymobile serving the high demand of child care facilities throughout the county, the second outreach vehicle will serve as a mobile lending library that serves the far reaches of our rural population with a specialized collection for public and corporate stops, the third outreach vehicle will engage with residents of senior care facilities bringing materials in a transit van and a programming librarian that can conduct library services and programming directly inside the care facility.”

There are no late fees for Bookmobile items, and Bookmobile materials can be returned at any county library. Visit http://www.jvbrown.edu/outreach-services for more information about monthly schedules.