National Library Outreach Day
National Library Outreach Day (originally National Bookmobile Day) celebrates the efforts that libraries and library professionals do to bring the library out into the community.
Description & History
National Library Outreach Day (originally National Bookmobile Day) celebrates the efforts that libraries and library professionals do to bring the library out into the community. It is a collaborative effort between the ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS), the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services (ABOS), and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL). The inception of this day happened in 2010.
Professional Learning Resources
The History of Bookmobiles
This article discusses the history of National Library Outreach Day and bookmobiles as an outreach service from the library.
Mobile Libraries: Culture on the Go
A National Archives article on the history of the original library outreach services.
Bookmobiles in the US
What states have had the most bookmobiles across the years? Check if your state made the list on this ALA page.
School Library Outreach Programs
Read this 2023 Knowledge Quest article to learn about ways to categorize and organize library outreach in school libraries.
Outreach Strategies for Promoting School Libraries
An Ebsco article that provides additional ideas for school library outreach.
Story Book Maze
Check out how one librarian is working to eliminate book desserts in Baltimore. She has a vintage trolley!
Learner Engagement Resources
Outreach Choice Board
Need some ideas? Check out this choice board to reach your community and involve your students in the process.
PBS Documentary: The Pack Horse Librarians of Appalachia
This PBS documentary tells the story of pack horse librarians during the Great Depression who traveled on horseback to deliver library books and magazines.
The Most Creative and Unique Bookmobiles from Around the World
This article from Book Riot spotlights six unique and bookmobiles from Colombia, Italy, Sweden, and beyond. Use the information to put together a lesson for students and help brainstorm how the library can create an outreach program.
Book Lists
Social Justice Books of Teaching For Change
This list of titles range from elementary to adult that focus on libraries.
Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built
Read this lovely book about Jose and his efforts to build a library that started with finding one single book in the trash. Perfect for elementary students.
Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia
You’ll definitely want to read this book about Luis and how he became in a traveling librarian in rural Colombia. This is an elementary title.
Waiting for the Biblioburro/Esperando el Biblioburro (Spanish-English bilingual…
This is the bilingual Spanish and English book that tells the story about Luis and his traveling library. Also an elementary title.
Books by Horseback: A Librarian’s Brave Journey to Deliver Books to Children
Edith delivers books to children in Appalachian Kentucky during the Great Depression. Read how she spread literacy to children in difficult times. An elementary title.
The Giver of Stars
A Reese’s Book Club pick, this is great for the adult crowd as this story discusses a group of women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.
Library On Wheels: Mary Lemist Titcomb and America's First Bookmobile
Read this biography about Mary Titcomb who created the Book Wagon concept in Maryland. This biography is for middle grade readers.
Ready to Fly: How Sylvia Townsend Became the Bookmobile Ballerina
An elementary book based on a true story about the connection between a young ballerina and her librarian.
Junia, The Book Mule of Troublesome Creek
An elementary book from the perspective of Junia, the mule, who is an essential part of the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project during the Great Depression.
That Book Woman
An elementary books that tells the story of the Pack Horse Library Project from the perspective of Cal, who doesn’t like to read books.
