Skip to main content

Image / LAPLTraveling Branch Bookmobile, park visit

Have a question about this item?

Item information. View source record on contributor's website.

Title
LAPLTraveling Branch Bookmobile, park visit
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Public Library Institutional Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
Circa 1955
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.
As early as 1949 these bookmobiles, or "libraries on wheels", began taking books to the mostly disadvantaged, low-income areas, or the outlying sections of the city where community libraries had not been established. The Los Angeles Public Library's fleet of bookmobiles was comprised of 3 large vans usually loaded with 4,000 books, and a smaller one known as "Little Toot" that usually carried 3,000 books. They had 28 scheduled stops each week to such places as housing developments, shopping centers, parks, and schools that varied anywhere from an hour to three hours. It is estimated that these Traveling Branches circulated almost 250,000 volumes a year.
A Los Angeles Public Library Traveling Branch Bookmobile can be seen parked next to some trees at an unidentified park. The side flaps have been propped open, exposing numerous shelves of books as several women and children browse through them.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;11 x 13 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00076995
Los Angeles Public Library Institutional Collection
LAPL_IPC_b083_f1
CARL0000078842
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/110942
Subject
Los Angeles Public Library
Bookmobiles--California--Los Angeles
Libraries--California--Los Angeles
Children--California--Los Angeles
Women--California--Los Angeles
Parks--California--Los Angeles

About the collections in Calisphere

Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. View our statement on digital primary resources.

Copyright, permissions, and use

If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.

Share your story

Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.

Explore related content on Calisphere: