The Internet Archive Bookmobile

Where is the Bookmobile?

Most recently, the Bookmobile traveled to Golden Gate Park. Though we could only find parking on a side street, we still attracted a bit of attention -- over the course of two or three hours, at least twenty people came by to see what was going on. We demonstrated bookmaking and talked about the possibilities and implications of the Bookmobile and its equipment.

I was amazed that so many different people were interested in the Bookmobile, and for so many different reasons; I met a man whose four-year-old son writes stories and would love to see them put together in a little book. Two others, both young teachers, wanted to bring the Bookmobile to their school to show their students. A homeless man told me his friends down the road wrote poetry but didn't have the money or resources to self-publish their work, and we talked about how the Bookmobile, or something like it, might be a great way to help with this. A younger guy came by on his bicycle and asked me all about copyright law and the internet, and I told him about Creative Commons and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

All in all, it was an inspiring afternoon. And while I'd love to help with all these projects that everyone I met brought up, the Bookmobile can only do so much. However, this is where all of you come in: if anything you read on here sounds like a project you or someone you know would be interested in, or if you have ideas of your own, there's no time like now to get them started. The more people there are helping to enable these kinds of projects -- whether it's using equipment and technology like that of the Bookmobile to help young children compile their stories, to help the homeless self-publish their work, or to help teach high schoolers about electronic copyright law and blogging -- the more free and widespread the sharing of knowledge and creative work will be. You don't need anyone's permission to make these things happen; all it takes are resources, energy, and creativity.

However, if you have any questions, please do contact me at kirsten@archive.org. Inspiration, ideas for places to visit, new friends, and volunteers, are also always, always welcome.

Stay tuned for more posts about the Bookmobile's hijinks!

-Kirsten, resident Bookmobilist

Past Journeys

In late September of 2002, Brewster Kahle and his son Caslon took the Bookmobile on its first cross-country tour. They made books at schools, libraries, conferences, retirement homes, museums and other stops.

The itinerary for the first trip:
Sept 27 ==> Launch Party at IA
Sept 29 ==> "How Berkeley can you be?" A parade in Berkeley, CA.
Sept 30 ==> Belle Haven School, Menlo Park, CA location
Oct 1 ==> David Smith's 5th grade class at Newman Elementary School in Salt Lake City Utah. location
Oct 4 ==> Bookmobile Conference, Columbus, OH location
Oct 5 ==> National Inventors Museum, Akron, OH location
Oct 6 ==> Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Penn. location
Oct 7 ==> two elementary schools, Baltimore, MD
Oct 8 ==> library and elementary schools, DC
Oct 9 ==> Supreme Court location
The Bookmobile will be in front of the Sewell Belmont House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, October 9 from 8:30-4PM.

Contact us to have the Bookmobile stop in your town: post to the forum below

Details and Photos

photos - before the trip

Sept 27 -- Launch Party at IA. photos

The trip

Sept 29 "How Berkeley can you be?" A parade in Berekley, CA. photos

Sept 30 Belle Haven School, Menlo Park, CA. photos

Belle Haven Elementary School. They're will be an event at 10 with about 200 kids outside, and will have balloons. They're located at:

Belle Haven Elementary School
415 Ivy Drive
Menlo Park

Oct 1 Newman Elementary School in Salt Lake City, Utah. photos

Salt Lake City, Utah --> Bookmobile Conference, Columbus, OH. Oct 4 photos

Columbus, OH --> National Inventors Museum, Akron, OH. Oct 5 photos

Akron, OH --> Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, Penn. Oct 6 photos

Main Library, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue/Pittsburgh PA 15213 - entrance to Main Library located on Schenely Drive in Oakland. Hours of operation on Sunday's is 1-5 PM - we'll be parked directly in front of the Main Library on the sidewalk in front of the steps.

Pittsburgh, Penn --> two elementary schools, Baltimore, MD. Oct 7

Baltimore, MD --> Washington, D.C. library and elementary schools. Oct 8 photos
Oct 9 --> U.S. Supreme Court. photos

New PostBookmobile Forum