|Tom Driscoll|
Kayaking the flatwater stretch of the Little Androscoggin River above the Upper Barker Dam (New Auburn) upriver to the breached Littlefield Dam (near Hotel Road) provides for a nearby peaceful paddle, and a few surprises. While paddling along the river on a recent sunny and unseasonably warm afternoon (playing hooky with my 4th grader grandson William), we were surprised to come upon this old dog-eared “Bookmobile.”
Shelfed here long ago by freewheeling librarians, the signage on this vintage “library on wheels” reads:
Homeschool Associates
BOOKMOBILE
Parents teaching their children at home….
Auburn, Maine 207-777-xxxx
With our current 2020 vision of things, there is some irony in “Parents teaching their children at home…”
Apparently bookmobiles were popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s, especially in rural areas. In the 1980’s, bookmobiles yielded to a “Books by Mail” service.
These days, of course, everything arrives on the front doorstep or flows through the Internet faster than glacial water on the Little Androscoggin.
Again using our 2020 vision, we know that public libraries were here long before any modern means of book distribution; sometimes get parked temporarily; and will still be with us when someone accidently deletes the Internet.
Although we all still enjoy visiting our libraries, maybe 2020 is a time for some new tires and a tune up for the vintage BOOKMOBILE! I have it bookmarked.
Eds note: It appears that Homeschool Associates is no longer in business.
