Description

This Chevrolet truck-van was the Stanford L. Warren library's second bookmobile, shown here visiting a rural area of Durham to serve its African American population. Matthew B. Mitchell stands at rear door with Annie M Tucker to his left. The Stanford L. Warren Public Library bookmobile made its first trip on February 10, 1942. Its revolving shelves held 600 books. Driven by librarian Selena Wheeler, it traversed the countryside, covering 575 miles each month, and was well received by rural communities. One woman served the staff her country cooking and another, in order to make a good impression, cleaned her house the day the bookmobile was expected. Very often the librarians had to assure potential patrons that there was no charge to borrow books, the most popular of which were fiction and religious.

Record Contributed By

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

Record Harvested From

North Carolina Digital Heritage Center