Going where other libraries cannot reach

This is the second post that reveals one of the "theories" that revealed itself during my research: another unique aspect of children's mobile libraries. Again it is so obvious that I am embarrassed writing it, a mobile library can get to places that a static library can't. Yes, I realise that a static library by the nature of it's name, cannot go anywhere, and therefore the service element of a static library needs mobile people, people who are prepared, eager and able to go out to visit the library. (You can tell I have just done a Phd, I am now all philosophical, pedantic and analytic). A library that can move can reach people who would not, or can not be sufficiently mobile or motivated to get on a bus, or get in a car, or even walk to their nearest library. 

Lack of mobility, difficulty of transport or geographic location are only a few reasons why some children do not visit their local library. Children told me that they didn't like the static library in their town, or their mum wouldn't take them, or it did not have such a wide variety of books ("books that I like"), as the children's mobile library. There is definitely a psychological aspect to the inaccessibility of a library building. Entering a box on wheels is not as foreboding. The static library opening times are also a factor, during the day, children are at school, nursery or play group. The beauty of a CML is that it can hunt down the groups of children where they are, when they are, they go to schools at school time, they go into the streets at home time, or holiday time. Children use CMLs without their parents, sometimes they have the supervision of teachers or other educational staff, but Adults are in the minority, and CMLs that stop in streets attract many unaccompanied children. This means that children can be independent of adults and learn to use a library although their parents do not.

There is a phrase that appears to be used by social scientists to describe a set of people who do not access the services of which they are entitled. These people are termed the "Hard to Reach" people who either choose not to access services or do not know that there 
are services that might help them. For some reason, library services are better dealing with "The hard to reach" than others. I looked at the way that CMLs tried to find those groups.
CMLs visit places of financial disadvantage, as well as some well to do area's, but I found that  the socio-economic class of the child CML customer is irrelevant.

Family attitudes to reading, books and literacy, negative or positive, cut across socio-economic divides, therefore, the CMLs need to go to all area's to capture the children who's parents are not that bothered about books in the home. I attempted to find the dominant socio-economic or ability group of CML visitors, and I have to say that no specific group of any type dominated the visitors that I met. They were a complete mixture. In that mixture were children who's families certainly encouraged reading, and some children who were so far advanced in their reading skills, in ability and speed, that an ordinarily household would not have been able to hold all the books the child read. Those children certainly benefited from a free, never ending supply of reading matter. At the other end of the scale were children who were afraid of touching books, or did not know how to hold one and turn the pages. These children were gently encouraged to have a go, and  at least gained the experience that books contained words and pictures that were there to convey a message. Two things can be concluded, the CML is of use to children of every ability and, in order to reach the hard to reach, and children of low ability, you have to take the total mixture.

It is rather unfortunate that only a very small percentage of the child population of the UK actually have access to a CML. When I wrote the thesis, about 9 months ago, 16 local authorities of a total of 228 operated 26 children’s mobile libraries in a range of geographic locations. From my current investigations, this has gone down to 12 authorities and 21 vehicles, a sad reflection of the economic climate. However, the CMLs that I know about visit children located anywhere. Not all CMLs go to all the types of location on the following list, for various reasons, but at least one CML go to such places as Schools, Special Schools, Nurseries, Pre-school groups, parks, streets where children live, children's secure units, traveller sites, fair-ground permanent sites, farms, urban areas, rural areas, inner city and city estates. If one CML can visit such locations, then surely others can also. Although CMLs do not visit each child in the UK, they hold the potential to do so. CMLs can reach all children of all abilities. 

The above diagram shows my simple argument. It just needs funding and the will to achieve such a situation.
 

Doom day

Well, I started this blog to be a story of my research about children's mobile libraries in the UK, and in recent months I have only been adding links about interesting children's mobiles I have found in other parts of the world. That is because all the research has been culminating to today. It is the day of my Viva Voce, my "Oral examination" when I will find out if the research and thesis will be accepted to be good enough for a doctorate. I have been looking forward to this and being scared by this. I have just done a check on websites of the various children's mobile libraries that I visited, and I am a bit sad because at least another two have disappeared, which leaves only half of the ones where I did observations. My moral dilemma is should I have published my work sooner? or have the CMLs just got too expensive to run because of the rising cost of fuel?

It really is time to have another search through local authority websites to check how many CMLs there are in total, but I won't manage to achieve that by 2pm today (that's the time of the viva). So, don't think that this blog is coming to an end, just because I have finished one journey doesn't mean that I won't start another, and more importantly, now after the work has been marked I can say more about what happened on the journey. I am planning to write case studies of each vehicle where I conducted observations, those will have to be anonymous, of course. I can tell you general stuff about all the CML's that I could find, even the ones that have gone, let this blog be an archive of their work. I will also put up my findings and diagrams I drew to understand the information that I found.

I am also writing a paper about storytelling on CMLs and I will report on that and subsequent papers. I really did gather enough information to keep me going for years. (But I do need a job now, so if anyone has a spare one out there, I would be grateful!) Anyway, to keep my list of CMLs up to date, it would be good if anyone out there could tell me if they know of a CML that is still operating in their area, or if any new ones are planned. If the reverse is happening, and if anyone knows of a CML closing down, then I will be more than happy to offer my services as an expert witness to the value of using a CML.

Oh, in case you are in doubt, I did prove that CMLs do spread literacy and a love of books.

BBC News - Mobile library marking 60 years in Leicestershire

It was my Husband's birthday, so as a special treat I took him to Snibston Discovery Park, a good educational day out for all the family. I had ulterior motives, I wanted to see the display of the history of mobile libraries in Leicestershire since its start in 1950. As it was at Snibston where I know they have a collection of historic vehicles, I hoped that an original Mobile library would be produced. Well, there were photographs. I suppose that any local authority vehicle has to be turned into hard cash at the end of their useful lives, it is the same now as always.

I don't know if was the effect of the football, there was some major match on or other, I don't know because I don't support the game, but crowds were thin on the ground. I had an interesting talk with the chair of Leicestershire County Council and a chat with Leicestershire Library staff. I visited the two mobile libraries that stopped outside the museum and discovered that there is another potential reserach project, reseraching and writing the history of Leicestershire mobile libraries. If only I wasn't so busy at the moment.

BBC News - Mobile library marking 60 years in Leicestershire

Any Ausies out there?

I have just been searching for evidence of Children's Mobile Libraries in Australia. I have found a survey of all of Australia's mobile libraries that was done in 1998, but it is not clear whether any of the libraries were specifically for children, although it does say that half of them had provision for children. If there is anyone who knows about Australian Mobile Libraries please post a comment.

History of Mobile Libraries (Part one)

In 1980, G. I. J. Orton wrote a history of Mobile Libraries in the U.K. His definition of what a "Mobile Library " is, involves the use of the "Internal Combustion Engine". Prior to the use of vehicles into which people could walk and choose books, boxes of books were taken around to villages, branch libraries, schools, or even family homes. We would call these deposit collections. They were known as "Traveling Libraries" and were commonly delivered by horse and cart. This means that the "mobile" camel library, or elephant library are not "Mobile Libraries " in Orton's sense of the word. In the early 1900's, Staffordshire circulated boxes of books for local populations, around library centres based in Schools. there were 50 books available, thirty of which circulated and 60% were children's books. Orton does not specify which Baltimore he means, but apparently in a Baltimore during 1943, the horse and cart delivery was reinstated because children found it preferable. there had been "Juvenile Delinquent " problems there.

The terms for a library that moves have been variously known as "Circulating Libraries", "Traveling Libraries", "Bibliobus", "Library Coach", "Book bus" and of course in America they are know as "Bookmobiles". In 1920's Britain a van that people could enter and browse books on shelves were known as "Exhibition Vehicles". The 1925 one from Norfolk contained one third Juvenile Fiction. It appears that the idea of mobile libraries didn't really take off until the second world war. Hastings owned a mobile library van, but because of pressures during wartime (not specified) it was put up for loan. the Borough of St Pancras adopted it and it carried a "Good choice of children's books". I 1954, only 10% of all U.K. mobile libraries carried children's books. Vehicles were sometimes put to use for children.

In 1958 Nottinghamshire used two vehicles in the summer holidays to visit villages with a Children's librarian. By 1966 the idea had blossomed and most local authorities offered the same service. Caernarvonshire used one in1961 to take a termly supply of books to schools but it was also used to transport books to branch libraries. Specific vehicles for children did not emerge until the 1960's. Possibly the first child specific mobile library was produced in 1963 by Moray County Library. It functioned specifically for primary age children, carried 200 books and had sufficient room for 36 children (a classful) and their teacher. Schools were visited fortnightly and each class allowed 20 minutes to choose their books. Local government boundary reorganisation paused the development of all mobile libraries for a while, so the next stage comes in the 1970's.

the summer of 1975 appears to be the year of the Children's mobile library. Leicester County Libraries converted a corporation double decker bus into a "Magic Mobile Library" to tour the "Non-reading" parts of Leicester. It was decorated with witches, goblins and ghosts, aimed to serve under 14's and their parents. It stayed in places for about an hour, showing films, holding competitions and story times. I was in Leicester at that time, but I don't ever remember seeing it. Southampton had a pink "Book bus" charged with the mission to break down barriers between children and libraries. It's raison-detre was as community liaison, not just to deliver books. I think that is the aspect of mobile libraries that local government politicians and accountants fail to perceive. They are community assets, they are "ideal publicity machines" for local authorities (Orton 1980) they socialize and link disparate communities. Back to the summer of '75...

... Hammersmith brought out the "Pied Piper that visited 18 schools, and in 1976, Shropshire had a less formal pied piper too. As Orton was writing in the late 70's , that is where this story ends. He finished by stressing that economic pressures and increasing fuel costs were presenting problems for mobile library services. Well there is no change there then.