Library on Wheels

February 19, 2018
This handsomely designed, well-researched biography pays homage to Mary Titcomb, librarian and founder of the first bookmobile in the U.S. From a poor New Hampshire family, Titcomb doesn’t take no for an answer as she pursues her education and then delivers books to a large rural Maryland population in 1905. Her library’s first horse-drawn book wagon is mistaken for a “dead wagon” until she has the wheels and door panels painted a “bright, cheery red to avoid any confusion with a hearse.” Numerous black-and-white photographs, articles, letters, postcards, and other archival documents are combined in scrapbooklike assemblages on goldenrod, blue, and antique white pages. The back matter includes a photographic timeline of bookmobiles through the decades, as well as a lengthy author’s note explaining how Glenn (Just What Mama Needs) worked to secure a headstone for Titcomb’s unmarked grave in the same Sleepy Hollow cemetery where several famous New England authors, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, lie buried. A select bibliography and index are also included. Ages 8–12.

March 1, 2018
Anyone who has enjoyed the services of a bookmobile can thank a dedicated, visionary librarian named Mary Lemist Titcomb.With career opportunities limited for women in 19th-century America, Titcomb chose the emerging new field of librarianship. After an apprenticeship, Titcomb was hired by the Rutland Free Library in Vermont, where she quickly moved up to chief librarian. A significant career disappointment was Melvil Dewey's rejection of her application to serve in the Woman's Building library at the Chicago World's Fair; Dewey acknowledged Titcomb's admirable work in Vermont but said she had not done enough to make herself known beyond. That slap inspired Titcomb to work tirelessly to make a name for herself and a difference in her profession. Titcomb's greatest contribution to library services came as head of the Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown, Maryland. Determined to make the library accessible to the county's rural residents, the most revolutionary of her innovations was a horse-drawn book wagon. A horseless carriage later succeeded it. Book wagons soon appeared in other parts of the country, and by 1922, the bookmobile was born. Titcomb's complete dedication to her work and determination to succeed is inspiring, and the peek into her climb up the career ladder is revelatory beyond its look at the history of librarianship. Attractively designed to resemble a scrapbook, the engaging narrative is complemented with archival photographs, reproductions of correspondence, and other artifacts. An ennobling portrait of a pioneer who took the library out of its walls and to the public. (source notes, bibliography) (Biography. 8-12)

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April 1, 2018

Gr 3-7-A trip through history that will warm the hearts of librarians. Mary Lemist Titcomb was an innovator who pushed gender and career boundaries in the early 20th century. Glenn uses examples from Titcomb's life to subtly emphasize the marginalized status of most white women during this time period. (Titcomb had to work twice as hard as white male peers and was often unpaid.) Not even deterred by a dismissal from Melvil Dewey, Titcomb tirelessly pursued her vision of libraries that served the poor and the middle class-not just the rich. The "book wagon," also known as the bookmobile, was one answer to this mission; Titcomb was able to travel to and serve remote areas with book collections. Glenn incorporates many quotes from Titcomb's contemporaries into the narrative, providing a well-rounded view of Titcomb and the reception of her work. In addition, the author has collected a wonderful array of photographs, archival letters and postcards, and other contemporaneous memorabilia to support the narrative, and all are excellently reproduced. The book's design resembles that of a well-organized scrapbook, one with plenty of space and room for readers to browse. VERDICT Bibliophiles, history lovers, and fans of libraries will thoroughly enjoy this pleasing addition to nonfiction collections.-Erin Olsen, The Brearley School, NY

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2018
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* In the mid-nineteenth century, one woman changed the American cultural landscape through sheer determination, a passion for reading, and an unwavering belief that people of all ages and classes should have access to books. That woman was librarian Mary Lemist Titcomb, inventor of the bookmobile. Glenn's account of Titcomb's impressive story reveals a life undeterred by such obstacles as limited educational and career opportunities for women, a life defined by admirable accomplishments. After tracing her successes as a librarian in Vermont, the story takes off when Titcomb accepts a position at Maryland's Washington County Free Library, where she dedicates herself to expanding the library's reach to its rural population. This was first accomplished by establishing outposts akin to branch libraries and later by her revolutionary idea of a book wagonan idea initially met with great skepticism. Readers will be inspired by Titcomb's dedication to her work and indifference to naysayers. The book's attractive layout resembles a scrapbook, where archival photos, reproductions of letters, and other historic ephemera grace most pages. Glenn's accessible writing provides just the right amount of historical context to highlight the extraordinary nature of Titcomb's work and unquestionably establishes her as a true American pioneer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
In 1905, when public library service in the U.S. was young, Mary Lemist Titcomb set out to serve all corners of Washington County, Maryland, by loading up a horse-drawn wagon and making the rounds. Glenn provides a basic biography of Titcomb and recounts the success of her invention. Many photographs and ephemera in a stylish scrapbook design lend interest to a rather dry text. Bib., ind.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)