Services > Outreach to adults > Our history
Our History
Bookmobile
The general idea of library outreach – serving people beyond the walls of the library – goes back at least to the early 1900s in Multnomah County when the library began leaving "deposit collections" in grange halls, country schools, private homes and other locations. Those early deposit collections eventually evolved into the current system of 16 branches in Multnomah County Library.
The Municipal Reference Librarian delivered the first collection of library books to the county jail around 1916. The librarian visited the jail weekly and had the opportunity to meet and talk with the inmates.
In 1919, deliveries to hospitals, "rescue homes" and similar institutions was recorded. By 1924, staff carried books on a small truck from bed to bed in the County Hospital wards, with patients making selections from the carts or special requests.
The first service specifically for seniors began in 1921.
In 1924-1925, the rural Services Division inaugurated its first bookmobile, which made "eight routes each fortnight, covering 360 miles." By 1955, four bookmobiles were in operation. Bookmobile service continued until 1997, when the service was replaced with the more cost-efficient van and lobby services. In 1933, the library received its first talking books and in 1936, large-type books were first mentioned in library records. These resources now make up the bulk of the LOS collection.
Van service to senior citizens in the inner city began as a pilot project in 1975 and eventually expanded throughout the county. In 1988, the Old Town Reading Room was created to provide outreach services to homeless and low-income people in the Old Town area. In 1997, the library closed the reading room and piloted a program using volunteers to deliver books and magazines directly to shelters and transition homes.
Today, LOS lobby services reach over 1,400 patrons. The van and Library Outreach volunteers serve over 150 patrons, and the Books by Mail program sends library materials to over 150 patrons. The jails program serves a population of about 21,000, while the shelter population numbers about 2,700.