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The first director of the Bexar County Free Library was Miss Juanima Wells. She had previously served as a children's librarian at the Carnegie Library and later as head of the Roosevelt Branch Library. Although born in Oklahoma, Miss Wells was a 1923 graduate of Brackenridge High School and had earned her library degree from the University of North Carolina. She led the Bexar County Free Library's bookmobile program for 17 years, from its inception in 1936 until 1953, when it merged with the San Antonio Public Library's mobile service.
Original image part of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Identifier: AR406-6-1153. |
The Bexar County Free Library was a join service between Bexar County and the City of San Antonio to provide books for citizens of Bexar County in rural areas with limited or no access to books. The first bookmobile was purchased with $1,500 of funds from the President's Club, a city-wide luncheon club, and service began on June 1, 1936 with a visit to the Locke Hill School. The bookmobile was constructed from a 1936 Ford 1-ton truck that was modified by San Antonio Body Works Company.
First Bookmobile with Juanima Wells, center, circa 1936. Women on either side are unknown.
Bookmobile #1 on a visit to Mission Espada, circa 1936.
The service proved so popular that another auxiliary vehicle was quickly added, a 1936 Dodge Business Coupe that was modified to carry drawers of books in the trunk, circa 1937.
Bookmobile #2, a 1938 Ford, advertising the Book Week Party in November 1945.
In 1942, the San Antonio Library soon began its own bookmobile service to serve patrons in locations within the city limits where there were no branch libraries. Initially, the bookmobile made stops at 17 different school locations every two weeks. By 1954, the decision was made to shift from school stops to community centers.
This Gertenslager bookmobile, with its distinctive cream over green paint, was purchased in 1952.
The services of the Bexar County Free Library and the San Antonio Public Library were merged in 1953. In the 1960's, larger 35-foot trailers were purchased, which could hold many more books, and also magazines, phonograph records, cassettes and cassette players, films and film projectors.
After 77 years of providing books to Bexar County residents, the bookmobile made its last run on October 24, 2013 and service was discontinued.
In 2014, with the help of a $100,000 grant from the Valero Energy Corporation, the San Antonio Public Library unveiled the Valero Roaming Online Outreach Mobile (VROOM) unit. The learning van roams throughout the city with a special emphasis on the Eastside Promise Neighborhood, and transports materials and technology, such as iPads, iMacs and tablets to provide online outreach to children and teens.
