Gertie The Bookmobile: Magic, Hope, & Community

Gertie The Bookmobile: Magic, Hope, and Community

Hi, This is Lindsay. Last May I went to Craigslist to buy a used bike and saw a post for a retired library bookmobile from 1968. “Gertie” from Junction City, Oregon popped up and I was flooded with memories of growing up in a rural town, when seeing the county bookmobile meant getting my hands on as many books as I could carry home. I was reminded of countless trips to the library and the powerful escape reading allowed during my childhood.

The dream of committing to a meaningful purpose pulled at me, and I revisited the post for weeks, pleased it was still up. The idea resonated with friends, who encouraged me to pursue it. They pointed to qualities in me they felt would bring success. But I dismissed taking action, since I didn’t have near enough money. When I told my friend Sara this, she urged me to email the seller with my feelings anyway.

It felt like a long shot, but I took her advice because writing about the way I felt brought a sense of hope that seemed distant in the politically charged, post-pandemic atmosphere. The seller responded warmly, saying most respondents were interested in converting the bookmobile to a food truck or tiny house but he was compelled to rehome it to someone who wanted to maintain the original purpose, even if it meant selling it for less. Encouraged by friends who offered financial support and collaboration, I chose to commit to this dream. And so on June 28th, 2024, with gratitude and nervous excitement, I drove the 30 foot, 9 ton, manual transmission bus over a hundred miles to Portland.

Creating Connection:

This project relates to the inherent optimism I had as a child involving resilience and a sense of faith in the goodness of people, a belief that others want to share what they have and be a part of something uplifting, and trusting that collective effort leads to positive change.

The pandemic shifted how people interact. This, combined with the stress and anxiety caused by a political climate that involves division, eroding trust, and worries about democracy – this is why the need for magic and connection in our community feels more critical than ever.

Also concerning, recent executive orders have lead to funding cuts for libraries and an increase in censorship efforts by way of book bans, limiting access to information, especially for vulnerable communities.

Our Vision: A Mobile Library for All

Imagine a magical bus appearing on Portland's streets, offering free books to all. To create easy access and remove barriers, books are given away, not borrowed – a mobile library where everyone in the community can simply take, keep, and donate books, fostering equity and accessibility.

Thanks to books donated by Portlanders over the past year, Gertie is fully stocked, with half the books geared towards kids and the other half for adults. The enthusiasm and willingness of community members to give has been a reminder that people have a desire to connect with others and contribute to something meaningful.

What Gertie Will Do:

Spark Imagination: By infusing the space inside and out with details that create a sense of unexpectedness, playfulness, and joy, we are excited to inspire creativity as we nurture a love of reading.

Build Community: We are creating programs and activities that ignite connection, curiosity, and collaboration; and will offer events like kid’s storytime, workshops and art activities, My Favorite Book Swap, and after-hours gatherings like Halloween Horror Storytime and Banned Book Night.

Value Differences: Gertie is a welcoming space for all, and we are focused on offering books that reflect diversity, where all children (and adults) can see themselves in the pages of a book.

Enhance Well-being Through Reading: Reading involves numerous mental health benefits by reducing stress, enhancing empathy, improving cognitive function, aiding emotional regulation, providing escapism, improving sleep, boosting self-esteem, and even serving as a therapeutic tool.

Empowerment: While we plan to be available to all, we aim to collaborate with existing low-income resources to promote literacy equity.

We want to offset the “summer slide” (summer reading loss) by being extra active during the summer months, providing fresh books to kids.

Push Back: With over 10,000 book bans in the last school year disproportionately affecting diverse authors and topics, and with 72% of these driven by organized censorship (ALA, 2024), we feel a banned book section in the bookmobile is a vital step in actively supporting freedom of expression and diverse voices.

Our Beliefs and Values: We all need a reason to feel hope and connection. Coming together to share, co-create, and support one another will help us thrive. This collective spirit is vital for connection, and connection is how we will get through challenging times. This is a big decision around how we want to show up in our city, relate to others, and spend our time. We hope to inspire you to join us in this effort to make a lasting impact in our community.

Here’s how you can help:

Please consider helping us make this dream a reality. If you are in a position to contribute we hope you will donate today. No dollar amount is too small. 100% of donations (less the 2.9% and $0.30 per donation transaction fee) will go directly to the bookmobile.

We are working to restore this vintage gem, making sure she’s spruced up, safe, and ready to hit the road. Gertie has been lovingly maintained (the library system did a great job)! She runs like a champ and her interior is like going back in time. But like any 57 year old vehicle, she has endured some wear that requires attention.

Our fundraising goal has been carefully considered. Recognizing that we are new, and building trust takes time, we are aiming for an achievable amount that allows us to get started without seeking an overly ambitious 'dream figure’.

Worth emphasizing, we are volunteers and will not be using any money from this campaign as compensation for our time. All funds raised will be used to cover the costs of the bookmobile.

Funds raised through this campaign will be used for:

Start-up supplies

Interior renovations- We have achieved a lot already with sweat equity, but Gertie needs shelf, panel, and floor repairs.

Exterior care- minor rust repair, and importantly, rustproofing and general preservation like needed roof resealing and new seals around all doors and windows.

Routine vehicle maintenance

Vehicle repairs reserve

Signage

Commercial Dehumidifier– a must-have to protect books

Auto insurance

Event insurance / permits

Program activity materials (that are not donated)

Books- While our primary approach to collect books involves donations, we will also strategically use donated funds to buy specific titles when needed. This ensures we can acquire high-demand books and offer new releases that donations alone may not provide, ultimately creating a more comprehensive and responsive selection.

(A note about how books are selected: We are carefully selecting titles by considering the needs and interests of our community, consulting trusted sources such as professional book reviews and bestseller lists to identify popular and critically acclaimed works. We will check whether a title is already widely available at our county libraries; this review by the established library system helps ensure that the books we carry have been deemed appropriate, safe, and reputable for a wide readership. Additionally, we will consider the reputation of authors and publishers).

Fuel- Being an older vehicle, Gertie’s gas mileage isn’t the best. However we don’t anticipate driving her long distances. Looking ahead, the bookmobile holds value as a piece of Oregon history. And while we’d like to keep her running as long as it’s practical, if in the future, maintaining her becomes unreasonable, we imagine finding a nice spot to station her.

For what it’s worth, the average gas mileage of a city bus typically ranges from 3 to 6.5 miles per gallon. Gertie gets 5 to 7 miles per gallon.

(Surprising! But you can Google: “gas mileage 1968 bookmobile Loadstar”).

A Note About Money:

We're committed to responsible spending and are leveraging numerous free resources. So far, this includes donated books, materials, volunteer time for web/design/inventory, nonprofit advice, mechanic insights on medium-duty, vintage vehicles, free legal advise from the compassionate Jeremy Bordelon, and a major discount from bookmobile seller, author J.C. Geiger, who was inspired to help.

Whether you are able to make a donation or not, sharing our campaign on social media is a huge help.

You can follow our progress on Instagram @Gertiethebookmobile. Our website, including some fun before / after photos of our work on Gertie soon to come!

Lastly, a big thanks to my mom, whose frequent library trips with us rivaled a nun’s church attendance. And to Sara, I’m so glad I listened to you!