As extensions of the library, Oak Park’s two Book Bikes give people access to the library outside of the three brick-and-mortar buildings. From April through October (weather permitting), we stock the bikes full of books and other library materials and ride them to schools, parks, block parties, local businesses, summer camps, community festivals, and more.
Our new electric Book Bike
Since 2015, we’ve been pedaling the red-and-white Paperback Rider to all corners of Oak Park, bringing the library to you. And Book Bike visits are in high demand, especially on busy summer Saturdays. That’s why we’re so excited to add a brand-new, bright green, electric-assist Book Bike for the 2024 season!
“We hope that having this second bike with an electric assist can help more library staff be comfortable riding it,” says Community Engagement Librarian Sarah Yale. “Having more riders means we can increase our reach.”
Say hello to Anne of Green Fables! It’s our new Book Bike with an “e”
And thanks to a community-driven naming campaign, this electric Book Bike now has a name more wonderfully punny than we could have dreamed!
“Green + fables? How can you go wrong?” says Marla Rose, the community member who suggested the name. Marla says she loves a good pun AND promoting female authors, so we think she knocked this one out of the windswept seaside fields with her twist on the classic children’s novel by L. M. Montgomery.
And many of you felt the same way! Thank you to everyone who participated by suggesting names and voting. We think Anne of Green Fables and Paperback Rider are kindred spirits, and you can expect both our bikes to pedal stories for all ages this season and many more to come.
What do Book Bikes deliver?
Visitors can learn about library services and programs, use their library card to check out materials, and apply for a library card. Staff members may offer storytimes and answer reference questions. The Book Bike cannot accept returns or paid fees.
“The Book Bike gives us the freedom and flexibility to take our library professionals, services, and resources to the streets, increasing our reach and visibility out in the community,” says Community Engagement Librarian Sarah Yale.
Library staff members who have been trained to safely operate the bikes pedal them to scheduled community events and outreach locations. Each bike’s cargo hold is stocked with relevant materials—cookbooks and gardening manuals at the Farmers’ Market, for example, and children’s books at area park and daycare storytimes.
“By meeting residents where they are—whether it’s the Farmers Market, senior center, or community event—we make authentic human connections and engage with people in new and traditional ways,” Yale says. “It’s a fun, personal, ecologically friendly tool for connecting with us, for regular users and for those who’ve had barriers to visiting.”
More about Book Bikes
The original idea, which libraries in other cities like Seattle also have adopted, was developed by Chicagoan Gabriel Levinson in 2008. For years, Levinson rode his custom-built book bike around Chicago parks, handing out free books. Watch Levinson speak about his idea with the American Library Association »
Paperback Rider
Our first Book Bike, crafted by Haley Tricycles in Philadelphia and shipped to Oak Park in April 2015, was funded by generous donations to the library’s Fallon Family Fund, a dedicated fund established to help the library deliver cutting-edge projects and resources for all of our community’s children.
Affectionately nicknamed “Paperback Rider” in a community-driven naming campaign, the three-wheeled mobile library has been delivering resources and good cheer throughout the area, improving access to materials since the spring of 2015.
