History of the Bookmobile

Lincoln County Bookmobile service began with a bookmobile provided by the Colorado State Library with Library Services and Construction Act Funds. The bookmobile, which was headquartered at the Limon Memorial Library, served both Elbert and Lincoln Counties. Funds were granted to Limon Memorial Library to provide additional space for the library and to build headquarters for the bookmobile service.

In 1966 the bookmobile service became a program of the newly established Plains and Peaks Public Library System, which was one of the pilot regional library systems in Colorado. The Plains and Peaks Regional Library System was dissolved in 2004 and was replaced by Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC) at the beginning of 2005. The director of the Bookmobile became an individual member of CLiC in 2007. CLiC provides services for statewide interlibrary loan courier and training through workshops, webinars, and conferences to its members.

In 1971 Elbert and Lincoln Counties contracted to fund bookmobile service. The Plains and Peaks System continued to provide some administrative and professional assistance.

In 1981, Elbert County Public Library replaced the bookmobile service with branch libraries in Simla and Elizabeth. The Lincoln County Commissioners approved the continuation of county library service to be provided by the bookmobile. Elbert County contracted with Lincoln County until 2006 for library services in the Agate and Chaparral areas.

In 2010 the Lincoln County Bookmobile joined the AspenCat Union Catalog, joining 31 other libraries on a system to catalog and circulate materials. This allowed the bookmobile to provide more efficient service and enable patrons to access the collection online. AspenCat has grown substantially and now there are 160 member libraries with almost two million items collectively. Along with the physical items AspenCat also provides access to CloudLibrary, an online collection of ebooks and eaudiobooks.

Presently, the Bookmobile serves residents of Lincoln County with stops in Arriba, Genoa, Hugo, Limon and Karval. There are currently 20 stops in the county. Our routes include 7 stops in Limon, 4 in Hugo, Arriba, Genoa and Karval each have 2, and a stop at Punkin Center. Types of stops include home-based daycares, preschools, schools, homeschoolers, community, assisted living/nursing care centers and deposit collections at churches and senior centers. Home deliveries are not included as stops. Bookmobile materials are also available on the shelves of both the Limon Memorial Library and Hugo Public Library. Materials belonging to these municipal libraries are also available through the Lincoln County Bookmobile.