Libraries on wheels…and in boats…and on burros….

For me, the library experience has always been about public space. The Burning Library was originally conceived as an experiment in library space, an inquiry into what makes a library a library. Can you just bring a bunch of books to the desert and call it a library? Do you need shelves? Do you need carpeting? What makes a library feel like a library?

Somewhere along the line, the emphasis shifted to the Burning Library as a mobile library. Maybe it was the logistics of getting items from Halifax to Toronto, acquiring more items in Toronto, bringing the resulting collection by plane to San Fransisco, and finally by van to Black Rock City. We had bookshelves in San Fransisco that had to be abandoned because there simply wasn’t room in the van. The library became, like so much of the Burning Man experience, a logistical challenge. Simply getting the (amazingly generous) donations was victory number one. Transporting them to Burning Man was victory number two. And putting material into the hands of fellow burners was victory number three.

On the day we left BM, I found myself walking through what remained of the city, makeshift bookshelves in hand. The city was already melting back into the sand as revelers slowly collapsed their tents and pulled rebar out of the ground. I pounced on anyone who didn’t look too busy, proffering the remaining books. I felt like a host offering guests a plate of those spiral cream cheese pita things. I wanted people to help themselves, but I didn’t want them to feel pressured if they weren’t interested. It was a delicate balance to strike, but I pulled it off.

People who didn’t want any books were still pleased with the interaction, and pleased about the project. Out of a week of extreme and awe-inspiring experiences, I will never forget how wonderful it felt to be walking around and distributing books. The two women sitting in the back of a truck who were intrigued and excited about Sonia Edworthy’s haircut zine. The Indo-Canadian-American newlywed couple who took Desmond Morris’ Catwatching because of their new kitten. Best of all, the man who took the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so happy to get their hands on a book before. As I walked around, I realized that I wanted to be doing this all the time, not just once a year.

Since then, I have been researching the many different forms of mobile libraries. I have been making not-so-secret plans for an urban mobile library service – one that does not need an engine to run. This blog was started as a means of tracking the Burning Library project as it developed, and the next stage of the library will involve a transubstantiation into an experimental mobile library. So, for the next little while, I will be using the blog to explore some of the rich variety of mobile libraries that exist. Enjoy!