It's more than books on wheels. The Library System of Lancaster County's (LSLC) bookmobile delivers knowledge, creativity, inspiration and joy. The bookmobile is kind of like a food truck serving up nourishment for the mind and soul.

"Reading in general is very important," said Audrey Lilley, the bookmobile's driver, curator and full-time coordinator. "It's important for kids to be reading. It's important for them to be able to pick up a book and see characters who look like them. Reading can be inspirational, and with retirees, it kind of comes full circle. I think retirees can find comfort in reading. For all people in between, it's a way to relax and unwind."

When not on the go to multiple locations all across Lancaster County, Lilley parks the bookmobile at LSLC's main office at 1866 Colonial Village Lane, Suite 107, Lancaster. The bookmobile is a 22-foot-long box truck with a single entrance and equipped with a wheelchair lift and portable book carts.

"If we can fit into the space, we'll come to it," said Lilley. "When you get up in there and turn to your left, it's just walls of books. We can tailor the materials to the crowd we're going to see. We have shelves of cool stuff. It's a neat operation. I really love it."

In an effort to provide reading materials to local citizens who experience difficulties getting to their community libraries, the LSLC bookmobile visits more than 45 unique locations each month, places like schools, retirement communities, churches, local events and child care centers. The stops are typically an hour to 90 minutes in length and usually well attended.

"We want to serve patrons in the community who might struggle to reach their brick-and-mortar libraries," said Lilley, a resident of West Lampeter Township. "We're able to meet them where they're at. We're always looking for new places to go. We want to talk to patrons. We want to hear what they want to read. That's how we build our collection."

"A lot of it is people reaching out to us for bookmobile services," continued Lilley. "Most of the communities will reach out to us and let us know they're interested."

The bookmobile has the capacity to house 2,000 pieces of reading materials, including fiction and nonfiction books, New York Times bestsellers, children's books, young readers' book series, the works of local authors, books about local history and events, religious books, holiday and seasonal books, and large-print books. But the bookmobile also rolls with DVDs, music, audio books, kits, puppets and brain teasers.

In 2024, 1,600 LSLC bookmobile patrons checked out 15,539 pieces of material.

"We offer all kinds of services," said Lilley. "We can help people look up something. We can print on-site. We can refer people to their local libraries. People can check out books and return books, even if they didn't get them from the bookmobile. However we can help to bridge that connection."

"I really love when someone's not sure what they want and I can help them find it," Lilley continued. "Then having them come back and tell me if they liked it or not. Just getting to know patrons in that way is really fun."

The birth of the LSLC bookmobile can be traced back to the 1960s. The current bookmobile is the sixth vehicle to serve the program.

While the bookmobile is one-of-a-kind, it's not all that famous.

"Some people do know about the bookmobile," said Lilley. "A lot of people will tell me they visited the bookmobile when they were kids. There is an element of nostalgia to it. I've also talked to people who said that they didn't know the bookmobile was still running. I also meet people at a lot of stops who haven't been to their closest libraries in a while. We're always trying to get the word out about it."

For additional information, go to http://www.lancasterlibraries.org/bookmobile.