ALASKA
BOOK MOBILE

The Bookmobile is a free library on wheels, a mobile venue, and set of resources to help make things happen in Anchorage and occasionally elsewhere around Alaska. We are the home of ꓤꓤPress, and since 2020 we have been helping organize the Anchorage Zine Fair.

The bookmobile has a variety of resources to offer to help put on live outdoor events. These include projectors and a pop up screen for drive-ins, FM transmitting capabilities, some other sound equipment, an onboard quiet generator, as well as a couple high powered portable generators, and a wheelchair lift. We primarily operate on a pay what you can model and are particularly interested in assisting with projects that line up with our mission.

We are also open to collaborations and If you would like to get more directly involved with the Bookmobile, we frequently need help with repairs and updates to the bus and regularly have creative opportunities for artists.

▾ Getting in touch with us

We can be reached via email at akbookmobile@gmail.com. Jimmy can also be reached by phone at (907)-343-9696.

▾ Our resources

Power: 7500W quiet generator - onboard diesel, 2x 6000W portable generators - unleaded, Solar power - small panel setup with 12V 472Ah battery bank and 3000W inverter Video: 1x Christie LHD700, 3x Epson PowerLite 535W WXGA - short throw, Access to 12K Christie Roadsters with short and long throw lenses for special projects, 15’ wide screen and frame - mounts to side of bus Sound: 2x FM transmitters and antenna, 10x portable FM radios, Webcasting - live stream and embeddable player through, myradiostream.com & Rocket Broadcaster, Other: Wheelchair lift - max load 600LB, Small alcove for presentation of artwork, Free art supplies, Free books, Risograph printing and design help - through ꓤꓤpress

The Bookmobile has a collection of free books for all ages. The majority of our library is made up of esoteric and campy books, including a large selection of old romance novels, science fiction magazines, Alaskana, comics, and self published work.

Donating books: We take donations, but have to limit what we accept as both space on the Bookmobile and our storage is limited. We are always interested in children’s books, YA books, and Alaskana. We are not usually interested in older non-fiction or textbooks.

If you have need for books, or have ideas on how to distribute books and there is a way that we can help, or if you have other questions regarding our library, please reach out.

Help wanted: We are looking for volunteers to help us sort through the donations we have received so far. This includes helping find homes for some of the books. This could be through the refilling of little free libraries, connecting with a books to prisoners program, or some other approach. Anyone that helps out can take home any books they fancy.

▾ why we do what we do

This is an artist led project. We are reimagining the Bookmobile, thinking creatively about possible interpretations and applications of a library on wheels. We are not a part of the Anchorage Public Library.

We see the creation of safe spaces for the communication of ideas and for starting conversations within community as an important part of socially based practices. We are undertaking this project as a means to address a need we see in the city of Anchorage in a way that is rooted in both the history and symbolism of the library, and in the innovative approach to problem solving that accompanies an artistic perspective.

While in conversations with other community members and organizations the idea of a more nimble, mobile space has come up time and time again. We hope for the Bookmobile to not only be such a space, but to also have the ability to collaborate and make connections between other groups.

The launch of this project corresponded with the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. As a result, for the last 2 years, we have put a great deal of our energy towards operating as a set of resources on wheels, helping put on pop-up events and drive-in screenings. As pandemic restrictions lift, we hope to get more people involved in organizing this project, and as a result, expand the types of activities we are a part of.

We are still deciding what form this mobile library will take (we also know this will not be static), Asking what a library is? And looking at what other services the Bookmobile can provide in Alaska. Free wifi hot spot? Charging station? Voter registration? Free wool socks? A library is a lot more than a collection of books.

Whatever it is we do, we are trying to make it accessible, free, and open to the public.

▾ Our story

in 2019, after retiring from service with the Allegheny Library Association, a classic Bookmobile from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania made the long trip to Alaska, now calling Anchorage home. With a little love and a lot of planning the Bookmobile went back to work in Alaska in the spring of 2020.