Support Us Button Widget

Words on wheels: Nashville Public Library’s innovative history

Before your neighborhood branch opened, NPL brought books to you via reading rooms, booketerias, and a library on wheels service.

A truck with a trailer-like bed carrying books pulls up to the outside of Stewart's Cash Grocery where patrons await its arrival.

Employees of the Nashville Public Library traveled in the truck to bring books to the community.

Table of Contents

Read: Novel ideas. Before the development, skyscrapers, and easy access interstates, Davidson County remained rural for most of the 20th century. By 1940, only around six library branches were serving the county, including Carnegie Library of Nashville + the south, north, and east branch libraries.

Limited access to the community meant the service had to get creative when it came to getting books in the hands of Nashvillians. Cue: bookmobiles, booketerias, reading rooms, and more.

Hitting the road

In 1941, the State Library Project formed a bookmobile, which made weekly rounds through Davidson County. The project was directed by Librarian F.K.W. Drury + sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, NPL, the County School Library, and the local Rotary Club. This process began before library access was free. Until 1950, patrons paid for a $2 book card.

By 1947, the Nashville Public Library formed the “library on wheels,” and in 1956, the service was extended to all of Davidson County. Fun fact: One vehicle in service held as many as 3,000 titles. Libraries on wheels were active until 2008.

Ramping up reading

Other quirky ways the library worked to get literature in the hands of the community included booketerias in 1953, which offered a small number of books for self-service checkout at grocery stores. Plus, the Nashville Public Library Airport Reading Room was the first concept of its kind to be established in a municipal airport nationwide. Opened in 1962 and closed by 1969, the Reading Room allowed travelers and the airline crew to relax in between flights.

More from NASHtoday
From Music City to Restaurant City, the reservation platform released its 2024 Resy Retrospective report, and Nashville was one of just six cities that received a special callout.
From Monday, Dec. 2 through Sunday, Dec. 8, Nashville Scene will host Taco Week, which highlights $5 specials at over 30 participating restaurants.
The Wine Bar joins a growing list of new concepts slated for the downtown development.
Sponsored
Nashville is made up of so many wonderful small businesses, here are a few our readers love in honor of Small Business Saturday.
San Antonio-based Curry Boys BBQ will open in East Nashville’s Riverside Village in early 2025.
As The Landings at River North nears completion, a new development will bring additional retail, residential, and office space to the East Bank.
Whether you’re a history buff, art aficionado, or budding scientist, these museums in Nashville, TN have plenty to explore.
The CORD, which is expected to be complete by August 2026, will act as a “creative incubator and maker space” for Belmont students.
The Salt Line will serve staples from its original menu in Washington, DC, along with “reimagined seafood classics” inspired by the Nashville area.