From April through October, Oak Park’s two book bikes (Paperback Rider and Anne of Green Fables) give people access to the library outside of the three brick-and-mortar buildings. Weather permitting, we stock the bikes full of books and other library materials and ride them to schools, parks, block parties, local businesses, summer camps, community festivals, and more.
What do book bikes deliver?
Visitors can learn about library services and programs, use their library card to check out materials, and apply for a library card. Staff members may offer storytimes and answer reference questions. Patrons cannot return items or pay fees at book bikes.
Library staff members who have been trained to safely operate the bikes pedal them to scheduled community events and outreach locations. Each bike’s cargo hold is stocked with relevant materials—cookbooks and gardening manuals at the Farmers’ Market, for example, and children’s books at area park and daycare storytimes.
“By meeting residents where they are—whether it’s the Farmers Market, senior center, or community event—we make authentic human connections and engage with people in new and traditional ways,” says Youth & Family Outreach Librarian Sarah Yale. “It’s a fun, personal, ecologically friendly tool for connecting with us, for regular users and for those who’ve had barriers to visiting.”
More about our book bikes
The original idea, which libraries in other cities like Seattle also have adopted, was developed by Chicagoan Gabriel Levinson in 2008. For years, Levinson rode his custom-built book bike around Chicago parks, handing out free books. Watch Levinson speak with the American Library Association about his project »
Paperback Rider
Our first book bike, crafted by Haley Tricycles in Philadelphia and shipped to Oak Park in April 2015, was funded by generous donations to the library’s Fallon Family Fund, a dedicated fund established to help the library deliver cutting-edge projects and resources for all of our community’s children.
Affectionately nicknamed “Paperback Rider” in a community naming campaign, the three-wheeled mobile library has been delivering resources and good cheer throughout the area, improving access to materials since the spring of 2015.
Anne of Green Fables
Also crafted by Haley Tricycles, this electric-assist bike was funded by generous donations to the Oak Park Public Library Capital Fund. It was named “Anne of Green Fables” in a 2024 community naming campaign.
“Green + fables? How can you go wrong?” said Marla Rose, the community member who suggested the name. Marla said she loves a good pun and promoting female authors, so we think she knocked this one out of the windswept seaside fields with her twist on the classic children’s novel by L. M. Montgomery.
Anne is slightly larger than Paperback Rider and can hold more cargo. Riders can adjust the power levels of the five-speed electric motor, which determines how much energy the rider needs to put in and how much the motor will contribute. This electric assist can help riders pedal the cargo bike more easily and go a bit faster, which helps staff feel safer especially while crossing large intersections.
