From Access to Ownership: How the Bookmobile Builds Young Readers

Frederick Douglass once said, “Once you learn to read, you will forever be free.” It is a quote that, in so few words, has a lot on its mind, and remains a forever thought-provoking statement. Not just within the backdrop of Black History Month or past and present civil rights movements, but in a far broader context: children, how they are exposed to literature, and what they take away. Starting in 2016, the Baltimore Ravens partnered with the Maryland Book Bank and set out with the Bookmobile, a mobile library aimed at expanding children's access to and exposure to literature in Baltimore City elementary schools. 

In 2026, ten years later, the effects of the initiative are still evident among the children who are affected and attend these mobile library visits. Kids enter the modified Ravens-themed bus, their eyes exploding with excitement. With the emphasis on the fact that these kids get to keep the books, they enter the bus with their friends in an organized frenzy of joy. Kids yell out, “I love this van,” “Whoa! This is so cool,” or in moments of bubbling hyper specificity, “Look! It's a combo of our two favorite things, trains and dinosaurs!” In every case, these kids leave with a bag of five hand-picked books to take home, read, and expand their developing home library. To be present in these moments is vibrant and enriching, but it also highlights the importance of literacy and its power, as Douglass explains. 

            As stated by Ed Trust New York, “literacy in America is still important for many of the same reasons it was important to Douglass. Access to education and the ability to read and write are essential for achieving economic and social mobility and for advocating for one’s own rights and interests.” In both big and small ways, the Book Bank advocates for these facts through the Bookmobile. The mobile library, through personal observation, is putting literacy into practice by emphasizing choice, allowing children to pick what they want to read. Titles and topics like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dinosaurs, Spiderman, Magic Tree House, and others have not gone out of fashion. As these books and characters advocate for friendship, self-esteem, curiosity, teamwork, bravery, and other such themes, they indirectly equip readers with the skills to think about the world and what’s possible. It informs the imagination but also provides the freedom and tools to interact with the world and what goes on in it in meaningful and perhaps reflective ways. These facts are even more pronounced and fulfilling when the kids themselves are discovering these ideas through books they are interested in, get to keep, and follow topics that excite them every time they cross their paths.

            I will say, from a first-person perspective, that the Bookmobile is special because it offers that freedom of choice. It is a hyper-unique mobile experience that I believe a younger me would go crazy for. But most importantly, what makes the experience so enriching is seeing the kids go on a scavenger hunt; shifting through shelves of various books, only to find the book or title that speaks specifically to them. It’s great to see these kids get so excited about the titles they find, not just because they are recognizable, but because they themselves found them. They enter the bookmobile, unaware of what awaits, only to be struck with the surprise of whatever they find. Every kid is different, and the books they choose to walk away with offer a fun insight into who they are and what they find exciting. That freedom of choice is key to helping these children develop as readers and continue their interests in reading.