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“We should consider our users through a lens of compassion
and empathy. What would make their lives easier?” – Michael Stephens

This video resonated with me a lot because I tend to go to the laundromat every few weeks due to a busted machine in my house. I actually love the benefits of a laundromat, and the nostalgia especially my time abroad in my dorm in Tokyo.

My experience is similar to those in the video, the people who do laundry in the laundromats have time on their hands to do things. I always go on my phone and watch a video on youtube or watch an episode of anime that I love to rewatch. Even read a webtoon or two. The amount of minutes that left with during a wash and dry is a lot. It takes me at least two to three hours to get it done.  The fact that the librarians without borders in the Bronx consider a great area to provide their services is awesome. They considered it and had it done three years in the making. I believe I seen laundromats become cafes, and the like. To help out the community in need, especially for information needs outside Library facilities and bringing it to the community is very beneficial for our livelihoods. It can also show that libraries are not brick and mortar places that houses books to just read (not that it is a bad thing). It’s a community effort, it will bring the information to you when you need it the most.

Miroslav Denkov via UnSplash

“Thus, a bookmobile is both a practical and strategic prioritization of citizens’ nearness to free and equal access to information, education, and cultural activities.”

Another piece of literature has a similarity to the pop-up library for the laundromat, bookmobiles. While the Bronx experience of a pop up is more for reference and providing information needs (unlike providing books to read) The bookmobile carries the books for you to come and read.

Coming across something I have limited experience, but I wanted to look into. Seeing places that have rural villages that don’t have a library is interesting. I honestly expected to be commonplace, I’ve read about bookmobiles before. Even my county library offers a bookmobile in local parks, providing books for all. It started in March of 2001, 24 years of caring out Los Angeles county’s information needs for everyone who can’t just go to the library with their busy schedules. It’s interesting to read how Zealand’s bookmobile runs and the measure of time with literacy rates depending on it. How there is a crisis for literacy despite the provisions given. What more can we do? “The public library as a societal institution is an important response to the reading crisis, but no institution can carry the task alone.” (Lauersen, 2025)

Given what our society reflects, it is up to us to help share what we can do within our technological advancing age. As a literacy/ESL tutor, I share the responsibility for my learner to learn how to read English, where they are fluent in another language. What Lauerson points out is that we should as a community, we need to seek out these resources for our benefit. Just as my learner wants to learn English. Since technology limited our attention spans, it is more easy to lose our literacy rates now. I believe it is beneficial to have a bookmobile for our reading needs, since we have easier access of a cell phone in our hands then it was 20-15 years ago. Bookmobiles should still carry on, maybe provide more interesting provisions, not just books, maybe a tablet with e-books, a laptop for study, and much more. Like the popup, maybe provide the information that could be helpful.

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