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Mobile Library

About the Mobile Library

The Mobile Library is currently scheduled to make visits throughout Ventura County, bringing WiFi on Wheels services and library materials to underserved locations. 

The vehicle serves as a WiFI hotspot, providing WiFi access outside the vehicle for several feet, allowing students and the community to socially distance and connect to the Internet. Mobile Library staff also provide book services and issue new library cards.

Mobile Library Report 2018-2023

Watch a video about the Ventura County Library Mobile Library Program [March 2021]

Video Link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=142201167812868 

Ventura County Library boasts having the first bookmobile service in California, dating back to 1924 when Elizabeth Topping, then County Librarian, loaded saddlebags on horseback to deliver books throughout the county.

Almost a century later, the Ventura County Mobile Library hits the road in May 2019. Playing an important outreach role, the Mobile Library is connecting new users and raising awareness of library services throughout the county. The Mobile Library also is a great opportunity to introduce the love of reading to children and to discover the benefits of lifelong learning.

“The mobile library is such a great opportunity for our Nyeland families who do not have access to even the closest library.” 
-- Monique Garcia, BGCOP Nyeland Unit Director

The Mobile Library offers a full range of library services, including:

  • Popular materials for all ages and in multiple formats: books, DVDs, audiobooks  
  • Checkout and return
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Wireless Printing
  • STEM & Makerspaces activities
  • Storytimes
  • Class visits
  • Participation in community events 

 

Mobile Library FAQ

The Ventura County Mobile Library was completely funded through grant and donated funds. It was funded through a generous donation from the Ventura County Library Foundation, which included significant donations from Premier America Credit Union and the Port of Hueneme.  In addition, the Ventura County Mobile Library project was also funded through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and awarded through the California State Library.

The Ventura County Library established partnerships with neighboring libraries to reach all corners of the county with library services. Grant partners include: Santa Paula Public Library, Moorpark City Library, Simi Valley Public Library, and the Museum of Ventura County. 

The Mobile Library provides service to the underserved areas where many people have little or no library service due to lack of transportation or mobility issues which may prevent residents from having access to library buildings.

The Mobile Library offers a full range of library services including: Free Wi-Fi, Wireless Printing, STEM & Makerspaces activities, Storytimes, and Class visits. The Mobile Library serves communities with collections that include materials for children, teens, adults, and seniors in English and Spanish. Patrons may also request material. 

The Mobile Library is 312” long (26 feet), 95.5” wide (8 feet), and 120” high (10 feet). The interior height is 78.2” high (6.5 feet). It holds approximately 2000 books, DVDs, and audiobooks depending on the type. 

The Mobile Library uses clean diesel fuel, a type of fuel highly refined to improve combustion efficiency and reduce harmful emissions. In addition, electric power in the vehicle is supplemented by solar panels on the roof of the vehicle which work to recharge the vehicles batteries during the day.

Mobile Library service is free to all community members in Ventura County. Library cards are free.

The Mobile Library will travel Countywide primarily serving those underserved populations who may experience barriers or limited access to brick and mortar libraries. To see a current list of stops and special events, check out the Mobile Library Event Calendar (the schedule is always changing).

1-2 hours, depending on the stop.

Yes. All that is required is a application form filled out, and if the applicant is under 18 years of age, a parent/guardian signature.

Most Mobile Library materials can be checked out for three weeks and renewed for an additional three weeks.

Materials charged out from Mobile Library can be returned to the Mobile Library or any Ventura County Library location. Fines are charged for lost or damaged materials.

Yes. When you place a hold on the website, select Mobile Library as your pickup location.

No. You can:

  • pay your account balance at any library building location
  • sign in to your account and pay fees online 
  • New Year’s Day
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • Presidents' Day
  • Memorial Day
  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Veterans Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Christmas Day 

Some inclement weather or other emergencies may prevent the Ventura County Mobile Library from operations such as severe storms. In such cases, all materials will be renewed and there are no charges.

You will not be charged overdue fines if there is an interruption to regular Mobile Library service. 

If you wish to make a donation to keep the Mobile Library on the road, please visit www.vclibraryfoundation.org.

Reading Recommendations

Image for "The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen"

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD!
A WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD WINNER!

The Chosen meets Adam Silvera in this irreverent and timely story of worlds colliding in friendship, betrayal, and the hatred that divides us.

Hoodie Rosen's life isn't that bad. Sure, his entire Orthodox Jewish community has just picked up and moved to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, but Hoodie's world hasn't changed that much. He's got basketball to play, studies to avoid, and a supermarket full of delicious kosher snacks to eat. The people of Tregaron aren’t happy that so many Orthodox Jews are moving in at once, but that’s not Hoodie’s problem.

That is, until he meets and falls for Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary—who happens to be the daughter of the obstinate mayor trying to keep Hoodie’s community out of the town. And things only get more complicated when Tregaron is struck by a series of antisemitic crimes that quickly escalate to deadly violence.

As his community turns on him for siding with the enemy, Hoodie finds himself caught between his first love and the only world he’s ever known.

Isaac Blum delivers a wry, witty debut novel about a deeply important and timely subject, in a story of hatred and betrayal—and the friendships we find in the most unexpected places.

Praise for The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen:

“A deeply authentic story about the terror and glory of encountering the outside world without sacrificing who you are—and who you want to be. It’s touching, tragic, and as Jewish as your Bubbe’s cholent.” –Gavriel Savit, New York Times bestselling author of Anna and the Swallow Man

“Blum gives the common but often-dismissed spiritual journey of many teens the respect it deserves in this witty, profound look at cross-cultural friendship, courageous honesty, and how a willingness to truly see and love our neighbors can change an entire community.” –Vesper Stamper, National Book Award-nominated author of What the Night Sings

“A refreshingly human look at the day-to-day nuances of Orthodox Judaism and the terror of modern antisemitism. I laughed, I gasped, I craved kosher Starburst. Two thumbs up from this nice Jewish girl!” –Tyler Feder, Sydney Taylor Award-winning author of Dancing at the Pity Party

“Bold, brave, and brutally honest, it holds a permanent piece of my heart.” –Dahlia Adler, author of Cool for the Summer

"Isaac Blum has the rare talent of telling searing, visceral truths in a witty, funny, punchy way . . . The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen is a vital voice in Jewish YA canon." –Katherine Locke, Sydney Taylor Honor author of The Girl with the Red Balloon
 

Image for "She Is a Haunting"

She Is a Haunting

William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist
Instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller

This house eats and is eaten . . .

"A riveting debut from a remarkable new voice! Trang Thanh Tran weaves an impressive gothic mystery in which Jade's father is determined to restore a decrepit home to its former glory and Jade is the only person who feels the soul-crushing devastation of colonialism lingering within its walls." --Angeline Boulley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Firekeeper's Daughter

A House with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.

When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She's always lied to fit in, so if she's straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.

But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don't belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can't ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves cryptic warnings: Don't eat. 

Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house--the home they have always wanted--will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house's rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.

Image for "All the Fighting Parts"

All the Fighting Parts

In the vein of Grown and The Poet X, Hannah V. Sawyerr's All the Fighting Parts is an award-winning, searing, and defiant young adult novel in verse about reclaiming agency after a sexual assault within the church community.



A YALSA William C.Morris Award Finalist

A Walter Award Honor Book

An ALA Rise List Top Ten Selection

A Kirkus Books Best of the Year



Sixteen-year-old Amina Conteh has always believed in using her voice as her weapon--even when it gets her into trouble. After cursing at a classmate, her father forces her to volunteer at their church with Pastor Johnson.



But Pastor Johnson isn't the holy man everyone thinks he is.



The same voice Amina uses to fight falls quiet the night she is sexually assaulted by Pastor Johnson. After that, her life starts to unravel: her father is frustrated that her grades are slipping, and her best friend and boyfriend don't understand why the once loud and proud girl is now quiet and distant. In a world that claims to support survivors, Amina wonders who will support her when her attacker is everyone's favorite community leader.



When Pastor Johnson is arrested for a different crime, the community is shaken and divided; some call him a monster and others defend him. But Amina is secretly relieved. She no longer has to speak because Pastor Johnson can't hurt her anymore--or so she believes.



To regain her voice and sense of self, Amina must find the power to confront her abuser--in the courtroom and her heart--and learn to use all the fighting parts within her.