DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — Meet John Sawyer, president of the Door County Book Mobile nonprofit.
"This is the first bookmobile Carey Bertschinger, Vice President of Door County Book Mobile, and I walked on in first grade here in Egg Harbor," John Sawyer, President of the Door County Book Mobile, said.
We spoke with the Door County book mobile and checked out the book collection. Watch below:
In 1950, a three-year experiment by the Wisconsin Free Library Commission began, involving a mobile library that brought books to the county.
"When you go inside, it's identical to what it was," Sawyer said.
Seventy-five years later, it's still going strong.
"This has very fond memories to us," Sawyer said.
The 1964 Gerstenslager, the bookmobile’s second version, carries books for kids from kindergarten to sixth grade in English, and even a few in Spanish.
"And to see those young kids come on and get a free book we give out, bookmarks, it’s just really exciting. They’ll sit down and read it," Sawyer said.
Just this summer, the Door County Book Mobile gave away more than 2,000 books to kids. In past years, its Love-of-Books event handed out over 3,000 books to local students.
"To get them excited about getting a book and knowing that the bookmobile is going to come back and they’re gonna get another free book," Kay Wilson, a member of the Door County Book Mobile, said.
The group accepts lightly used books you can donate, which can be dropped off at their PO Box in Egg Harbor.
The bookmobile holds its annual Love-of-Books event, giving free books to public, private, and homeschooled kids, with the first one coming up in early September.
