The first mobile library in Latvia
The story of the mobile library of the Ogre Central Library
In any country, there are still places where access to the library is difficult, both due to distance, traffic and other reasons. That’s why the mobile library, or bibliobus, which is like a small library on wheels, is a very important service that provides books to those who are more remote.
The idea of a bibliobus in Latvia arose in 1995, when the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Latvia received a proposal during a visit to Norway from the Director of the Norwegian People’s Library Directorate to present a bibliobus to one of the Latvian libraries.
On April 11, 1996, the eleven-meter bibliobus with 600 books in English rolled into Ogre. From November 12, 1996, when the bibliobus went on its first trip to the readers, until 2009, it was the only mobile library in Latvia.
2023 is already the twenty-seventh year since the bibliobus or mobile library of the Ogre Central Library travels through 12 parishes in Ogre region, stopping at thirty-four stops. A bibliobus is not only a storehouse of books on wheels, but also a meeting place: in it each reader meets his book, the librarian – the reader, and the neighbor – a neighbor.
The service provided by the bibliobus has been of interest to many since its first trip around the Ogre district – journalists, students and researchers (sociologists, anthropologists, directors, etc.) have visited their readers along with books, and many different publications, films and interviews have been produced.
Zur Person
Aija Bremšmite has been working at the Ogre Central Library since April 2021 and takes care of the library’s publicity on social media on a daily basis. One of the components of Aija’s daily work is excursions in the Ogre Central Library for local and international groups. Aija is also responsible for organizing events and exhibitions on the library premises, as well as informing residents about what is happening in the library. Aija’s duties include informing the public about the routes and other current events of the Ogre Central Library mobile library.
