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Non-Carnegie Public LibrariesElkhart Public Library Bookwagon%u2014%u2014Elkhart, IndianaPurchased with a grant from Helen Beardsley, and place into service in 1921.This card is a modern reproduction. An original sold on ebay in 2023 for $202.50.Before anyone had coined the word bookmobile, the Elkhart Carnegie Library had one. They called it a %u201cbookwagon,%u201d and it was purchased with a donation from Helen Beardsley. Helen%u2019s late husband, Andrew %u201cHub%u201d Beardsley had been chairman of the board of Dr. Miles%u2019 Medical Co., and was one of the individuals who traveled to New York in 1901 to obtain a library grant from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie.Mrs. Beardsley was the first women elected to the Elkhart County School Board, and was one of the founders of the Elkhart chapter of the Women%u2019s Franchise League of Indiana, through which she met with President Wilson to discuss women%u2019s suffrage. She was also an active member of the Elkhart Library Board.Helen donated enough money to purchase a panel truck and have it converted into a traveling library. The unique creation began serving the citizens of Concord township in 1921. It was so innovative that the next year, 1922, it was exhibited at a American Library Association%u2019s annual meeting in Detroit. It took two days for it to travel the 192 miles from Elkhart to Detroit. There were several bushel baskets kept inside the bookwagon, each filled with extra books, which were used to keep the shelves stocked as books were checked out. The shelves were easily accessed by walk-up patrons. A new chassis had to be installed in 1928, and it continued to serve the Elkhart area until it was sold for $75 during Great Depression as a cost-saving measure.