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CELEBRA TI TEA PLANNED
Bookmobile service
enters its 21st year

NOW ENTERING its 21st year, the West Vancouver Me-
morial Library’s bookmobile service has flourished under
the capable hands of three women.

The job has unusual demands,
and the outgoing personalities of
Lucille Fisher, Lauren Henderson
and, currertly, Daphne Grisdale,
have enabl:d them to bring books
to patrons who are unable to come
to the brary.

But on April 18th, from 2 to 4
p.m., it is hoped that some of
those. bookmobile customers will
be abie to make it to the library to
visit with Henderson, Grisdale and
other library staff at a 20th Anni-
versary Celebration Tea for the
bookmobile.

Attending in spirit only, Fisher,
the first bookmobile mistress,
began driving the original unwield-
ty bookmobile in 1969, a job she
continued until her death in 1982.

At first, the hookmobile serviced
mainly elementary schools, where
libraries were not as well developed
as they are now. The memorial
library and schon! district have
since honored Fisher’s contribu-
tion by starting a scholarship in

* her name.

Tutored by Fisher,
Henderson took over
bookmobile wheel in 1982.

By then, the service was shifting
from the schools to the seniors,
some of the most avid readers of
the community.

Henderson made regular stops at
various places throughout the
community, including Capilano
Mobile Park (home of many older
West Vancouverites) and the
various seniors’ residences and
apartments. ,

Lauren
the

Some of the seniors preferred to
come down to the bookmobile and
choose from the bookmobile selec-
tion.

For the less mobile reader,
Henderson would select and check
out the books.

“‘Then I would deliver them and
sit and have a hello. It’s a real

“‘A man once locked |
himself in the
bookmobile and had
to be rescued, while
Henderson also
helped a lady save
her apartment from
burning down.”’

social type of ; thing,” recalls
Henderson. .

In turn, the seniors took a per-
sonal interest in Henderson, now
27, as she travelled, married and
acquired a puppy, a house and
then a baby.

Switching to the children’s
depastment after the birth of her
child, Henderson revalls incidents
during ber bookmobile years with

great fondness, fro1a the patron
who always brought his cat, to the
flat tire she had in Horseshoe Bay,
to the lanes she precariously back-
ed down.

A man once locked himself in
the bookmobile and had to be
rescued, while Henderson also
helped a lady save her apartment
from burning down.

“They’ve probably looked at
taking the service away at times
{it’s the only one on the North
Shore), but we’ve kept the circula-
tion up. There’s a lot of dedicated
bookmobile users," says Hender-
son.

Carrying on the tradition, the
current driver, lifetime West Van-
couver resident Daphne Grisdale,
continues to bring the mini-library
on wheels with its changing selec-
tion of about 2,000 items to less
mobile members of the communi-
ty.

Grisdale, who was the back-up
driver for five years, thinks that
the bookmobile helps make West
Vancouver the busiest library in
the Lower Mainland, while pro-
viding an important service. -

“For some patrons, I may be the
only outside person they see all
week,’” she says.

Anyone with a West Vancouver
library card can use the
bookmobile, although these days,
the Horseshoe Bay stop is the only
one where Grisdale sees young
families and children.

The 12-year-old GMC van is
showing signs of age and the
library is budgeting for a new
vehicle within the next couple of
years to make sure the popular
service continues.

Check out the new books

NEW BOOKS at the West Van-
couver Memvrial Library include
the following:

© Muscle for the Wing by Daniel
Woodrell. Set in the steam: bayou
town of St. Bruno this viscious and
dark suspense novel will have you
riveted to your seat.

¢ Something in the Air by Emma
Lathan. John Thatcher, executive
vice-president of Sloan Guaranty
Trust, weaves his laconic but in-
cisive way through a maze of
mergers and murders in this
spellbinding mystery.

°A Brief History of ‘Lime by
Stephen Hawking. In his best-sell-
ing book Professor Hawking takes
the reader into the exotic realms of
deep space, distant galaxies, and
black holes as he explains the great
theories of the cosmos.

© Sunset Patio Roofs and Gazebos

by the Editors of Sunset Books.
Learn to plan, design, and build a
variety of outdoor structures from
gazebos and garden retreats to ar-
bours and trellises with the help of
this superbly illustrated book.

New

The Power of Myth by Joseph
Campbell; Monkey on a Stick:
Murder, Madness and the Hare
Krishnas by John Hubner; Old
Age is Not for Seniors by Art
Linkletter; The A to Z of Wall
Street by Sandra Hildreth; What
Do You Care What Other People
Think? by Richard P. Feyman;
Shiatsu for Two: A Manual for
Beginners by Haj Hadeler; Shrubs
and Decorative Evergreens by Alan
Toogood; The Taste of Thailand
by V. Bhumichitr; Retirement
Guide for Canadians: An Overall
Plan for a Comfortable Future by

Henry Hunnissett; Questions
Parents Ask: Straight Answers by
Louise Bates Ames; Using Word-
perfect, Series 5 Edition by Gail
Todd; The Resume Catalogue: 200
Damm Good Examples by Yana
Parker; The Ragmian’s Son: An

Autobicgraphy by Kirk Douglas;

Gracie: A Love Story by George
Burns; A Twist in the Tale by Jef-
frey Archer; Cat’s Eye by
Margaret Atwood; Prospero’s
Daughter by Constance
Beresford-Howe; Firefly Sammer
by Maeve Binchy; Utz by Bruce
Chatwin; Cardinal of the Kremlin
by Tom Clancy; The Lyre of Or-
pheus by Robertson Davies.

The new book list was submitted
by Cate McNeely, public services
librarian. For more information,
call the library at 926-0391 or drop
in at 1950 Marine Dr.

Author Spilsbury to speak

WEST VANCOUVER author Jim
Spilsbury will be the featured
speaker at the Lynn Valley Library
during the National Book Festival
in Canada, April 15-22.

Speaking at the library on Tues-
day, April 18 at 7 p.m,
Spilsbury is a B.C. pioneer, en-
trepreneur and founder of the
Queen Charlotte Airlines.

He is known for his two books,
Spilsbury’s Coast and The Ac-

cidental Airline, both of which
recall his fascinating — and often
hair-raising experiences as a pio-
neer of radio communications in

the maze of inlets and islands _

which make up B.C.’s coast.

His most treasured memories are
those of the period between the
wars, when the coastal community
was made up of an assortment of
“loggers, fishermen, stump ran-
chers, hermits, . remittance men,
Greek. scholars, ex-prostitutes,

former stagecoach robbers and
outright lunatics.”’

Spilsbury has also gained quite a
reputation locally as a landscape
artist and some of his work will be
on display at the library to com-
plement his talk.

Currently, Spilsbury is interested
in local history and seafaring. —

His talk is expected to be popu-
lar, so come early as seating is
fimited. .

LAST YEAR, Lauren Henderson, left, passed on the responsibilities of
driving West Vancouver Memorial Library’s bookmobile to Daphne
Grisdale, right, who is carrying on with a service that started 20 years
ago. The library is holding a 20th anniversary celebration tea, April 18, 2
to 4 p.m.

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