A box truck idled in the Noxon School parking lot. Painted on its side is a colorful illustration of a child sitting next to a stack of novels, nose-deep in a book. 

Scrawled just above the picture reads "Sanders County Book Mobile” in large black letters.  

The school’s doors opened as a substitute teacher ushered out a couple of first graders. Carefully, they climbed up the van’s tiny steps and stepped into a cozy library.  

Since the 1960s, the Sanders County Bookmobile has provided library access to the most rural parts of the county. With only four existing libraries — one in Hot Springs, Thompson Falls, Heron and Plains — many residents live hours away from the nearest location. More than 500 patrons benefit from the county-run program, which is independent of public libraries. 

“There’s obviously not a lot of libraries out here,” said Bookmobile Director Jessica Gayton. “As far as those being accessible to anybody, it can be difficult. If you live in a certain area, a library might be 50 miles from you.” 

Bookmobiles have existed in the U.S. for more than 120 years. The first official bookmobile was established in 1905 at the Washington County Library in Maryland, according to the American Library Association. 

The number of bookmobiles established in the U.S. peaked in 1991, with 1,125 traveling libraries. While services declined over the following years, hitting an all-time low in 2015 with 647 bookmobiles, there’s been a slow resurgence. As of 2019, there are 671 bookmobiles, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  

The Sanders County Bookmobile provides a selection of 5,000 books in genres including fiction, nonfiction, young adult and children. Half the books are carried on tilted shelves inside the bookmobile, and the rest are stored in a barn in Plains.  

Novels are rotated out every month to keep the selection fresh, Gayton said. If a book hasn’t been checked out in two years, it’s sold at the annual book sale at the Huckleberry Festival in July. Earnings from the sale are used to purchase new reads.  

THE BOOKMOBILE makes three trips a month, visiting two to three locations per trip. Regular stops include Noxon, Plains, Paradise, Dixon, Trout Creek, Heron, Lone Pine, Hot Springs and Thompson Falls. 

Gayton’s day starts around 7:30 in the morning, when she picks up the bookmobile from the Refuse District in Thompson Falls. It’s closer to her than the book barn, Gayton said, which is an hour round-trip.  

Arriving back home, she conducts a 15-minute safety check, making sure the vehicle’s oil and generator are in good shape, before she climbs in the driver’s seat, puts on an audiobook, and sets off.  

“I look forward to seeing [the patrons] every month,” she said. “I get a little piece of our whole county.”     

She's close with all of her regulars. In some towns, like Lone Pine, the bookmobile is a big social event. Neighbors catch up while scanning through texts, talking about their latest read and asking each other for recommendations. 

Holly Germano, a long-time patron, is a regular at the Noxon stop. She’s shown up to nearly every visit since the mobile library started arriving in the small town more than 30 years ago.  

“It’s a blessing. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have my books to read,” said Germano, a Noxon resident. “The libraries are far away, so this is really wonderful.”   

She perused the Christian fiction section, her favorite genre, while chatting with Gayton about the latest update on her husband’s medical condition.  

“When you’re not here, I worry,” Gayton told her.    

The two first graders from Noxon School waited patiently to return their books at a desk near the driver’s seat before scrambling to the back of the tiny library. Gayton asked the substitute teacher about the rest of the class. They’re all out sick, she replied. 

Jaxon Achatz, 7, and Rivers Frivert, 6, scanned the shelves closest to the floor before each selected a novel and settled down to read. Books about dogs are their favorite, the boys said, but they also enjoy reading “Pax,” a series about an orphan boy and his pet fox written by Sara Pennypacker.  

“I like it when the bookmobile comes,” Jaxon said.  

When it was time to leave, they took their books up to Gayton, who checked them out using a software system on her laptop designed for small libraries.  

“Everybody finds a book,” Gayton said. “Nobody leaves empty-handed.”   

If a patron can’t make it to the bookmobile to return a book, drop boxes are located at the Dixon Senior Center, Hot Springs Health Store, Plains City Hall, Trout Creek School, Noxon School, Heron Library and Thompson Falls courthouse.  

GAYTON NEVER imagined herself running a mobile library, she said. Originally from Texas, she and her husband moved to Missoula eight years ago, where she taught at St. Joseph’s Preschool.  

They moved to Thompson Falls in 2019 in search of a quieter lifestyle. Gayton wanted to get involved with the community when she came across the county’s bookmobile program. That was how she met former Director Sandy Hough. 

“I was like, ‘That sounds like a dream job,’” Gayton recalled.  

She accepted an offer to work as a part-time driver, filling in for Hough as needed, before she took over as director in August 2023. As the only employee, aside from the program’s board members, Gayton works as a liaison between the program and the county, clocking in 32 hours a week.  

She schedules new stops for those who reach out and orders new books to keep the selection up to date with the latest releases. Gayton even made an appearance in a PBS documentary, “Back Roads Montana,” that featured the bookmobile.  

“When I first took over, I wanted everyone to find something they enjoyed reading,” she said. “It’s my mission.’ 

Report for America reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at (406) 758-4439 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.   

    Noxon resident Holly Germano scans bookshelves in the Sanders County Bookmobile on March 17, 2026. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)
  

  

    Sanders County Bookmobile Director Jessica Gayton poses in front of the bookmobile parked at Noxon School on March 17, 2026. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)
  

  

    The Sanders County Bookmobile carries 2,500 books on tilted shelves. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    The Sanders County Bookmobile carries 2,500 books on its tilted shelves and travels to rural towns throughout the county. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Sanders County Bookmobile Director Jessica Gayton sits at her book check-out desk in the bookmobile on March 17, 2026. (Hannah Shields/Daily Inter Lake)