For many populations, the bookmobile is a lifeline--people who don't live near a library, people with physical handicaps that make it difficult for them to visit their local library, the elderly, people who can't afford to buy books or computers. Unfortunately, in many parts of the country, this lifeline is disappearing. Today's article in the Boston Globe describes the ancient bookmobile in Beverly, Massachusetts that is "now a ragged shadow of itself." There are only four bookmobiles still operating in Massachusetts, and across the country, "bookmobiles are increasingly seen as irrelevant, and have been retired one by one." There are only about 900 bookmobiles still operating in the United States. It really seems a shame!