Observant students may have noticed a large silver vintage Airstream trailer stationed prominently in front of the UCen earlier this week. The Mobilivre Bookmobile stopped at UCSB as one of its last visits in its international tour.

The Department of Art Studio hosted the traveling project’s visit on Monday and Tuesday. The project trailer displayed art books, zines, and independent publications. The group’s informational pamphlet states their mission is to “encourage artistic production though bookbinding workshops and informational dialogue.”

The Mobilivre project tours the United States and Canada each year. Mobilivre volunteer Melanie Turner said that the Bookmobile stops at many universities, libraries, art galleries, community centers and independent bookstores. She said the current tour, the third of the program, began at the end of March in New York City and has visited many cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Quebec City, Toronto, Montreal and San Francisco.

Turner said she first heard about the program at Concordia University in Montreal; she contributed some of the graphic art to the program.

According to the project’s website at www.mobilivre.org, the project was founded by the Bookmobile collective, a group consisting of North American artists and community activists. The membership of the collective is made up of volunteers, coordinators, jury organizers and tour guides. The collective is based in Montreal, Qu