Gustine Has Two Libraries, and Only One Started as an Ice-Cream Cart
In 2017 a Gustine High senior named Zachery Ramos filled an old ice-cream cart with donated books and started giving them away. He explained why to the Los Banos Enterprise this past March: "In rural communities like Gustine, many families do not have easy access to bookstores, large libraries, or the extra funds to regularly purchase books."
The cart turned into an address. Since 2021 the Gustine Traveling Library has had a permanent headquarters at 417 Fifth Street. The Merced County Library's Gustine Branch sits a short walk away at 205 Sixth Street. The two do different work. The Sixth Street branch is part of the countywide library system. The Fifth Street storefront gives books away for kids to keep, offers free tutoring, and has a wall where the town hangs its memorials.
The Traveling Library is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Its own site lists free books and school supplies, family support and tutoring as its core work. The pace of the giveaways explains the rest of what the place has become.
In March 2026, the organization told the Los Banos Enterprise it had handed out more than 300,000 free books since its founding, to children, teens, adults and seniors across the Central Valley and the Bay Area. By mid-June, the Enterprise's coverage of the organization's literacy campaign put the total at about 350,000. Both figures come from the organization. Taken together, they suggest tens of thousands of books went out over a single spring.
The books are only part of it. As of March 2026 the nonprofit counted more than 6,000 children through the headquarters and more than 2,800 hours of free tutoring. During the pandemic it worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and local farmers to distribute more than $1 million in food and fresh produce to families. According to the same article, its funding is a mix of small grants, partnerships, community donations and Ramos's own money.
Downtown has backed it when things went wrong. After a water leak closed the headquarters in 2024, Westside Connect reported that the restoration effort thanked a list of local supporters: A Plus Plumbing, the Patterson Chamber of Commerce, Pasta 209, the Gustine Club, Whichcraft Taproom, Pizza Factory and Gustine Rotary.
The front room is small. The back of the building looks less like a library and more like a children's museum built by volunteers.
Westside Connect's coverage of a January 2026 craft day describes children waiting for their paint to dry by exploring the library's Discovery Center. It has life-size dinosaur displays, hands-on exhibits and a growing Lego model of the town called the Lego Gustine project.
Then there are the butterflies. Anyone who drives the Westside has probably seen Larry "Butterfly Man" Milton's large wooden butterflies on display around the area. The library's first Free Butterfly Craft Day drew more than 15 families and over 40 children between 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. They worked in waves of five butterflies at a time, and the finished pieces dried on the sidewalk to free up space. The wooden wings were cut by the Newman FFA Woodshop class. The bodies came from Rodger LaFleur, who has taken over the work of continuing Milton's butterflies. Families were invited to bring donations for the Newman animal shelter and local partners, carrying on Milton's support for animal rescues.
One teal butterfly was left unfinished that afternoon. It was set aside for the building's memorial display, where butterflies honor loved ones and community members. Traveling Library Vice President Jose Flores described the display to Westside Connect:
"Our building wears these butterflies like a living memory wall."
At that event, organizers said they hoped the craft days would become a monthly tradition. That was a plan, not a published schedule, so a quick call before showing up with paint-ready kids is the safe move.
Some of the Traveling Library's work never happens on Fifth Street. The Los Banos Enterprise reported in March 2026 that the library has partnered with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, with grant support from First 5 Merced County, to promote enrollment among local families. Enrolled children from birth to age five get one free, age-appropriate book mailed to their home each month.
The program is already large across the county. The Los Banos Enterprise reported that 7,761 Merced County children were actively enrolled as of April 10, 2026, and another 5,564 had already aged out. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the county program mailed 83,628 books to 8,809 children. The state affiliate has also raised its share of the cost. Starting May 1, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of California increased its match for Merced County from 50% to 75% of book and mailing costs, and the higher match is scheduled to run through June 2027.
That makes the Traveling Library a local connection to a county-funded mail program. Ramos told the Enterprise that families who once got books from the library as children are now bringing in their own babies to enroll.
This year's two biggest Traveling Library events give a good sense of what 2027 may bring.
The 925 books were a nod to the date, 9/25. The event flyer did not list an address for Dolly Parton Day, so for future events, check the venue with the library before you go.
The organization's site also lists an annual Thanksgiving dinner for seniors and veterans and a Story Time with a Furry Friend supported by the Build-A-Bear Foundation. We couldn't find a 2026 date for either one.
None of this replaces the Merced County Library's Gustine Branch at 205 Sixth Street, phone 209-854-3013. That branch belongs to the county system and runs its own programs. This past June 18, for example, it hosted an all-ages Board Games hour from 11 a.m. to noon.
Ramos has said the two are meant to work together. During the spring 2025 debate over the county library system, which the Merced County Times covered, he described his nonprofit as a complement to the county libraries rather than a replacement. County leaders said at the time, according to Westside Connect, that libraries were not closing or being privatized.
For a Gustine household, the two do different jobs:
Neither one posts weekly hours in the sources we reviewed, so calling first saves a wasted trip. The Traveling Library's number is (209) 585-8233, and the county branch is at 209-854-3013.
I've spent a long time working with families across the Westside, and places like 417 Fifth Street are a big part of what makes Gustine feel like home. If you're thinking about what your next chapter in Gustine looks like, or you'd simply like to talk through the town with someone who knows it, Christine Kinsley is always glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
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