The Wood County District Public Library is updating its air conditioning system, with no shutdown of the
library expected.
At last week’s meeting, the board approved spending $267,650 on a new chiller/condenser unit for the
building at 251 N. Main St.
The board also approved – with the option to cancel – another $19,000 to have the work done in a week.

The timeframe for Core Mechanical, of Ottawa Lake, Michigan, to do the work is two weeks in October.
Michael Penrod, library director, said he is hopeful the library will not need to close while the work is
done. The work will require the library to go two weeks without cooling or heat.
The work will replace a 1974 chiller and a 1994 condenser, located in the “penthouse,” or third floor, of
the building and the roof, respectively, said Brian Paskvan, trustees’ chairman.
He said the system was “on borrowed time, and God forbid we ever have summer.”
Tom Stuckey, with Poggemeyer Design Group, said the units were “failing and aging and on their last
legs.”
He said there are Band-Aids on the system, but it is still working and should last until the replacements
can be installed in October.
The new system will be smaller, at 95 tons, and more efficient, he said. The current system is 135 ton.

The amount estimated for the work was $269,000.
“They understand the project” and understand the control systems provided by Smith-Bowen, Stuckey said
about Core Mechanical.
The software to run the system will be upgraded as well, he said.
“You’re running a major component change through the building … and all said, you will have less service
calls. It will be a more efficient and more effective system,” Stuckey said.
Penrod wanted assurance that with the smaller unit, the library will still be cooled on the hottest of
days.
Stuckey assured trustees the unit will have the capacity to cool on extremely hot days.
The life expectancy on the system is 25-30 years, he said. The warrants on the systems are 10 years, he
added.
The pricing will be adjusted with the library’s service contract with Smith-Bowen to reflect the new
equipment, Penrod said.
The plan is to have the work done when the library is at its lowest usage, either the second or third
week of October. The contract says the work must be done by the end of November, Penrod said.
“We won’t want to have that going on Oct. 15 when we have our Community Reads in the Atrium,” he said.
“We can pick which week the installation will happen.”
The contractor has been given a two-week window to get the equipment installed, but an alternate to the
bid to squeeze that timeframe to one week is an extra $19,000.
Penrod said the money is available as the cost for the new carpet throughout the library came in much
lower than expected.
“Is one less week of inconvenience on patrons and staff worth the $19,000,” Penrod asked.
If the library goes two or three days without the air handlers circulating the air, “the building starts
to smell like old books,” Penrod said.
Trustees approved the bid with approval of the alternate at the discretion of the director.
Also at the meeting, the board:
• Passed a resolution thanking the Ohio Senate for increasing the public library fund in its version of
the budget and encouraging the House and governor to keep the 1.7% increase
• Heard Penrod report tickets for Novel Night of July 18 are available to purchase at the check-out desk.

This event and its success are critical to the library, he said, because “it is that extra $140,000 that
we have in this year’s budget from last year’s event that is allowing us to keep up with demand.”
For the first time, the event will be held at the library rather than at Schedel Gardens in Elmore.
“It’s exciting this event has outgrown that venue,” Penrod said. “We’re excited to see how this event
will fit into this space and how this space will work.”
Gene Klotz will donate all the floral arrangements, now that the event is back in Bowling Green, Penrod
said.
• Heard Michele Raine, assistant director of adult services, report that as of July 1 the Bookmyne
Library app will no longer be supported and will be replaced by SEO Libraries app for mobile devices.
The new system will allow users to scan their library card barcode onto the app, then use the mobile
device as a library card and scan it at the library. It also will link all family cards onto the app.

She also reported that the Lynda.com database – used to develop workforce skills — has been acquired by
LinkedIn Learning, meaning users starting mid-July will be required to have a LinkedIn account and a
library card to use the service.
• Heard Youth Services Director Maria Simon report that just over two weeks into the A Universe of
Stories summer reading program, she has 832 readers registered in Bowling Green, 248 at Walbridge and 84
from the Bookmobile for a total of 1,164 readers.
She also commented on the popularity of the library’s three 3-D printers, saying they charge $1 an ounce
for the finished plastic product.