With the arrival of a new bookmobile, the Wood County District Public Library will nearly double the number of stops it will make around the county.
Eight new stops have been added for a total of 19 as demand has increased for library services.
Deputy Director Michele Raine reported at the board of trustees’ April meeting that the bookmobile will be returning to Haskins, a stop that was halted before COVID, as well as Tontogany.
Brentwood Park in Northwood and Cedar Park Apartments in Bowling Green have been added, she said, as has Troy Villa Mobile Home Park, Moline and Parkview Drive in Bowling Green.
Bradner has been included just for the summer.
“This is an opportunity with a new vehicle to completely reimagine what we are doing,” Raine said.
“The only reason we can do this is that we now have a bookmobile where we can get gas anywhere,” she said.
The bookmobile librarian will no longer have to use equations to calculate how much natural gas she had left to power the vehicle, said library Director Michael Penrod.
The library has provided bookmobile services to Wood County since 1953, Penrod said, and at one point it was a station wagon.
Once the new vehicle hits the road on May 29, it also has scheduled stops at Chantilly Rue in Northwood, Eastpointe in Lake Township, Eden East in Northwood, Northwood Estates Mobile Home Park and Woodlake Mobile Home Park in Millbury.
Stops will also be made in Custar, Haskins, Hoytville, Millbury, Portage, Risingsun and Rudolph.
Neither reservations nor advance sign-up is necessary at community stops. All that is needed to use the bookmobile is a valid library card.
The bookmobile’s public schedule can be found at https://wcdpl.org/bookmobile.
Another schedule is being determined for private stops at nursing homes, schools and daycares, Raine said.
“We’re going to make it a big deal all across the county,” Penrod said.
Kelsey Nevius, communications and marketing specialist for the library, announced a launch party is planned for May 24 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. in the library parking lot for the public to view the new bookmobile.
“It should be a lot of fun,” she said.
Nevius designed the bookmobile’s new look and included the board-approved colors of bookmobile blue, Walbridge gold and Bowling Green green. The words Explore, Discover and Create are highly visible on the sides and back of the bookmobile.
Also at the meeting:
• Penrod reported distributions from the state’s public library fund were at or above estimates for the first six months of the budget year but were now averaging about $30,000 less a month. He said he was watching the fund carefully to determine if it was a “hiccup or the beginning of a new trend.”
“This isn’t a red alert, this is a ‘let’s just watch this a little more closely,’” he said.
• The board welcomed Heidi Nees-Carver as its newest member. Her term runs through 2028.
Nees-Carver is an assistant professor of theatre in the Department of Theatre and Film at Bowling Green State University.
“The library has provided so much for myself and my family and by extension the community,” she said.
• Nevius unveiled a new library magazine called “Bookish” that includes events calendars for May-August and highlights of visiting authors. It focuses on adult programs and will be published three times a year.
• Penrod reported the strategic plan discussions include a carriage house garage next to the Carter House, a new exterior doorway to the Children’s Place, new technology on the second floor, new paint and carpeting in 2025, and evaluating public meeting spaces. The next library levy will be 2026.
• Maria Simon, youth services coordinator, reported “Adventure Begins at Your Library” is the summer reading program theme.
