By TOM GERROW
BG Independent News
The Wood County District Public Library board of trustees, library management, and staff have long prioritized providing reading materials to the community and have backed it up with action: this year’s budget allocates more than 18% of the budget to materials, compared to the national average for libraries of 10%.
But it’s not enough. The people want more – in particular, digital resources – and the library wants to give it to them. At their June 16 meeting, the library board considered a revision to appropriations for 2026 to add an additional $100,000 for digital resources to help meet demand.
Michael Penrod, library director, explained that funds were available for the increase and would not require shifting resources from other library budget priorities.
“We can add this with some cash that we have on hand, but we were very conservative with how we budgeted last year,” Penrod said. “Halfway through the year, this is a way to invest in the community and easily purchase more items that we don’t have.”
Linda Joseph, the library’s fiscal officer, added that the increased amount would still fall within the amount approved by the county auditor’s office.
“When we get our certification from the auditor’s office of the maximum that we can appropriate, it’s a larger number than we ever budget,” Joseph said. “As long as we don’t go over that number that they give us, we’re fine.”
Board member Brian Paskvan noted that the appropriation maximums requested by the board and approved by the auditor are high enough that the board doesn’t have to go back to the auditor repeatedly to request increases to the budget.
“The funds are available and there’s no problem with that,” said Ken Frisch, board president. “And this will allow us to continue to address the digital needs that are being requested.”
“There’s just a lot of requests in this particular area,” he added. “And as you recall, in the budget we’ve got a large focus, as we always do, on materials. And this is just an addition to that particular item, because those are requests from the community.”
Paskvan agreed. “Our budget was pretty well thought out and tight, and it’s good that we’re able to do this,” he said. “And as we know through all the things that we’re seeing out there, the digital world is big, and getting bigger and bigger. So this is a good thing, putting some additional money behind that.”
The board of trustees approved the additional funds unanimously.
Cybersecurity
The board also adopted a formal cybersecurity policy, in compliance with new Ohio state law. Per state law, the details of the cybersecurity policy and cybersecurity incidents are not public records and must be treated as confidential by all library employees, officials, and agents.
Penrod said that state auditors, in addition to periodically reviewing financials, will also audit the cybersecurity program.
“What we’ve been told by the auditor’s office is, OK, you’ve adopted a program saying you’re doing X, Y, and Z,” Penrod said. “Now prove to me you’re doing X, Y, and Z.”
Penrod expressed his gratitude for the efforts of Nick Sluka, the library’s network administrator, and board member Greg Esposito, owner of InTech IT Solutions, for their expertise, efforts, and insights in developing the WCDPL cybersecurity policy.
“I am very comfortable knowing that we have Greg Esposito and Nick Sluka to handle a lot of this,” Penrod said.
The board of trustees adopted the cybersecurity policy unanimously.
Novel Night
The board and the WCDPL Foundation are gearing up for this year’s Novel Night, which will be held at the Veteran’s Memorial Building at Bowling Green City Park on Thursday, July 16.
“We are really excited – sponsorships are coming in, we’re selling tickets,” Penrod said. “The foundation board is working very hard to secure live and silent auction items. It’s just exciting to see this group come together every year for the big party in July.”
This event typically raises $120,000 to $130,000 each year, helping the library buy more books to meet local reading demand.
“We’re not filling holes for people that live in Steubenville, we’re filling holes for people that live in Wood County that have our library card,” Penrod said. “Novel Night allows us to be responsive to our immediate community.”
Penrod thanked Paskvan and board member Ellen Dalton for their efforts. Both also serve on the WCDPL Foundation board, with Paskvan as president.
Summer Programming
Trustees heard from Kristin Wetzel, information services coordinator, about the successful launch party for the summer adult reading program, where 78 attendees sipped on “mocktails.” Wetzel reported that so far, there have been 234 entries in the adult summer reading program. Maria Simon, youth services coordinator, reported that more than 800 youths signed up for the summer reading program, including 128 at the Walbridge library and 138 through the library’s bookmobile. Simon expressed her appreciation for the participation and support from local businesses, who provide coupons, tickets and other incentives for young readers who reach milestones in the reading program.
“Then the big, delightful surprise to us is the number of volunteens that we have signed up this summer,” Simon said. “And that’s 100 volunteens here at BG, and 13 at Walbridge. So, we’re still trying to figure out, what did we do? But it’s great.”
Summer is a busy time for the library, with increased programming, so all the extra help from the volunteens is much appreciated by the library staff.
