By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The Wood County District Public Library’s bookmobile is off-the-road, again, and has been for more than a month.
A replacement would cost about $250,000, but the necessary retrofitting will drive the cost up even more.
A part of the suspension system has gone bad, and the library staff is having a hard time locating a replacement part.
Contributing to the problem is the bookmobile’s age. It hit the road in 2010 at a cost of $200,000.
The bookmobile is custom-made vehicle that runs on compressed natural gas. When it came into service that was supposed to be the green fuel of the future. It didn’t work out that way, so the bookmobile must be fueled at the library. That limits its range.
It is incapable of getting from the southern reaches of the library district to the northern boundaries of the district’s expansive and irregularly shaped service area.
Library Director Michael Penrod said the bookmobile has saved the library district tens of thousands of dollars in lower fuel cost and has emitted less pollutants.
But that distinctiveness comes with a steep price tag.
Several firms had a hand in manufacturing and customizing the bookmobile.
When it breaks down, it cannot be driven to Columbus or elsewhere to be repaired. Specialty mechanics must make their way to Bowling Green.
Deputy Library Director Michele Raine said it was difficult to find a mechanic to even diagnose the bookmobile’s problem. Frank’s Automotive stepped up and looked at it, and seems to have isolated the problem, an electronic sensor.
Library Director Michael Penrod said no one has the part nor what they need to fabricate it.
This brings to the fore an issue that he raised a couple months ago with the trustees – plans to replace the bookmobile. Before the pandemic, the library was considering buying a second, smaller vehicle to pick up some the slack. But that purchase was delayed.
Now the need for a new bookmobile has become critical.
All bookmobiles are custom made. First a basic vehicle, essentially the chassis, has to be purchased. Right now, the lead time for getting that is about 14 months. Then the suspension system must be bulked up to support the weight of all those books, and the sidewalls of the vehicle must also be strengthened. The vehicle also must have a lift both for accessibility and for loading carts full of books. That further extends the delivery time. That could take as long as six months to have all the custom work done.
Penrod estimates when all is said and done, it will be two years from the time the purchase is approved to the time the new bookmobile is delivered.
The limitation on range also rules out a solar vehicle. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter only has a range of 85 miles before it is charged, and that’s before adding all the additional weight of books, the shelving to hold them, and the sidewall reinforcement necessary to support those shelves.
Penrod said this also poses the question of whether a bookmobile as patrons have known where it shows up and people get on is necessary.
The trustees suggested forming a committee, including someone automotive and technical expertise, to determine what the best approach to take is and to study the options.
Board President Ken Frisch said the trustees need “to make a decision and move forward because every day, every week, and every month we delay the decision … is going to put us that much further down the road.”
The need for a second vehicle makes the timing even more crucial.
“We’re certainly creative enough to look at all the options,” Frisch said.
