By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The arrival of the Wood County District Public Library’s new bookmobile is imminent.
Library Director Michael Penrod told trustees that it could be delivered any day.
Tesco Specialty Vehicles, the Oregon dealer that sold the library the vehicle and is equipping it, informed Penrod that it was planning to display the bookmobile at the national Public Library Association conference April 3-5 in Columbus. Penrod asked if they expected it to be filled with books. Tesco responded “yes.”
That’s in two weeks, Deputy Director Michele Raine said.
The library staff has been instructed to remove the current bookmobile from its bay, so some cleaning up can be done before the arrival of the new vehicle. They will then pack it with books in preparation for its trip to Columbus.
The trustees agreed to the $210,000 purchase, which replaces a 13-year-old bookmobile, in July.
[RELATED: New bookmobile on its way to library]
The purchase price is less than what was originally anticipated when the prospect of buying a replacement vehicle was first broached in April 2023, and delivery is quicker. Then the board was told to anticipate waiting two years for delivery.
[RELATED: Keeping the wheels on the bookmobile going round and round is increasingly difficult]
Statistics provided to the trustees by Raine showed how well used the bookmobile is.
In 2023, she said, the bookmobile facilitated the presentation of 246 youth programs that served 4852 attendees and 15 adult programs serving 1676 patrons. That was in a year when the vehicle was sidelined for more than a month.
That data was part of Raine’s “deep dive” into the library’s metrics.
While digital circulation continues to increase, now at 23 percent circulation, print books far outpaces the circulation of books from digital sources.
In her report, Raine said, that the library has shifted its investment from the Ohio Digital Library to the Libby service. The library must still contribute 3% of its material budget to the state system. Penrod said in the past it contributed in excess of that.
It has shifted to spending more to Libby because that service allows the WCDPL to give preference to the patrons of the library that purchased a digital copy of the book. In the ODL system, a book purchased at the request of the WCDPL can be borrowed by anyone in the state on an equal footing.
In Libby, WCDPL patrons “go to the front of the line,” Penrod said.
The library also subscribes to the Hoopla service. Those materials do not have waiting lists.
The library now spends $94,312 for Libby, $26,973 for ODL, and $63,402 for Hoopla.
These cost, Raine said, reflect the high cost of digital books. A book that can be purchased for $15 in print can cost $80 for the digital version, and that version is licensed for a limited number of uses, 25, for example. After that it must be purchased again.
Raine noted that youth circulation on the digital formats has increased.
Trustees asked about any safeguards to keep children from accessing inappropriate material.
Penrod said that the use of different types of library cards for young patrons helps with that. Some of those cards allow for borrowing physical items only. Parents can also ask that certain restrictions be put on their offspring’s borrowing.
“I will always affirm an individual’s right to read what they want,” Penrod said. “I will also always affirm a parent’s right to control what their kids read.”
Access to information is essential if the country “is to remain free and self-governing, we need access to ideas,” he said.
Raine noted that the number of volunteer hours was up significantly in 2023. All of that is attributed to the Volunteens. They provide, she said, much of the support for the summer reading program.
“We couldn’t do half of what we do,” Penrod said of the Volunteens’ contribution.
“They’re a valuable part of our team,” Raine said.
Board President Ken Frisch credited the staff for engaging them in such a way that they feel valued.
Also, at the meeting, the board voted to remove a proposed policy change that would rescind the rental policy for the library’s atrium.
Penrod said the library never resumed renting out the atrium after COVID restrictions were lifted. It does host its own programs, but often those use only a small section of the atrium.
“It’s harder and harder to find the space to do what we’re doing,” he said.
The space is now used for displaying books and DVDs, and Penrod indicated more shelving and displays would be added. It takes two to three hours to set the atrium up for an event, and then a couple hours to restore it. That’s hard with reduced maintenance staff, Penrod said.
Before the pandemic, he said, there were often so many events that the chairs would remain in place for several days at a time.
“The atrium has been a critical resource for this organization,” trustee Brian Paskvan said. The piano recitals and other outside events bring people into the library who may not come otherwise.
The atrium houses a Steinway grand piano, and he questioned how much it would be used.
The library has partnered with the College of Musical Arts for concerts.
Penrod noted that while those events used to bring in more than 100 people, they now attract 20-30, and can be set up in a smaller space.
The library, Penrod said, is considering its policy for renting all its spaces, the meeting rooms and the Carter House. He asked: Is it part of the library’s mission to provide a space for birthday parties?
Paskvan said wanted a thorough conversation about the availability of the atrium in the context of the use of all the spaces in the library.
