Library Announces Arrival of New Bookmobile

Library News

Warren-Trumbull County Public Library Announces Arrival of New Bookmobile

(08/27/2020) - The Warren-Trumbull County Public Library (W-TCPL) announces the arrival of a new Bookmobile to serve Trumbull County residents. The new bus replaces the library system’s current aging Bookmobile, which has been in service since 2007. The library Board of Trustees set aside funds every year since that vehicle was purchased so that money would be available when it became necessary to replace it. When mechanical and structural issues last year led to the decision to order a new vehicle, the library had the money saved for the purchase. Total cost of the new Bookmobile is about $319,000. “We are extremely pleased to offer residents this option to borrow materials from the library by bringing the library on wheels to their communities,” said W-TCPL Director Jim Wilkins. The custom Bookmobile took one year to build and was completed in August of 2020. Summit Bodyworks Specialty Vehicles of Fort Lupton, Colorado, a leading builder of bookmobile and community outreach vehicles, built the new W-TCPL Bookmobile. The library worked closely with the company to design storage and shelving features, with an emphasis on customer comfort, convenience, and safety. The Bookmobile overall is 34 feet 4 inches long. The cab is a 2020 Freightliner M2, with a 24-foot box that holds the Bookmobile’s collection of about 3,500 items. Customers will be able to browse library materials placed on custom shelving along the interior of the bus, and both the front and rear checkout desks are equipped with plexiglass. The passenger side has an exterior awning, and there are two solar panels on top of the vehicle. The outside graphics on the bus represent the many materials library cardholders can borrow from the Bookmobile, including books, movies, and music. The opening musical notes of Ohio’s official Rock Song, “Hang on Sloopy,” are depicted along the top of the bus. Drawings of books along the sides represent different areas or highlights in Trumbull County, with titles such as “Along the Mahoning River,” “Recipes from Vienna,” “The Packard Family,” and more. In order to address safety concerns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, an adjustment to the previous Bookmobile schedule was necessary. The new Bookmobile will be making stops in Bloomfield, Greene, Farmington, Fowler, Mesopotamia, McDonald, Mineral Ridge, and Southington. The Bookmobile will be in service three days per week, with two stops of 2.5 hours each day. This new schedule will allow staff to sanitize and re-stock the Bookmobile between stops. The W-TCPL first instituted bookmobile service in 1938. Bookmobile service is free, and any W-TCPL library cardholder can check out and return materials. Last year 14,588 people were served by the Mobile Library Services Department, and they circulated 130,351 items, making it the second busiest W-TCPL service location. Call the Mobile Library Services Department at (330) 399-8807 ext. 203 for more information, or visit the library website at www.wtcpl.org for the current Bookmobile schedule and community stop locations.

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For more information, contact: Cheryl Bush, Marketing & Public Relations Manager, at bushc@wtcpl.org.