Books on the bus go round and round

Bookmobile, which makes stops twice a month in Fredonia, is thriving

    Of course a few things will fall of a shelf now and then, but that’s to be expected driving the Bookmobile that visits Fredonia twice a month.
    “It’s funny, if you get into a certain parking lot, depending on what the entrances or exits are, sometimes it can do a little rocking and a shelf takes a tumble,” Bookmobile librarian Holly Smith said. “For the most part, the way the shelves are designed, it’s amazing how little that happens.”
    Popularity of the Bookmobile is another reason books and DVDs are hard to keep on the shelves.
    A total of 4,483 items were circulated in October, which includes stops in Sheboygan County.
    “I love the bookmobile,” Divine Savior Catholic School principal Lynn Sauer said. “It’s the library on wheels.”
    Now part of the Monarch Library System, which includes Ozaukee County, the Bookmobile made its debut in 1979. In May, a new bus was purchased for the first time since 1990.
    It is longer, taller, has more of a contemporary look on the outside, and the inside has a “lot of bells and whistles” such as a new heating and cooling system, better lighting, and solar panels on top of bus, according to Smith. Once inside, it is hard to tell it is a bus.
    She said “sections on everything” are on shelves on each side of the bus, which includes benches. People need a library card to take out material, but the Bookmobile can issue cards for those who do not have any.
    Smith adds there is a deep appreciation from the community because it does not have a typical library.
    “No matter where you may live or whatever your resources are, we can provide a service and fill in those blanks to ensure that they have as much access, it’s more equitable and engages them in the community on the same level,” Smith said. “Our biggest feedback I think is just how thankful everybody is. We provide a very personalized service. That’s also a big part of it, that they notice and thank us for.”
    The Bookmobile made three stops in Fredonia on Tuesday and will visit the same places on Dec. 19 and Jan. 2: Northern Ozaukee School District (11:30 a.m. to noon), Divine Savior (12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.) and St. John’s Lutheran Church (5 p.m. to 6 p.m.).
    Divine Savior, which does not have a central library, benefits greatly, according to Sauer.
    “Many of our students don’t have the opportunity to go to a library, really,” she said. “So this is almost better for some of them because if they know what they want, they request it and it gets delivered right to them.”
    And teachers there do the same.
    “When we’re studying a topic, they’ll bring great resources to our school for us,” Sauer said.
    The Bookmobile also stops at Forest Haven Assisted Living every other Tuesday, as staff comes to the building with boxes of random books.
    “It has been so wonderful,” Forest Haven co-owner Tracy Bardwell said. “It’s good for people who can’t get out like my residents. One of our residents lives by it. I think it makes her life way better.”