The W.O.W. bus (Words on Wheels) bus is a 1993 school bus that was retired from use by School District 91 and retrofitted in 2009 to become a travelling bookmobile.
For 14 years, the W.O.W. bus program has been coordinated by Lakes Literacy in partnership with School District 91.
Monika Willner, 亚洲天堂 Lake Public Library Director said, 鈥淔or the past 14 years the WOW bus was acting as a connector for the Southside community, not only delivering and picking up the library materials but also delivering food from The Link Food Centre and activities for children. During the pandemic, the library was even able to deliver children鈥檚 programming in a form of craft kits. We understand that our community is sad to see the bus being retired by the end of June. We are not certain what it is going to happen to the bus after it retires. This will be a decision of School District 91. However, it is being considered to be used as a training prop for 亚洲天堂 Lake Fire Rescue.鈥�
The bus has traveled regularly to outlying areas in the Lakes District with free books, learning materials, food from The Link Food Centre, and delivery and pickup of items from 亚洲天堂 Lake Public Library. Over the years, the bus has offered many family outreach programs on board and has provided a safe space to play and connect for community members of all ages and backgrounds.
Sadly, due to its age, deteriorating condition, and the lack of replacement parts, the bus will soon no longer be roadworthy and Lakes Literacy鈥檚 board of directors has determined the bus will need to be retired as of June 30, 2023.
While the W.O.W. bus will no longer be on the road, Lakes Literacy will continue to coordinate our many community bookshelves filled with free gently used books, StoryWalks at local parks, the Imagination Library and other future literacy projects as needs arise.
鈥淲e would like to reassure our community that we are exploring new options to bring back this valuable service as soon as possible; but perhaps in a little different form. We are having discussions with other local organizations how we can make this possible. This is not an easy task since the cost of a new bus is over $200,000. However, there is a possibility for a smaller bus at a lesser cost. This is only the capital asset we are talking about. The operational costs are another issue and were an ongoing concern for the past years since Lakes Literacy had no security for ongoing funding. Every year the Literacy Outreach Coordinator had to put lots of effort into securing it,鈥� she continued to say. 鈥淲e think that in order to bring the WOW bus back, in whatever form this is going to be, a community effort will be required.鈥�
