- February 28, 2025: Arrival!
- February 2025: We now expect delivery of the bookmobile to be in March!
- November 2024: Library staff flew to North Carolina to perform a final in-person inspection of the bookmobile before its delivery.
- October 2024: Work on the bookmobile's opening day materials collection has begun.
- September 2024: Coldwater Township Sunrise Rotary voted to award the library a grant of $5,000, and the Branch County Community Foundation awarded the Community Good grant of $7,000. Both of these grant funds will be used for purchasing brand new library materials to stock the bookmobile.
- August 2024: Updated ETA from the vendor is delivery in fall! Once we receive the vehicle, BDL staff still have a lot of work to load books and equipment, get training, and get staffing set.
- May 2024: Conversations have begun with the bookmobile's vendor regarding the graphic for the bookmobile's exterior wrap.
- March 2024: Recent grant funds were used to place a large order of children's materials for
the bookmobile. These materials are mostly focused around building early literacy and learning. - January 2024: We received a generous grant from Coldwater Solar Project towards the purchase of materials to stock the bookmobile.
- December 2023: The bookmobile chassis arrived at Matthews Specialty Vehicles and is waiting in line for its customization!
- December 2023: We were awarded a grant from the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation to purchase children's materials for the bookmobile. This grant will be allocated into 2024's book budget.
- October 2023: There have been production delays in building the vehicle's body. We will not be receiving our bookmobile by the end of 2023 as we originally planned. An order of mostly children's materials was placed, slowly beginning the process of having books ready and waiting for the bookmobile's arrival.
- June 2023: Our bookmobile has been assigned its VIN.
- July 2022: Interior colors are chosen, and digital renders of the bookmobile's interior are received.
- June 2022: Branch District Library submitted the purchase order for a custom vehicle.
- Fall 2021: BDL Board approves a budget to use covid surplus on a bookmobile.
- 2018: community conversations during BDL's strategic planning process identify a bookmobile as a way to lower barriers to access library services while raising awareness of the library in the community.
