November 20, 2017 at 4:43 p.m.
Northwoods Transit Connections now offers free books
Literacy Task Force of Northern Wisconsin launches Books on the Bus
Northwoods Transit Connections now offers free books
By By Abbey McEnroe-
LTF-NOW will provide three mesh book pockets to be placed in every Northwoods Transit Connections bus. The initiative launched Nov. 8 but the seeds for the idea were sown back in 2016.
"How this all got started is that Lynn Feldman, who is with the UW Extension in Rhinelander, came to our organization and she said, 'I heard about this Books on the Bus. I think it would be a great project for you to take on for our community,' meaning pretty much the whole Nicolet area," LTF-NW president Peggy Steber explained.
Books on school buses
The original concept involved placing the books on local school buses, however the bus companies eventually turned down that idea.
"We looked into this with the local buses in Rhinelander and (in the Minocqua area) as well and they thought that might be a good thing to start ...," Peggy Steber stated.
Books on the Bus coordinator Bob Steber explained the initial issue with placing books on school buses involved safety risks.
"Well, we ran into some difficulty with the safety factor; the state patrol, Wisconsin State Patrol, was in charge of bus safety and we worked with the Wausau office because their bus safety person takes care of this area and he said, 'Just have the books in these naugahyde (artificial leather) kind of holders, they would have to be on the back of the next seat ahead of them and you couldn't have kids there,'" Bob Steber said. "The bus company's like, 'Well, we're going to lose two seats wherever we put that thing.' So that wasn't a good thing, so then someone came up with the idea of (holders on the wall) and then they said, 'Oh that'll work.' But, then in spring I went to the three bus companies in the area here and they had just come back from a state meeting on safety and the buses and everything and there they were told no books on the bus."
The LTF-NW was told book holders placed on the walls of buses would be permissable according to state rules, but the bus companies in the area would make the final decision.
"(The book holder) was acceptable ..." Bob Steber expressed. "The company's just, I don't know, they didn't want to do it ..."
"It's work," Peggy Steber stated.
"They looked at it as being a hassle but if you read some of these things they're going to indicate ..." Bob Steber began.
"The difference it makes," Peggy Steber finished.
While researching the program, Peggy Steber said she spoke to a school official in Wausau who said the difference in behavior on the buses was astronomical.
"The one fellow I spoke with in Wausau said, 'We thought we'd do a little experiment and we took the absolute worst route and we put (the books) on there first,' and he said it made an observable difference and so he said, 'That was it, we did it ...'" Peggy Steber said.
In their original school bus plan Peggy Steber said the program was going to launch at Lac du Flambeau Public School because it has been a main donor of books.
LdF's buses have monitors on them so behavior could be observed before and after books were introduced to the buses. However, the bus company eventually said no.
"It kind of took the wind out of our sails," Bob Steber expressed.
Northwoods Transit Connection agrees to Books on the Bus
After the school bus companies nixed having books on their bus in early summer of 2017, Bob Steber approached the director of Northwoods Transit Connections, Jim Altenburg, about having a Books on the Bus program on his public transit buses.
Altenburg was immediately enthusiastic about the idea.
"(Altenburg) said, 'That would be great, I'd love to do that with our buses!'" Bob Steber explained. Altenburg wanted to provide more than just a bus ride to those using the NTC buses.
"(Altenburg's) philosophy with the bus thing is that this isn't just public transportation, our drivers are getting to know these people," Bob Steber expressed. "... It's a real community and family kind of run thing that people get to know the drivers."
The program will initially launch with the Minocqua and Rhinelander buses and spread from there.
Books provided will range anywhere from advanced reading,to adolescent novels and children's books.
"Back when we started the project we were focusing on children and adolescent books so now we've kind of had to change our gears and it's more adult because the bus, (Altenburg) told us there was about a 70 percent adult population on the bus, so we have to get materials to meet their needs, you know, like adults, adolescents and children," Bob Steber explained.
Startup money was provided through St. Matthias and Lakeland Noon Rotary with the book holders being purchased with that money.
Books have been donated by Lac du Flambeau Public School and private citizens.
The books are expected to be rotated every month. Those who get invested in a book are allowed to take the book home to finish it and can bring it back to the buses on the honor system.
However, Peggy Steber said if a person decides to keep the book, it is permissible.
"We just want people to read," she explained.
LTF-NW and NTC are also partnering to provide those reading the books with an opportunity to win a free punch card or monthly pass from NTC. To win, visit literacytaskforce.org/books-on-the-bus/.
Abbey McEnroe may be reached via email at [email protected]
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