ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — An online fundraiser has brought in more than $10,000 to help Wilson's Book World in St. Petersburg buy a new air conditioner unit after the previous one was stolen from alongside the building.

What You Need To Know

  • The owner of Wilson's Book World found the store's air conditioner was stolen from outside the building on May 18

  • Temperatures inside the store climbed into the 90s

  • Owner Michelle Jenquin said heat and humidity can damage books, particularly older volumes like some of those on Wilson's shelves

  • An online fundraiser to help the store buy a new AC met its goal of $10,000 in four days

The new unit now hums from behind a protective cage that was also purchased with the funds. The store’s parking lot was quieter on May 18, when third generation owner Michelle Jenquin first realized something was wrong.

“You look at something 100 times, you don’t notice when something’s missing immediately,” said Jenquin. “It was like a small countdown. It was like, ‘Five, four, three, two - oh, my God, my air conditioner’s missing.’”

The theft happened just as Tampa Bay was getting its first taste of summer heat.

“The very first time I came in, I looked and I went, ‘Oh, it’s only 90 degrees in here at 10:30 in the morning,’” Jenquin said sarcastically of the temperature inside the building.

Not only were those temperatures not conducive to welcoming customers, but Jenquin said they’re not good for books, either.

“Prolonged exposure to sunlight, heat and humidity just destroys pages, and it’s not good for the binding,” Jenquin said.

Some of the volumes on Wilson’s shelves go way back, including a Bible written in German that was printed in 1897. The store closed down while fans and humidifiers were put to work to try to prevent damage.

Wilson’s opened its doors in 1971. Jenquin’s grandmother owned it back then and ran it with Jenquin’s father until the early 1990s. When her grandmother retired, Jenquin’s parents ran it until 2017, and then she took over.

“Most people that have lived here that long can reference us and say, ‘I went and got my first comic book there. I got my first kids’ book there.’ You know, it’s knowledge. It’s information. It’s a place of community,” Jenquin said. 

When Jenquin started a fundraiser on GoFundMe, that community stepped up. It met its $10,000 goal in just four days.

“I would like to say that I was surprised, but I know St. Pete is a community. They come together for their local businesses,” she said. “We’ve always been very local business-based. So, I would like to say that I was surprised. I kind of wasn’t, but I am very, very grateful.”

A post on Wilson’s Facebook page said funds helped buy the air conditioner and security cage, repair electrical issues, install a new security camera system and took care of general property maintenance.

A spokesperson for St. Petersburg Police said no arrests have been made in the case. They said while air conditioner thefts do happen from time to time; they don’t appear to be trending right now.

GoFundMe.com, or any other third-party online fundraiser, is not managed by Spectrum Bay News 9 or Spectrum News 13. For more information on how GoFundMe works and its rules, visit http://www.gofundme.com/safety.