Access to libraries is intrinsic to quality of life.
Celebrate Libraries® will be traveling to the western shore of Lake Michigan in a few weeks to interview Lester Public Library Director Jeff Dawson and tour the building. This will be the first library we have featured in the Manitowoc – Calumet Library System.
Photographs will be collected during the tour which will be used later this summer to produce a video about the library and its outreach to the Two Rivers community.
Digital facsimiles of two medieval European illuminated manuscripts from a private Wisconsin collection were recently compiled and edited by Celebrate Libraries® to aid in scholarly research. The volumes will be exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2019.
HAPPY SUMMER READING
Trending In May
Celebrate Libraries® visited La Crosse County Library branches in Bangor, West Salem and Holmen, WI this week. Audio interviews were recorded with librarians Shari Axelsen (Bangor), Deen Layland (Holmen) and Chris McArdle Rojo (Holmen).
Each of the interviewees had wonderful stories to share and we look forward to publishing the interviews in coming weeks. One example: Shari Axelsen manages the John Bosshard Memorial Library in Bangor. Shari’s grandmother was also the librarian in Bangor and Shari remembers the library as almost a second home while she was growing up.
National Library Week will be observed April 8-14, 2018 with dancer Misty Copeland of the American Ballet Theatre serving as honorary chair. This year’s theme is “Libraries Lead”
The national observance marks the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and has been sponsored annually by the American Library Association (ALA) since 1958.
For more information:
http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/factsheets/nationallibraryweek
http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek
This video features imagery from the Mississippi River and the Family Reading Garden at Onalaska Public Library near La Crosse, Wisconsin. The garden centerpiece is local artist Mike Martino’s bronze “Invitation to Imagination” sculpture. Literary quotes found on the sculpture are reproduced in the video and the audio track “Under the Stars” is provided by UPPM.
Creation of the sculpture as well as the garden and benches surrounding it was due to the combined effort of the city of Onalaska, the Friends of the Onalaska Library, the library staff and master gardeners who maintain the plantings.
Please visit the Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Take time this month and enjoy
America’s public libraries are on a mission to maintain relevance in contemporary society. Based on their role as community gathering places, libraries want to become the “third place” that people visit when not at work/school or at home.
By offering diverse all-ages programming, libraries are better serving the needs of more individuals within their communities. Libraries are transforming and now permit snacks and beverages in designated social areas. Free internet access, fireplace lounging, film screenings, technology labs, coding workshops, childhood literacy programs, assistance for veterans and entrepreneurs, aid for job searches, physical exercise options, private study and group meeting rooms, and so much more is offered. State authors read their works and local artists exhibit. Libraries can make life better for you and me.
Since 2015, Celebrate Libraries® has been exploring and interpreting this transformation through our videos and podcasts. Wisconsin library directors in Brown, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Walworth, Rock, Dane and La Crosse counties have provided tours of their buildings and sat for recorded interviews.
For example, learn about Beloit Public Library’s new Blender Cafe´, a joint project of Kerry Ingredients & Flavours, the library, and the School District of Beloit. Listen to founders of Proto GB a well-stocked makerspace nonprofit and one of several organizations part of a small business incubator at Brown County Central Library in Green Bay. Or view images from Middleton Public Library’s contribution to the Unity Project.
Lastly, we would like to acknowledge the support of those businesses and organizations whose generosity allows us to promote the essential programs and services provided by public libraries. Please visit their Websites.
