Library of the Month

The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.

Rob Franklin and Library Director Greg
Mickells accept a 2016 National Medal for
Library Service awarded by First
Lady Michelle Obama at The White House

The mission of Madison Public Library (MPL) is to provide free and equitable access to cultural and educational experiences. Last year, MPL was recognized with our nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community, the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. “The Madison Public Library’s programs and services promote creativity, innovation, and collaboration. Library initiatives...address community challenges and engage residents in new and exciting ways,” said Dr. Kathryn K. Matthew, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Madison Public Library celebrates ideas, promotes creativity, connects people and enriches lives while addressing important issues facing Madison citizens, including education, poverty, economic development and quality of life.

As “your place to learn, share and create,” MPL connects visitors with participatory experiences, like the Bubbler. The Bubbler’s hands-on pop-up workshops introduces participants to a variety of local artists and experts, most recently featuring classes and workshops on poetry, writing, sewing, screenprinting, food preparation as art, comic book design, collage and more. The Bubbler partners with artists and groups around Madison to keep users’ experience current and dynamic, and serves as a nationally-consulted model for maker programming in libraries, recently recognized with an IMLS National Leadership Grant in conjunction with the UW-Madison, a Google Making Spaces grant, and two grants to host Maker Corps programs, from Maker Ed and the Evjue Foundation. The Bubbler's Media Lab hosts classes and drop in sessions where attendees learn animation, audio and video production and editing, graphic design, and other media production skills.

Kids participate in a cooking class
featuring fresh fruits and
vegetables at Meadowridge Library

A growing homeless population inspired MPL to offer access to social services inside the Central Library. Through partnerships with local social service agencies like Shine608, Porchlight, Veterans Administration, Tellurian, Second Harvest Foodbank, the Central Library houses more than 50 hours of social services assistance weekly, connecting those in need with shelter, housing, meals, showers, storage, job assistance, and skills training. Services are also offered through some of our neighborhood libraries, including tax assistance, food share assistance, job skills and writing assistance. Over 1800 visits were recorded in 2013-14 at the Central Library alone.

Madison's eight neighborhood libraries have similarly embraced new services, for example, when the Meadowridge Library was remodeled in 2015, the library included a community kitchen. The library collaborates with the Neighborhood Center to outfit the kitchen and use it to provide snacks to kids, as well as teach youth how to prepare their own nutritious snacks and meals.

Artist Victor Castro poses with Dane
County teens involved in the Making
Justice program

Collaborative and innovative library programming for teens at MPL have social and educational impact.The library partnered with three Juvenile Court programs to take digital literacy and arts-based projects to incarcerated teens, as well as reaching teens in targeted populations through partnerships with Common Wealth Development and Centro Hispano. Another great partnership was with Madison Metropolitan School District and United Way of Dane County. Together, they piloted Read Up, a program offering literacy rich programming and free books to children enrolled in summer care at two schools. By measuring children’s test scores before and after the summer programming, the project was able to show that 75% of students maintained or increased their reading levels rather than the normal summer slide. In addition to these programs, MPL provides workshops at the Bubbler and media lab, coding, book events, and many other fun and engaging learning opportunities for teens. Overall, the library saw an 116% increase in teen program attendance over three years.

Madison Public Library's tradition of promoting education, literacy, and community involvement has enriched the City of Madison for more than 140 years. And the creative, innovative, and engaging programs will have a deep and long-lasting impact for many more years to come.

The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.

The De Forest Area School District libraries have been busy lately, from a newly redesigned website at the district level, which now includes greater access to library resources, to many exciting projects and initiatives in each library. The district’s library staff has been promoting BadgerLink and getting the word out, and the district’s BadgerLink usage has been increasing. The De Forest Area School District Libraries are being highlighted as this month’s BadgerLink Library of the Month!

In the high school library, Library Media Specialist Margi Wachowiak reports that “Badgerlink databases are an essential part of our online research sources. Having them as our foundation allows us to supplement with additional subscription databases. Students in our Advanced Placement Literature classes, for example, gather much of their literary criticism from the Literary Reference Center. Yet, for different perspectives, they also have access to Bloom’s Literature.” Wachowiak also shared a story of a new student who came from a district with considerably more technology available. The student was impressed with the technology at his old district, but after learning how to use BadgerLink and Access NewspaperARCHIVE at DAHS his admiration shifted to the library at his new district! Wachowiak states that “utilizing the technology as a tool to access resources is where the learning occurs. We realize how fortunate we are to have these tools available to our staff and students 24/7."

High school students researching with Explora and Encyclopedia Britannica
Photo courtesy De Forest Area SD

The recently renovated De Forest Middle School library
Photo courtesy De Forest Area SD

In the elementary schools, Library Media Specialists Jamey Stanosz and Dana Franco also list NoveList K-8 as a favorite among staff and students alike. They shared that “students first learn to use Encyclopedia Britannica in 3rd grade as they are learning to how to effectively locate and use high-quality information online. In 4th grade, students learn a variety of skills as they integrate primary source documents found in Explora for Elementary Schools into their projects. For example, a student making a project related to the March on Washington found and used the program from the March on Washington.”

Elementary students using online resources
Photo courtesy De Forest Area SD

It’s quite an exciting time at De Forest Area School District Libraries -- in addition to all the projects and programs described above, one elementary school is being entirely rebuilt, and another is undergoing a complete renovation. Both schools will have new library media centers, which will include makerspaces, or “Inventor Centers” as they are called in the district. A third elementary school is remodeling a space to become an Inventor Center, as well. Thanks to the library staff at De Forest Area School District for their support of BadgerLink and for giving us a glimpse into their libraries, and here’s to a successful rest of the school year!

The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.

The November Library of the Month is the wonderful online collection of state government documents available through the Wisconsin Digital Archives.

Access to Wisconsin state documents is provided through the Wisconsin Document Depository Program. It is a statutorily mandated program responsible for making sure state documents are preserved and made widely available. The program is managed by the Dept. of Public Instruction and has been a part of Wisconsin law since 1901.

In response to the decline in documents available in print, the depository program transitioned in 2004 to collecting primarily electronic state documents, making them available through a digital collection called the Wisconsin Digital Archives. The Wisconsin Digital Archives contains documents from executive and judicial agencies, boards, councils, commissions and task forces primarily from 2001 to present. (The Legislative Reference Bureau manages a separate collection for legislative documents.)

State documents play an important role in connecting residents of Wisconsin to the work being done by state agencies and the major state government programs they manage. State documents include statistics, studies, maps, newsletters, and reports that are authoritative and engaging and contribute toward supporting government transparency and civic literacy. Wisconsin Digital Archives proves to be a powerful research tool as state government touches every part of our modern lives.

So what will you find in the Wisconsin Digital Archives? This online library of full-text documents cover current, newsworthy topics about life in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Digital Archives is a robust and growing collection built by collaborative partners working together to catalog and archive documents. Collaborators include the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Wisconsin State Law Library. 

The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.

The students at Chippewa Valley Technical College have been making great use of BadgerLink, and their library is the BadgerLink Library of the Month for October! Chippewa Valley Technical College [CVTC] is based in Eau Claire, with 8 campus locations there and 4 other regional locations serving an 11-county area. The CVTC Library is located in The Learning Center at the Eau Claire Business Education Center.

The 2015-2016 academic year saw many large increases in statistics for CVTC, including a 103% increase in materials borrowed, renewed,and used in-house, and a 140% increase in database searches. CVTC launched their subscription to EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) in February, which provides greater access to online resources for students and staff alike. Librarian Vince Mussehl mentioned that the decision to go with EDS over other discovery services was, in part, based on students’ familiarity with and longtime access to EBSCO resources through BadgerLink.

In addition to the new EDS platform, CVTC launched a new library automation system (Sierra) in August 2015, and in July of 2015 they began a student employee mentorship program. Students have also enjoyed a wide range of library programs, from therapy dog visits to massages. It’s been a busy time at CVTC, but their statistics show that it has been paying off!

The Chippewa Valley Technical College library supports students in over 65 different academic program areas, including business management, nursing, child care services, and a new library & media technician program. Here’s to a great school year for the students and staff at CTVC, and many more to come!

The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.

The Minocqua Public Library has come a long way since the early 1900s when the library’s collection was stored on Mrs.Torpy’s enclosed porch. Today the library is a thriving community center, expanded and renovated just five years ago to better serve the population of year-round and seasonal residents, as well as vacationers who travel to Wisconsin’s beautiful northwoods. The larger facility includes areas for programming, study, quiet reading, and research. With this additional space and a greater community presence, library staff have forged partnerships and created new cooperative ventures that increase the value and scope of library service.

For example, in early 2013, “Science on Tap – Minocqua” held its first event entitled “Wisconsin’s Northwoods: A Changing Landscape in Changing Times” at the Minocqua Brewing Company. The discussion focused on the northwoods' storied history of human impacts from logging and fishing to development and tourism. This event, like others in the series, was live-streamed at the library where attendees enjoyed root beer and pretzels. Science on Tap has become a successful partnership that has drawn large audiences (in person and online) and encourages meaningful discussions. The Science on Tap partners are UW-Madison Kemp Natural Resources Station, UW-Madison Trout Lake Station for Limnology, Lakeland Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association, Minocqua Brewing Company, and the Minocqua Public Library. For more information, visit the group’s website at scienceontapminocqua.org.

Another collaborative effort is the newly organized Northwoods Book Festival, which includes six libraries in northern Wisconsin: Boulder Junction Public Library, Frank B. Koller Memorial Library in Manitowish Waters, Mercer Public Library, Minocqua Public Library, Presque Isle Community Library, and Winchester Public Library. This partnership crosses three county lines–Iron, Oneida and Vilas–and two system boundaries (Wisconsin Valley Library Service and Northern Waters Library Service) to bring communities together. Each library has hosted an author program and a book discussion as part of a community read of Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler. A highlight of the festival featured a visit from the Wisconsin author. This relationship has offered new opportunities for library users and library staff to meet and for everyone to visit a variety of northwoods libraries.

Finally, on a smaller scale, a gardening project has brought together library staff, story time families, and members of the library’s middle school book group to plant a variety of vegetables in two raised beds which were funded by the Minocqua Public Library Foundation. Tomatoes, beans, carrots, green peppers, lettuce, and flowering annuals have thrived in a space just outside the children’s area of the library. Now with summer's end, kids are excited about the pizza and veggie party planned for later in the month featuring “home-grown” produce.

Libraries, no matter the size or location, continue to find new friends and partners to create amazing opportunities for their communities. So, when you head north for a visit, don’t forget to stop in. We’d love to share our story with you.

The BadgerLink Team highlights a Wisconsin library each month as the BadgerLink Library of the Month. In the past, we have highlighted many public and school libraries, but this month we are excited to share a new development in the Wisconsin library community that is completely online and accessible to all. This month, we are recognizing the newly-launched Wisconsin service hub of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). The Wisconsin service hub went live on August 3, 2016, after nearly three years of planning and preparation, and now provides free and easy access to Wisconsin’s digital collections.

Marathon County Library Service Bookmobile at Granite School ca 1950
Photo courtesy Marathon County Public Library. Link to item in DPLA

The Wisconsin Service Hub of the DPLA is a joint project of the Milwaukee Public Library, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, WiLS, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and Marquette University, and it builds upon and draws from the Recollection Wisconsin statewide digital collections program.  The BadgerLink Team connected with WiLS’ Emily Pfotenhauer, the program manager for Recollection Wisconsin and the service hub, who shared the story of how the hub came to be, and what’s on the horizon.

So what is DPLA, and what is a service hub? DPLA provides cultural organizations large and small with a way to provide access to their digitized cultural heritage resources through one single platform. Images remain hosted locally by libraries, historical societies, colleges, and universities, while the metadata from each item is ingested by DPLA, providing users with a powerful way to search across all available collections nationwide. DPLA uses a “pond to lake to ocean” analogy to describe the relationship of DPLA to cultural heritage institutions and service hubs: Content from local “ponds” like libraries and archives is sent through streams to a “lake,” which is the service hub, and then from there through a river and to the “ocean” that is DPLA.

Image courtesy Recollection Wisconsin

The “stream” that brings content from local organizations to the service hub is, in part, a new metadata aggregator that was created especially for this ongoing project by the Shared Development Group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison General Library System. This new aggregator has allowed the amount of data harvested by Recollection Wisconsin to nearly double.  Unlike the Recollection Wisconsin portal, which offers access to Wisconsin-based collections that are specifically about Wisconsin history and culture, the DPLA service hub aggregator brings together Wisconsin-based collections on any topic.  This will provide greater access to many Wisconsin-based collections that are not about Wisconsin, like Wisconsin Historical Society’s Freedom Summer collection, faculty research from colleges and universities, and more.

Marathon County Public Library - Unity Branch ca. 1992
Photo courtesy of the Marathon county Public Library
Link to item in DPLA

While 19 other states have already established service hubs, Wisconsin’s hub is starting out as the 5th largest in size, offering almost 400,000 records from 185 collections.  Pfotenhauer explained that despite having an established statewide digital collections program already in place, connecting with existing DPLA service hubs was crucial for getting the Wisconsin hub off the ground. Some influential hubs who provided advice during the planning process included the Empire State Digital Network in New York, the South Carolina Digital Library, and the Minnesota Digital Library.

Library at UW Marathon County ca. 1980
Photo courtesy of the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County
Link to item in DPLA

Wisconsin’s partnership with DPLA represents a commitment among participating Wisconsin institutions to supporting a national digital network for accessing and sharing cultural heritage resources. As described in the 2014 Aspen Report on Re-Envisioning Public Libraries, a local platform “must be connected across a shared platform in which libraries can coalesce to work—a network of libraries and other knowledge institutions. ...This digital platform would be a network of federated public libraries and other knowledge-creating institutions, with central hubs for the purpose of connecting but local autonomy and control over the platform itself.” Cheers to the Wisconsin DPLA service hub and all people and institutions involved for rising to the challenge of promoting Wisconsin’s rich cultural heritage to the nation and the world!

Check out resources from Wisconsin libraries and archives in DPLA, and visit recollectionwisconsin.org/dpla to learn more about the service hub.

The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.

Rib Lake Public Library (RLPL) is a community hub, where people go to learn, access information, socialize, and have fun!

As one of the only wi-fi hotspots in Rib Lake, the wi-fi is available 24 hours a day. The library also provides 10 public access computers--which are in high demand. These services help bridge the digital divide that often occurs in small towns and rural areas.

The children’s department serves children from birth to 12th grade, including a large homeschool community where learning and literacy skills are key to the engaging and fun programming. “Story Time Adventures,” the pre-school storytime, runs every Tuesday. The little adventurers explore the deepest parts of the ocean, tour the African Serengeti on a safari, or walk on the moon --all without leaving the library! To support early literacy, the library also offers 1000 Books before Kindergarten. For (slightly) older children, the library has a registered therapy dog, Juno, who visits the library each week with her owner Kerri Olson. Reading to Juno helps children struggling with reading or speech to gain confidence by practicing in a non-judgmental environment. Children can sign up for a block of time to read to Juno and earn prizes for reaching reading goals. In June and July, the children’s department take a break from the "adventure" to switch to their summer library theme - On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!

The library also provides learning and fun activities for adults with monthly Adult Coloring Night and a writer's workshop. Their memoir writing class, taught by author Sue Roupp, has been meeting at the library for over 2 years and is almost ready to publish their first book, Two Cups of Flour. The RLPL also owns a nice selection of local and state history books, books by local authors, newspapers, and memorabilia.

A new project has been developing the library’s digital collections. Recently, RLPL had the opportunity to participate in a newspaper pilot project. Wisconsin Historical Society, Recollection Wisconsin,WPLC, and WiLS teamed up to provide digitized historic newspapers. The Rib Lake Herald, along with newspapers from 12 other communities will be added to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers. These historic newspaper collections will soon be available through BadgerLink.

Another digital collection is the Rib Lake High School Yearbooks. The year books are available through Google Drive and were digitized through a program offered by Oklahoma Correctional Industries (OCI). The entire digitization project was free. OCI paid for shipping both ways and returned a quality digital reproduction of the yearbooks. In addition to digitized print materials, RLPL also owns a collection of oral histories from the 1980s that are in the process of being digitized. Using an inexpensive USB cassette capture device, the library is converting the recordings to MP3s that are also available on Google Drive: Historic Audio Interviews. This, however, is a very time-consuming process, as each tape needs to play through in real time. For more information about these projects, go to the Rib Lake Library website www.riblakepl.org.

Rib Lake Public Library provides resources that help their community explore the past and look to the future!

The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.

The BadgerLink team recently noticed a lot of visits to BadgerLink from Crivitz School District, a rural district in Marinette County. With such big numbers coming from such a small district, the BadgerLink team is featuring the Crivitz School District Libraries as June’s Library of the Month!

Elementary School Library, photo courtesy of Hope Simpson

The Crivitz School District Libraries are making the transition to libraries without walls, and BadgerLink is helping them accomplish that task.  District Librarian Hope Simpson says her goal is to “provide resources for our students that are accurate and reliable. Whether it be for basic research or an in-depth project, BadgerLink helps us meet that goal. BadgerLink is a “go to” resource for our library staff and as a result is promoted with our educators and students and is easily accessed off our library’s website.”

Students study in the High School Library, photo courtesy of Hope Simpson

Crivitz School District serves over 700 students, and this year students and staff alike were excited to have wireless capabilities within each of the district’s buildings.  Wireless access, teamed with the purchase of over 300 ChromeBooks, has helped the small district to make the transition toward the concept of anytime/anywhere learning.  The availability of BadgerLink resources has helped students and staff to embrace that goal.

High School Library, photo courtesy of Hope Simpson

While Crivitz School District is not currently a 1:1 school district, they are moving closer.  Staff uses resources such as BadgerLink with their students within the classroom for inquisitive exploration throughout the school year, and those students continue to use those resources at home.  “This combination can only be described as a win-win,” says Simpson.

Junior High Library, courtesy of Hope Simpson

The BadgerLink team was excited to hear of the enthusiasm and excitement about BadgerLink coming from Crivitz School District.  Simpson went on to say that “the reliability and ease of use makes BadgerLink an awesome resource for our staff and students. Having that resource available for all Wisconsin residents free of charge is nothing short of amazing.”

Thanks to Hope Simpson and the students and staff at Crivitz School District for their support of BadgerLink!

The Brown County Library (BCL) has seen massive change in the last year, facility updates among the most obvious. The director, Brian Simons, and the board have put together a Facilities Master Plan which maps out building needs over the next 10 years. In April, the Southwest branch saw the completion of an expansion which included a meeting room, community living room area, computer area, and “think tanks,” glass study rooms that can be reserved for small groups. Current projects for the Central library include renovating the meeting rooms and the 300 seat auditorium, as well as a redesign of the parking lot to add 10 spaces and motorcycle parking. Additionally, all library branches will receive new furniture by the end of 2016.

BCL has 9 locations and a bookmobile but there are still portions of Brown County that are “underserved,” meaning there is a lack of library service or an inability to get to library service. The Master Plan also addresses underserved populations in Brown County with discussions of several other branch expansions or renovations. And with the popularity of self-serve, staff-less, services like RedBox, BCL is interested in exploring express stations, similar to those in Milwaukee.

Another exciting step forward is a partnership with Proto, a non-profit makerspace organization in the area. The library was looking for a tenant to fill some office space in the Central library. The contract signed in April allows Proto to pay for the space with in-kind services and a percentage of their revenue as rent until they earn enough revenue to pay monetary rent in full. Proto will provide 6 programs throughout the year and a yearlong project of a to-scale model of downtown of Green Bay.

When creating the model of Green Bay, Proto will instruct library users on how to use CNC router machines, 3D Printers, RFID technology, and teach programming skills with Arduino and Raspberry Pi. The yearlong project will allow patrons to learn how to use technology with practical uses in a hands-on, unintimidating environment. Once library users are comfortable with the programming, engineering, and design tools, they will create their own projects in the Proto workshop. Another exciting part of the project will bring together technology and local history. Proto will create an augmented reality tour of the city using the library’s local history collection and the Neville Public Museum which includes over 50,000 photographs of historic Green Bay.

Brown County is rapidly changing and BCL is looking to their users’ needs to plan the future. Building a strong library community is a circular process; the library invests in its users and the users support the library, allowing the library to grow and better support the users. Over the years, BCL has clearly made an investment in the community and looking forward, we are excited to see the library and the community grow.

The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.

The Oak Creek Public Library is April’s Library of the Month! The community in Oak Creek has been enjoying a new library building since October 19, 2015, when the building opened its doors to the public. It was designed by Bray Architects and built by Corporate Contractors Incorporated. Library director Jill Lininger reports that there was no tax increase to help fund the building, as it was paid for by segregated funds. The new library shares a building with the Oak Creek City Hall, and this building itself is called the Oak Creek Civic Center.

The new building offers nearly three times the library space of the former building, increasing from 14,800 to 41,847 square feet. The library now shares a multipurpose room with City Hall and has its own story time room, which is left open to the public when not in use for programs. The children’s staff rotates between setting out Legos, board games, and crafts, and showing movies each day during the week. Patrons are welcome to enjoy this passive program whenever they visit the library. The children’s department now has public internet computers, and four “tutor rooms” for students to use for group projects, homework, or quiet reading time. The adult department also has seven dedicated study rooms of varying sizes which have been extremely popular with patrons so far.  Among many other new features and highlights, a community favorite is the new quiet reading room, with its gas fireplace, comfortable seating, and windows overlooking the Oak Creek Town Square.

The Oak Creek Recreation Department is now co-located at the library, and is in the process of moving several of recreation programs into the building. This symbiotic relationship is working very well to cross-promote the services of both the library and the recreation department. This arrangement also provides both departments with a little more staff to help out during staff shortages, as all employees are in the process of being cross trained to assist in the other department. One example of a current collaboration between the library and the recreation department is the “Gaming Room” which has a Wii and Xbox. Patrons can check out controllers and games to play in the room, and the recreation department is already using the room for their Wii bowling league.

While the building has been in use since October, it is not yet completely finished. The library is waiting for a signature art piece which is currently in production for the children’s department. Funding is also currently being raised for a Makerspace/Digital Media Lab. A room was built for the Media Lab, but funding fell short, so it is currently sitting empty. A local Boy Scout is also working with the library on his Eagle Scout project and is in the process of raising funds to install a giant “Lite Bright” or illuminated peg board and a 65” interactive iPad for the children’s department.

The Oak Creek Public Library is a short drive down the interstate from the Potawatomi Hotel, location of the 2016 WLA conference. Director Jill Lininger encourages attendees to check out the new library, saying “we’d love to have people come and visit us!” Congratulations on the new library, and all that the building and staff are doing for the community of Oak Creek!