Thursday, July 13, 2017
Each month, the BadgerLink team shines a spotlight on a library in Wisconsin, detailing that library's unique contributions to its community. This month, we are excited to share what's new and upcoming at the Bayfield Carnegie Library.
It's a busy time at the Bayfield Carnegie Library, between summer library programs, planning for future initiatives, and working on creating an endowment for the library. Director Blair Nelson recently took some time out of his schedule to give us the details.
Image courtesy of Blair Nelson, Bayfield Carnegie Library
Nelson attended Indigenous Comic Con in Albuquerque this past year, and in late October of this year the library will be co-sponsoring its 3rd annual Comic Con, hosted by the Legendary Waters Resort and Casino, Owned and Operated by the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Nelson and the Comic Con Committee are already looking ahead to 2018's Comic Con, as they search for grants to help secure funding so that the library can invite native authors and artists to Bayfield for next year's Comic Con.
Summer programming is in full swing currently, and the Bayfield Carnegie Library has many great events and activities coming up around the "Build a Better World" theme. Programs and events include a recent “Meet the Big Machinery” event with equipment from the Bayfield City crew, a Family Fort Night, a production from the CLIMB Theatre group based out of the Twin Cities, and a teen night where groups will build a LEGO Mindstorm set or LEGO Architecture set. Two LEGO sets of each type were purchased with a grant from the Bayfield Community Education Foundation Fund, and Nelson hopes to bring the models to the school district in the fall for a competition, as the sets involve robotics, moving parts, and an interface that can be controlled with your mobile device. Nelson is looking to invite community members that are leaders in mechanical fields to be judges for the competition.
Image courtesy of Blair Nelson, Bayfield Carnegie Library
Coming up this fall/winter is a new music appreciation program, where community members with knowledge of specific music genres will host a discussion on that genre. Director Blair Nelson will kick off the first program, sharing his knowledge of film music from his time as a film critic. This series will culminate with concerts in the community, as well as a 2018 Big Community Read on music that will tie into next year’s summer program theme, “Libraries Rock.”
The library underwent a renovation on its main floor last year, including custom bookcases, new carpeting, and new blinds to let in more natural light. The renovation project was completed as part of the library's 2015-2020 Strategic Plan.
An endowment is also in the works for the library, and the first goal of raising $25,000 has been met and exceeded. The library is now working toward its second fundraising goal of $50,000, and they're currently only $10,000 away from reaching that goal. An anonymous donor has promised to match the next $10,000, so that goal of $50,000 may soon be reached!
Thanks to director Blair Nelson and the Bayfield Carnegie Library for sharing what's new and exciting!