Library of the Month

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

In early January, the BadgerLink librarians received dozens thoughtful and interesting questions from Reagan IB High School students. So we reached out to  find out what they were doing. We were so impressed that we wanted to share their story with you.

Reagan IB High School is an  International Baccalaureate (IB) school with a strong focus on research and college-readiness skills. Located on the far south side of the city of Milwaukee, Reagan IB High School has 1300 students and is in the Milwaukee Public Schools district. Students are challenged with IB assessments and require a top notch library to support developing these skills.

Reagan has a diverse population of students. The school is located in a neighborhood that has a fast-growing Southeast Asian and Arabic speaking population; English is not many students’ first language. In fact, 6% of the school population has limited English proficiency. To better serve the student population, the librarian Matthew Wood, plans to purchase materials for the library that are translated into Spanish and Arabic. Next year, the focus will be to purchase mother tongue texts, books written in another language.

The library at Reagan is dedicated to teaching research skills, not just information. During senior year, almost 20% of students conduct a 4,000-word research essay completed mainly outside of class time.In the junior and senior History classes, a Historical Investigation project is completed in which students develop their own historical research question and find/form differing historical arguments about what happened based on evidence. Projects in other classes include: creating a production portfolio consisting of a film project and accompanying documentation, in-depth literary analysis, designing and conducting a lab experiment and other difficult and self-motivated projects.

Because of space restrictions, the library also needs to focus on online resources. Milwaukee Public School District and Reagan IB High School purchase a variety of databases for use by students, but also heavily rely on BadgerLink. Intense research courses focus on BadgerLink resources like Access NewspaperARCHIVE, History Reference Center, and Explora which provide both primary and secondary sources, as well as academic journals. One of the beloved features is, of course, the Ask a Librarian feature which helps students hear about good research techniques from somebody that is not their teacher.

To help students use BadgerLink Reagan IB High School created step-by-step walkthroughs of how to use BadgerLink for research on the Historical Investigation website, Extended Essay website, and in the future on a site dedicated to the library. To assist students, the educators at Reagan High School created a variety of slide shows sharing the best tools and databases to use for research. These slide shows allow students to go at their own pace which is important because students at different skill levels.

Reciting facts isn’t enough. At Reagan IB High School students are taught how to analyze information and draw conclusions. Every subject provides opportunities to engage content and learn how to think critically.

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

This past fall, the Schreiner Memorial Library in Lancaster finally saw the completion of a renovation project that was 10 years in the making.  The BadgerLink team is highlighting the Schreiner Memorial Library as February’s Library of the Month as both congratulations for the new library and recognition of the patience and work that went into making the project happen!

Lancaster has Grant County’s first public library, started in 1902 by the Lancaster Women’s Club. In 1911, the library moved from its downtown location to a house on Ryland Park donated to the City by George Ryland for the specific purpose of housing the town’s library. In 1957, that house was replaced by a new library built in the prairie style made popular by Frank Lloyd Wright. Funds for that library building were largely donated by Emma Schreiner, a long-time library board member and library supporter. The new library was named after her and has since been known as the Schreiner Memorial Library. There was an addition in 1982, and more recently a major renovation and expansion which was completed in the fall of 2015.    
 

The recently completed building project was in the works for well over 10 years. The library board officially announced their plan for a new library in 2005 and started work toward that goal. The first iteration of the library included a coffee shop, the Chamber of Commerce Offices, and the Grant County Historical Society on a large two story building with a price tag of just over $6 million. Fundraising had just started in 2008 when the economy took a downturn and money stopped coming in. The project was then put on hold. In 2012, Durrant Architects was dissolved and the project went to FEH Design, who helped trim the project back to just include the essential library facility expansion and the outdoor band shell, which will be used (amongst others) by the Community Band for their summer concerts. The new price tag was $3.6 million, and fundraising began again. The City of Lancaster pledged $1 million and to date, the Lancaster Public Library Foundation has raised over $2 million in private pledges and donations to fund the building.

Since the renovation and expansion meant taking down ¾ of the building, the library moved the whole collection and all furnishings into a vacant building which was owned by the City and was previously a furniture store. From May 2014 to September 2015, 75% of the library’s collection was in storage and there was no programming space and limited computer access.  The library was moved to and from that temporary facility entirely by the library staff and a large contingent of supportive volunteers including the local high school sports teams who hauled a majority of the boxed books, young children who carried the board book collection the three blocks in their wagons, and many many more.
 

The newly renovated and expanded Schreiner Memorial Library has over 10,000 square feet on the main floor. It has an 87-person Community Room which can be split in half, and it includes a kitchen. There are built in display cases for the Historical Society and for a rotating art collection.
 

Circulation and visitor counts in the four months of operation have more than doubled the numbers from previous years, and programming opportunities have been exponentially higher now that there’s a dedicated space for programs and events.  The library has continued many of its popular programs and services and looks forward to more collaborations like the WIC (Women, Infant, and Child) Clinics that now take place each month right inside the library.
 

Congratulations are in order for the Schreiner Memorial Library, for the Lancaster community, and for all those involved in the building project!

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

The founding of the Ridgeland Area Library is evidence of the strength of the community and the need for a library in every community.

When a local history buff who wrote a book about local veterans passed away, her sons wanted a place to share her research. A Little Free Library owner heard about it, and spread the word. One thing led to another and a survey was sent out to the Ridgeland area about starting a local library. The survey confirmed what the community already knew; there was a need for a library. Being on the county line, Ridgeland was considered an underserved population with the nearest library about 20 miles away.

Once the word got out, donations to support the library started flowing in. All new shelving was donated and a lot of books. The books that aren’t added to the collection are sold and the proceeds go to support the library. Even the building housing the library, the previous American Legion building, was donated to the town.

Ridgeland is a small town of less than 300 people, but a community with a big heart. When something needs to be done, people roll up their sleeves and pitch in. It is common for people to volunteer their time to support the community. Right now, the entire staff supporting the library are volunteers. In the near future, the library board hopes to become a library branch of an existing library and to join a library system to provide paid staff and to expand library services to this worthy community.

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

Spooner is a small rural community of 2,600 people, with the nearest urban center approximately 80 miles away. As a consequence, the library’s service area encompasses nearly ¾ of the county. The responsibility of meeting those patrons’ needs is one the library embraces. Whether it is proctoring a test for a distance learning student or hosting a petting zoo that draws in 560 people, the Spooner Memorial Library is committed to making their community a better place by providing opportunities for both education and recreation.

The Spooner Memorial Library is celebrating a century of service in 2015. To commemorate this momentous occasion, the library hosted a series of events including an open house, complete with period costumes, and a program with nationally known author Lorna Landvik and the addition of a mural to the exterior of the building.

For the anniversary, the library released a book celebrating the library’s history. The story of the Spooner Memorial Library is not just the tally of the number of books that have circulated. But rather, it is the history of the people of Spooner who strongly believed that education empowers the individual to create his own destiny. The conviction that a library is not only a nicety but necessary for the community’s positive growth and prosperity is what has brought the library to the occasion of celebrating its centennial birthday.

The Spooner Memorial Library reciprocates by being the community’s biggest cheerleader, participating in as many civic events as possible. Along with the typical community events such as having a booth at the county fair, and a float in the Rodeo parade, the library works with Scouts, 4-H, Kiwanis, and Lions on fundraisers and recruitment. The library also joins in the celebrations of events such as Family Reading Night at the public school and Family Fun Festival run by the local family resource center.

It has always been the belief of the Spooner Memorial Library that small community does not equal small minds nor limit ambitions. It is their goal to be the best at what they do and reach beyond common expectations because their community deserves the finest service possible.

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

2015 marks a monumental year for the Black River Falls Public Library (BRFPL), as it’s been 20 years since the current library was built.  There has been a public library in Black River Falls for much longer, though -- in fact, the first public library in Wisconsin was in Black River Falls nearly 143 years ago!  It opened in November 1872, and the Black River Falls community has been enjoying their library ever since.  

Director Tammy Peasley and her staff have been sharing the library’s history with patrons in the form of displays as part of the current library building’s 20 year celebration.  She put together an infographic comparing the library’s statistics from annual reports in 1995 to the 2015 statistics.  In 1995, the BRFPL hosted 68 programs that had a total of 1,696 attendees.  Twenty years later, the BRF hosted 188 programs with nearly 3,000 attendees!  The other statistics are just as dramatic -- 5,124 registered borrowers in 1995, and 8,404 in 2015, 24,000 library visits in 1995 compared with this year’s 67,941, and 1 computer (staff only) in 1995 compared with today’s 14 public computers!

A reader in the newspaper area of BRFPL

Many changes have been taking place in the recent past as well.  The Black River Falls Public Library has actively sought and received grants and other funding from community organizations to update and improve the library.  Recent grant-funded projects include  the new Teen Area that was created by rearranging the children’s area and adding new furniture in March of last year, and an “Internet Cafe,” complete with a plumbed Keurig and new flooring, which was funded in part by a donation from the local Lions Club.  Another grant was used to purchase flip-top tables and stackable chairs to make the program room more customizable for different event types, including book clubs, job counseling, tutoring, and library-hosted programs.  
 

The staff at BRFPL have had fun with creative projects in the library.  This past year, they built a tree out of old discarded books that were found in the director’s office, and they rotate the decorations on the tree seasonally.  Director Tammy Peasley credits her staff for much of the library’s success through the years.  “We are fortunate to have the facility that we do - but it would be just a building without the staff. Our library staff have a reputation in the community of being friendly and helpful. The library is staffed by 1 full-time position and eight part-time positions (in addition to custodial staff at an hour/day). We have dedicated staff members that are knowledgeable and willing to assist patrons not only with books and library resources, but also assist troubleshooting many computer questions for patrons. We are fortunate to have the caliber of staff at the library to provide quality service for all library users.”

The Black River Falls Public Library is an important space for all in the community.  Here’s to the next 20 years -- and the next 143!

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

It’s September and that means hitting the books. At the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District (WBSD) libraries that means hard work, collaboration, and BadgerLink!

Readers at Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District

Like many public schools, the library technology program at WBSD faces some challenges due to budget restrictions and the reduction of full time media specialists. The district media specialist, Chris Stuffle, travels to all three schools and Jan Atkinson, Birnamwood's public and school librarian is part time. With an enrollment of over 1100 students, the district relies heavily on the dedication and skill of three wonderful library aides who are always ready to help library patrons find materials, access databases, solve computer and technical problems, and provide great book recommendations!

​Birnamwood Elementary and Middle School library is very unique. It is one of only two public libraries in the state that is joined with the school. It is such a valuable resource for the students to have access to an entire consortium of books and materials. Another bonus for the students is that the library is open beyond the normal school hours.

Last summer the Wittenberg Elementary and Middle School library was completely remodeled! The remodel included new shelving, carpet, paint, furniture, and updated computers. Shelving was donated by Resources for Libraries and Lifelong Learning and the Wayland Academy. The additional shelving has allowed for the continued expansion of the collection by providing about 40% more shelving space! A small computer lab is housed in the library which is actively used by students and is a staff development center for teachers. And students now flock to the library to enjoy the new atmosphere, sit in the comfy chairs, and browse the shelves.

The principal at Wittenberg Elementary and Middle School, Vicky Haas, recently purchased a mobile laptop cart with the goal of meeting the computer access demands. A great support of the library and technology, Mrs. Haas is also planning for an additional wired lab within the next year!

All district 6th graders take a course dedicated to building information-research skills and learning to be ethical media users. After learning about copyright, the Creative Commons, website evaluation, and Internet searching skills, each 6th grader creates a movie-trailer style project based on a favorite chapter book. The project requires students to find graphics, photographs, sound effects, and music files that can be legally used and incorporate them into a short movie. The goal is " help students to efficiently sift through the immense amount information found on the internet, teach them to critically evaluate it, and be responsible technology users. " said, Chris Stuffle, District Media Specialist. The students rely heavily on BadgerLink to complete this project especially Soundzabound, EBSCO Multimedia Search, and Wisconsin Media Lab resources.  

​BadgerLink is vital to the district's goal of integrating information technology skills across the curriculum and 6th grade isn’t the first time students hear about BadgerLink. Students in 3rd through 5th grade rely on BadgerLink as they delve into the world of writing research papers, evaluating information, and learning to cite materials. "I love the amount of research tools BadgerLink provides that are credible, that students have access to information with an accompanying citation, and the options available for students of all reading and grade levels!" says, Tami Kitowski, middle school teacher. BadgerLink provides easy access for students to locate primary sources, newspaper and magazine articles, and students and teachers can narrow search results by publication date, full text, and reading level. In the Fall, staff will be introducing students to Explora!

WBSD is dedicated to providing exceptional learning opportunities for all students and will be spending the next school year updating the information technology curriculum. The library staff is looking forward to the new school year and has many plans for new projects and reading opportunities!

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

For 2015, there were more than 2,250 hits to the BadgerLink website from Tomahawk. That means that in the past 5 months the equivalent of 75% of the population of Tomahawk visited the BadgerLink website! That’s pretty amazing! Let’s see why:

Tomahawk Public Library serves the City of Tomahawk, Lincoln County, and also parts of Oneida and Price Counties. With such a large geographic area, the library is always busy and provides a variety of services beyond “just books.“

The population of Tomahawk triples during the summer with seasonal residents as people travel to Tomahawk for vacation, high school reunions, and the annual 4th of July parade. And luckily, summer is a great time to be at the library!

Tomahawk Library offers public computers and free Wi-Fi. In the summer, Wi-Fi is particularly important to library users because often the library is the only place where seasonal residents can get online. An internet connection is a vital part of today’s lifestyle. Even though you’re on vacation, you may still need to check your work email. Also, you may want to stay in touch with friends or family, send pictures, or play games--it is vacation after all!

Library users come to the library to use Wi-Fi or public computers and stay at the library because it’s a great place to play. Look no further than the summer library program for evidence of the fun and energizing environment where people play and learn.

In the summer, Tomahawk Public Library hosts their summer reading program. For children and teens, there is special programming. There were two portable planetarium programs where kids learned about stars in the School District of Tomahawk’s gym as well as programming in the Northwood wildlife center. The summer library theme this year was “heroic stories” and the library celebrated local heroes like the police department, rescue dogs, and seeing eye dogs. In August, the library will present, “Stories on the River” once a week which is an outside story time. Bring a chair or blanket and listen to a story alongside a landscaped area by the Wisconsin River.

Lincoln County Reads, the adult summer reading program, is offered in all libraries across the county and everyone over 18 can participate through Labor Day. Adults can also participate by reading to kids!

Tomahawk Public Library works with the local school to provide access to BadgerLink resources. The children’s and Youth Services Librarian, Annette Miller, visits the schools (both public and parochial) on a regular basis - 12 classrooms per month plus in the fall she is invited to High School Freshman English classes - promoting all the great resources at our library, which of course, includes BadgerLink. Annette works closely with the Tomahawk School Library Media Instructional Technology Coordinator, Peg Billing, to coordinate BadgerLink training among students.

Tomahawk Public Library is at the heart of the community and provides important resources to their users.

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

Change is in the air at Chippewa Falls Public Library (CFPL). The entire library has refocused their programs and services and found fun and creative ways to reach their community. Library staff continues to serve the patron population with the mix of traditional library services with the latest trends in the field. There’s still story time and the microfilm reader, but now you can also check out iPads and access digital content from home! Library staff are in the midst of reorganizing and upgrading the archives and local history room, digitizing historic newspapers, and modernizing the audio-visual equipment in the large meeting room. It’s been a busy spring!

The youth services' department has also seen innovation. New interactive materials have been introduced to the Imagination Station, the children’s learning through play space. Kids can be a pretend to be a chef and "cook" a pretend meal, or be an engineer and "build" a building with blocks, or try out the Art Cart, a re-purposed medical trolley that provides space and materials for open-ended, kid-driven creation. Additionally, the teen/young adult space is being expanded to include the entire mezzanine. The young adult area is called the YA Cafe and is a space where teens can hang out, do homework, and read.

The summer is a great time to check out library programming, but the CFPL has great programming year round. Programming attendance has seen a sizeable increase as well, due in part to a new focus on partnering with others in the community. In January, a Doc McStuffins program with a visit from local veterinarians was a favorite. This summer, programming will follow the “Heros” theme with planned visits from the community’s new K9 officer and her partner, presentations from a local Peace Corp volunteer and an area falconer, as well as a field trip to the fire station. On August 22, the library will partner with Citizen Community Federal to bring a community movie night to an outdoor park in town complete with games, food, raffle, and music. Also in August, the Friends of the Library hosts its bi-annual book sale. And later this fall, the Friends of the Library will be hosting a fall author series, headlined by Nickolas Butler. Fun programs for children, teens and adults like the Teen Monster Ball, Dedicated Readers Society, and holiday Super Yule, make the library great place to find stuff to do.

Chippewa Falls Public Library provides traditional library services but also serves the public with innovative technology and educational programming. The best part of Chippewa Falls Public Library to its community? “It’s all yours.”

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

The Waupaca Area Public Library provides innovative programs and activities for every chapter of your life!

Computers and Internet Access 

Waupaca Area Public Library Image from Waupaca Area Public Library Public computer stations are incredibly busy at the library. For many library users, having internet access at home is cost prohibitive. So having computers and internet available to the public provides the necessary access to live in the digital age. Also, if library users have a smartphone, like 75% of cellular users do (and forecasted to be 80% by the end of 2015), they can augment their data plan by using the library’s free wi-fi.

Library users can book a study room, use their cell phone, and use the internet. In this way, the library acts as a hub for small business and some patrons essentially run their businesses from the library. Patrons can use the library’s computers to write and print resumes, do job searches, file taxes, and conduct online investing. Job applications are largely online and so are government forms and instructions and the library’s computers are essential for the community.

A big project last summer was to increase bandwidth at the library to 10 Mbps. Internet usage is high in the library and the library will probably need to double bandwidth again in order to have consistent headroom during peak usage this summer.

Summer Library Program

The library’s regular Summer Reading Program has been replaced with library programming that lasts all year long. The library has refocused how money is spent to support programming and in support of their mission to create life-long learners; the only prizes are books. Kids get excited about reading books and getting books as prizes and that’s the clear goal. Youth Services There is always something going on in the Teen Room, planned or otherwise. Because Minecraft is so huge right now, the library wanted to provide access to kids who want to play, but may not be able to afford a full-fledged Minecraft account. The Friends of the Library paid for MinecraftEdu for 12 computers that can be used by patrons while they are at the library. Minecraft is a game but also teaches cooperation, teamwork, and social skills while enhancing reading, writing, math, information technology skills. Teens just think that Minecraft is fun, without putting much thought into what skills they’re learning. The next project is to build and setup a Minecraft server, which will roll it out this summer. Book to Art Club Image from Waupaca Area Public Library

Adult Programming

In the early spring of 2015 a seed library opened. Gardeners are encouraged to borrow seeds, grow plants, and collect seed to return to the Library. The Seed Library was introduced with several programs that helped people know how and why to save seeds. At the kickoff of the program, the library hosted a Makerspace in the Lobby on a Saturday where we helped participants plant a few seeds.

The library supports 12 area book clubs for adults! Two new book clubs premiered this year: Book to Art & Cook Book Club. The Book to Art Club meets monthly on a Saturday for a Makerspace-like program with art projects based on the book of the month. In May, participants were encouraged to read, "The Book of Stories" and created altered book art. The Cook Book Club meets monthly on a Thursday evening. Each month there is a different theme. (example: Picnic & Potluck Foods). There is a display of cookbooks to choose from and participants bring a dish to pass and the book where they found the recipe.