Results tagged “Wisconsin Library Heritage Center” from Wisconsin Library Heritage Center
On Friday the 13th I made a presentation about the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center (WLHC) to the Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) at their meeting at the Middleton Public Library. The legislation creating COLAND was passed in 1979 (30 years ago) and it began functioning in 1980. Although the 19 members of COLAND are appointed by the Governor, for administrative purposes it is located in the Department of Public Instruction. COLAND makes recommendations about library and networking issues to the State Superintendent, the Governor, and the Legislature. The members of COLAND are divided into two categories - public members and members representing library and information organizations. Individuals representing all types of libraries serve on COLAND.
The legislation (AB 20) creating COLAND was controversial and divisive to the library community. In 1965 the former Wisconsin Free Library Commission was eliminated and this function was transferred to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The new entity became the Division for Library Services in DPI. The Secretary or administrative position of the Commission became a Division Administrator position in the Department of Public Instruction. Under the new arrangement the Division Administrator position was a non-political civil service appointment. In 1979 one faction of the Wisconsin library community wanted to create a new independent board to oversee state level library development and cooperation efforts and another faction wanted to preserve the Division for Library Services as a unit in DPI. The creation of COLAND was a compromise. As part of the COLAND legislation, the Administrator position for the Division for Library Services was removed from civil service and the appointment was to be made in the future at the pleasure of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
As part of my presentation I put together a small display similar to the one at the Wisconsin Library Association conference in Appleton. After my presentation COLAND went on record as endorsing the purposes of the WLHC and supporting efforts to digitize library history materials at the local and state levels.
Welcome to the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center (WLHC) website. We hope that you will find this site to be enjoyable as well as informative. The WLHC Steering Committee is grateful to the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation Board for its vision and support in creating the WLHC as part of the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation. It is the first Library Heritage Center in the nation. The WLHC Steering Committee also expresses its gratitude to Rick Krumwiede and Beth Carpenter of the Outagamie Library System for their assistance in hosting and creating the WLHC website. The WLHC website has been created as a sub-domain of the Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries website. It is the belief of the WLHC Steering Committee that this is an appropriate relationship because the celebration of our library heritage provides a significant opportunity for promoting Wisconsin's libraries. Please explore the content on the page links to the right. The blog format for the WLHC website provides ample opportunity for you to comment on Wisconsin's library heritage. We expect to add additional content regularly so check back often. We think that the WLHC website will be of interest not only to the library community but also to friends of libraries and the general public. We hope that you will consider linking to the WLHC website and spreading the word about the website to the broader community. For more about the WLHC click on the "About the WLHC" page to the right.
Larry T. Nix, WLHC Steering Committee Chair
