In December of 1971, the Governor signed into law SB 47. This bill substantially revised the laws related to public libraries in Wisconsin and enabled the creation of single-county and multi-county public library systems in Wisconsin. It was largely responsible for ensuring that every citizen in Wisconsin not only has access to public library service but has access to the shared resources of all public libraries in Wisconsin. The bill was passed after years of effort on the part of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), the Wisconsin Division for Libraries in DPI, and the Wisconsin library community. It was undoubtedly WLA’s greatest legislative victory. Next week, one of the key players in making that happen, Charles Bunge, Professor Emeritus, School of Library and Information Studies, UW-Madison, will present a program titled “Portrait of a Legislative Success Story: The Development and Passage of Public Library System Legislation in Wisconsin”. The program will take place on Monday, February 8, at 7:00 p.m. at the Madison Public Library. It precedes Library Legislative Day which takes place on February 9. The program is sponsored by the Task Force on WLA’s 125th Anniversary and the Legislative Day Planning Committee of WLA. Bunge is a member of the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame.The text of Bunge’s presentation can be found HERE.