Wisconsin Library Heritage Center
The Wisconsin Library Heritage Center is a program of the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation promoting understanding and appreciation of the history of libraries and librarianship in Wisconsin.
Bill Wilson has provided leadership in the improvement of library services to the people of Wisconsin for more than forty years. He has worked at all levels of public library service – local, regional and state. His past library positions include serving as Institutional Consultant for the Buffalo and Erie County (New York) Public Library;
Wayne A. Wiegand, a native of Manitowoc, WI, is called the “dean of American library historians.” He is the F. William Summers Professor of Library and Information Studies and Professor of American Studies emeritus at Florida State University. While in Wisconsin Wiegand served as a professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 2002.
Oakley served as Librarian of the Madison Public Library from 1884 to 1889 before going to work for the State Historical Society Library. Oakley was one of the founders of the Wisconsin Library Association in 1891. She was one of two librarians from Wisconsin who joined the American Library Association in 1886 (only the second and third to do so) when ALA met in Milwaukee.
Marjorie Sornson Malmberg was the first official legislative advocate and paid employee for the Wisconsin Library Association. Taking a leave of absence from her job as Director of the Appleton Public Library, she served as WLA’s executive secretary and legislative representative at a salary of $150 per month.
Dorothea Marie Krause served as director of the Wausau Public Library from 1943 until 1965 and then as head of technical processes and acquisitions until her retirement in 1973. The reason for the change? “I wanted to be back with people and books,”