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.
The Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame is a project of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center which is a program of the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation. Induction into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame is granted to individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to the statewide improvement of library service in Wisconsin. Inductees into the Hall of Fame are selected by the Steering Committee of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center. The Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame includes both librarians and library supporters. Nominations of individuals to be included in the Hall of Fame come from the Steering Committee and the library community at large. The first ten individuals were inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame in 2008. The inductions take place at the Annual Conference of the Wisconsin Library Association.
Jerome P. (Jerry) Daniels was inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame at the Wisconsin Library Association annual meeting in Milwaukee on October 27, 2016.
Daniels was an outstanding academic librarian, providing leadership in the development of academic library service in Wisconsin.
Jane K. Billings was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, June 10, 1916 and died in Clintonville June 26, 2004. She received a bachelor’s degree in library science in 1939 and an M.A. in library science in 1962 from the University of Wisconsin Library School.
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,”
Gertrude Thurow was inducted into the WI Library Hall of Fame on November 6, 2014 at the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Wisconsin Dells. Thurow served as Director of the La Crosse Public Library (1953-1975) and was instrumental in establishing the predecessors of the Winding Rivers Library System (1965-1975).
Nolan I. Neds was inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on November 6, 2014 at the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Wisconsin Dells. Neds served as Supervisor of Neighborhood Libraries and Extension and as Deputy City Librarian of the Milwaukee Public Library (1965-1982).
Lyle Eberhart was inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on November 6, 2014 at the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Wisconsin Dells. Eberhart was the first administrator of the Division for Library Services in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction after the Wisconsin Free Library Commission was abolished.