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.
Zona Gale, a Portage (WI) native and Pulitzer Prize winning author, was a lifelong friend and champion of Wisconsin’s libraries. She used her celebrity to promote libraries wherever possible. She was a member of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission (1921-1932) and served as its Chair in 1921-1924 and 1926-1929.
John Miller Chancellor had a distinguished career at the national level where he was an authority and proponent on adult eduction in public libraries. He served as the Adult Education Specialist for the American Library Association from 1934-1942. He resigned from ALA and moved to Wisconsin in 1943 where he became a farmer in Mount Horeb.
Richard E. Krug served as city librarian of the Milwaukee Public Library from 1941 to 1974. During his long tenure as city librarian he transformed the library system. His accomplishments included construction of a major addition to the central library and a reorganization of the system’s branch libraries.
Gerald A. Somers served as Director of the Green Bay Public Library (later the Brown County Library) from 1961 to 1987. He played a leadership role in the development of legislation that established Wisconsin’s public library systems. Somers was President of WLA in 1965-1966,
This entry was also posted on The Library History Buff Blog on March 4, 2012.
Sarah Janice Kee (1908 -1998) was inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame in 2009 primarily because of her work as Secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission from 1956 to 1965.
Ginny Moore Kruse is one of seven individuals who will be inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on November 3, 2011 at the Awards and Honors Banquet during the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Milwaukee. Kruse is Director Emerita of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin –
Daniel Steele Durrie is one of seven individuals who will be inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on November 3, 2011 at the Awards and Honors Banquet during the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Milwaukee.
Walter Mcmynn Smith is one of seven individuals who will be inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on November 3, 2011 at the Awards and Honors Banquet during the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Milwaukee. Smith became the first full time Librarian of the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1891 and served in that capacity until 1937.
Ella T. Veslak is one of seven individuals who will be inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on November 3, 2011 at the Awards and Honors Banquet during the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Milwaukee. Veslak was a leader in the development of county library service in Wisconsin.
Orrilla T. Blackshear is one of seven individuals who will be inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on November 3, 2011 at the Awards and Honors Banquet during the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Milwaukee. Blackshear was a public library leader and a major promoter of Wisconsin’s literary heritage.