Library Heritage 2009

The celebration of Wisconsin’s library heritage in 2009 has been rewarding. It was the first full year of operation for the WLHC which was officially established in March, 2008 by the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation. The website continues to be the most visible aspect of the WLHC. The website contains both static pages and blog posts. There were 82 blog posts in 2009. A new page featuring Wisconsin bookmobiles was added to the website in 2009. Between 1,300 and 1,400 unique visitors access the website each month.

The second group of individuals was inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame in October at the WLA Conference in Appleton. This included Charles Bunge, our first living inductee.

The Wisconsin Library Memorabilia exhibit was displayed at the South Milwaukee Public Library, the Milwaukee Public Library, and the Door County Public Library. The exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Library was the most extensive exhibit that we have undertaken. An exhibit was also prepared to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Eastern Shores Library System. The WLHC also had an exhibit table at the WLA Conference in Appleton.

The Wisconsin Historical Society created a new gallery in its Wisconsin Historical  Images collection featuring photographs of public libraries from the Wisconsin Free Library Commission with the assistance of Richard Wambold.

Annual volumes of the Wisconsin Library Bulletin have started appearing in Google Books. These include the volumes for 19051907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 19171922

We look forward to another rewarding year of celebrating Wisconsin’s library heritage in 2010.