2024 WLA AWARDS & HONORS

2024 Awards Announcements

The Wisconsin Library Association is pleased to announce the 2024 Library Awards & Honors recipients for their outstanding contributions to libraries and librarianship. To learn more about the 2024 Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame inductees, visit the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center website.

 
Programming Innovation Award
The Library Memory Project from Bridges Library System, Waukesha

 
Muriel Fuller Award
Anita Taylor Doering, Archives Manager, La Crosse Public Library, La Crosse 

Rebecca Puhl, Library Director, Phillips Public Library, Phillips

 The Wisconsin Library Association congratulates each winner and will celebrate their accomplishments at the Awards & Honors Dinner during the WLA Annual Conference on November 7 at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay.  Inductees into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame will also be recognized during the awards ceremony.

The WLA Awards program is supported by the WLA Foundation and through individual charitable contributions. WLA engages, inspires and advocates for library workers and supporters to improve and promote library services for the people of Wisconsin. The awards program is one way the association acknowledges the dedication of its members to provide exemplary library service. 

Library of the Year - University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire McIntyre Library, Eau Claire

UW-Eau Claire’s McIntyre Library is "scrappy," making the most of what they have while expanding what it means to be an academic library. In undeniably challenging times for higher education, McIntyre Library meets and anticipates the needs of its 8800 students and 1200 faculty/staff through sheer resourcefulness and a laser focus on the student experience. They believe all students will be library users, if they offer a range of resources, experiences, and spaces that support their learning and curiosity. Though serious about their service, they also infuse it with a sense of play, welcoming some 1000 students annually to a back-to-school library party; hosting 100+ therapy dog visits each year, dance flash mobs, student film festivals, and art installations; and offering unexpected features such as hammocks, a ping pong table, yoga classes, and an expansive board game collection.

The Library embraces the university’s mission to foster intellectual curiosity, promote diversity, and empower students to thrive in a complex world. They support that mission by providing students with equitable access not only to traditional library resources, but also to technologies, tools, and training in everything from 3D printers and sewing machines to recording studios and virtual reality equipment. They teach courses that meet the students where they are, preparing them to be responsible voices in our information-rich world, to navigate misinformation and disinformation, and to “question everything” (as one course is titled). They believe in the value of student high-impact experiences and provide them through mentored work experiences, internships, and student/library faculty research projects.

A few highlights from their nomination that demonstrate the Library’s level of service and excellence include:

• In the past 18 months, their nine librarians have mentored 21 students through internships and faculty/student undergraduate research experiences, including research on banned books, library accessibility, and anti-racist research methods.
• The library frequently serves as a “client” for students to practice professional skills by partnering with classes for semester-long projects such as creating a library marketing plan.
• They host student employee appreciation events and get-togethers; honor graduating students by placing bookplates recognizing their contributions in a library book of their choice; celebrate their accomplishments in the library newsletter; and provide an annual library student employee scholarship. Last year’s scholarship recipient wrote, “Coming into college at the height of the pandemic made finding my place and fitting into the campus community difficult. Working in the library has made me feel more connected to campus and has given me a sense of community.”
• The library recently reclaimed their region’s past through the digitization of Volume One, an arts and entertainment magazine. With an estimated readership of 45,000, Volume One is often credited with initiating Eau Claire’s renaissance. This ambitious project resulted in a freely searchable archive comprising 30,000 digitized pages that represent 22 years’ worth of cultural and regional history that was previously lost to the public.
• In the past year, library archivists, considered local “celebrities,” led historical cemetery and neighborhood tours, taught workshops on managing family historical artifacts and researching house histories and provided more than 500 consultations for community members.
• Their librarians are respected contributors to the library profession, with accomplished records in service and scholarship. They serve in leadership positions for UW system libraries, public library and IFLS boards of trustees, and presented at state and regional conferences, including WLA, WAAL, CUWL, and OPID.
• McIntyre Library was the first library in the UW System to offer a library makerspace and digital studio – an ambitious project launched during the COVID-19 pandemic and period of financial austerity. In the past year, usage skyrocketed with a 67% increase in makerspace use overall, and a 200% increase in course-integrated curricular use.
• In 2024, they proposed, secured funding, and now lead a campus Affordable Educational Resources committee charged with lowering student out-of-pocket costs by promoting the adoption of low and no-cost course materials, including OER.

Librarian of the Year – Terry Ehle, Lester Public Library, Two Rivers

Terry Ehle has been with the Lester Public Library since 1998. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Western Illinois University, and after being named the 2014 SSCS Paralibrarian of the Year, attained her MLIS from UW-Milwaukee. Terry is an active member of the WLA Youth Services Section (YSS), serving as YSS Chair in 2017. She is also a member of the American Library Association, Association for Library Service to Children, and Young Adult Library Services Association.

According to her colleagues, Ehle consistently raises the bar in materials selection and programming for infants to teens at her library:

• Ehle introduced, and is still helping widen the scope of, Reach Out and Read in Manitowoc County, a program that put 2,382 books in the hands of parents and their young children last year.
• Also in 2023, she submitted a successful grant application to promote early literacy and environmental awareness in partnership with Two Rivers Parks & Recreation and Woodland Dunes Nature Center & Preserve. As a result, Storywalks® were erected on library grounds and at a local park, and a large part of the park was restored to wetland, with a raised boardwalk and natural play features added. The project will delight residents and visitors for years to come.
• During the pandemic, Ehle spearheaded story time, youth, and family to-go packs. The plan was to discontinue the program once the building reopened, but she made the decision to continue it due to the positive response. From its start in May 2020 through July 2024, packs have reached more than 25,000 users.
• Ehle has championed teen engagement in the community with TR Teen Nights, an after-hours library program that has expanded to include community partners, including the city’s parks & recreation department, the school district, Woodland Dunes Nature Center & Preserve, and Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. The partners invite teens into their spaces for safe, inexpensive, fun activities. The program provides enriching events and demonstrates that the community values teens and will find ways to encourage them.
• Through her efforts, the Rotary Club of Two Rivers awarded funds to implement a STEAM area in the library 

Ehle has formed a strong partnership with the Two Rivers School District. She meets regularly with administrators and educators and was a participant in community discussions to map out goals and strategies for a district three-year plan. She is president of the governance board of the Lighthouse Learning Academy, the district’s online charter school. Ehle is also dedicated to visiting district schools to do book talks. She brings library books to these visits for all students to check out, providing important access for children whose parents do not visit the library. This is no easy task - in the 2023-24 school year, she visited 32 classes monthly and checked out more than 1,600 books to students.

Ehle is known as a well-versed advocate for best practices regarding the way children learn and shares this expertise with her community and her peers. Ehle leads the early literacy work group for the Investing Early Coalition of Healthiest Manitowoc County, a group which provides collaborative leadership to improve the well-being of the county. She has presented on youth programming and innovation in programming at past WLA conferences and has served as a panelist and presenter for webinars with both YSS and the WLA Outreach Services Roundtable. She recently co-wrote the article, “Practice the Practices: Kids Learn Big in Dramatic Play Areas,” for the fall 2024 issue of Children & Libraries, the journal of the Association for Library Service to Children. Due to the success of the local Reach Out & Read (ROR) partnership, Ehle serves on a Wisconsin ROR committee that is compiling a toolkit to maximize partnerships between libraries and clinics.

Ehle is also an advocate for librarianship as a career, arranging behind-the-scenes tours, career days, and community service projects for area youth. She has twice participated in internship programs mentoring college students considering a library career.

The Lester Public Library, Two Rivers and its surrounding communities, and the state of Wisconsin are the lucky beneficiaries of Ehle’s dedication, creativity, and vision in providing outstanding library services.

SSCS Paralibrarian of the Year Award

Danielle Zeamer has worked as a Library Services Associate at the Brown County Library since 2015. She has a background in workforce development, especially with underserved populations, and holds an undergraduate degree in social work – skills and experience she continues to draw upon in her current role. The colleagues who nominated Zeamer for this award cite her exemplary work to build partnerships with other organizations to cement libraries as community hubs for information. Zeamer played a key role in launching a now statewide program titled “JobPod,” which focuses on bridging connections between library patrons, job search professionals, and employers. She also spearheaded bringing Career Navigators from the Worker Connection Program in the Wisconsin Division of Employment and Training into as many of the Brown County Library locations as possible. These dedicated professionals help patrons fill out resumes, navigate confusing job applications, and hone their job skills – valuable one-on-one assistance provided at a level library staff previously had not been able to offer.  In 2022, Zeamer developed “Community Resource Tuesdays” at the Brown County Central Library, a weekly opportunity for local partners to reach the public where they are – in the library!

In their nomination letters, Zeamer’s colleagues also noted her strong commitment to professional development and lifelong learning. She seeks out learning opportunities to stay up to date in the library field, maintain her state certification in social work, and understand the needs of Brown County residents. Zeamer is also eager to share her knowledge and experiences with fellow librarians and has delivered presentations to both local and statewide colleagues. Her efforts have helped position the Brown County Library as a leading library system that is using innovation and collaboration to address community concerns, particularly workforce development.

Trustee of the Year – John Van Dyck, Brown County Library

John Van Dyck was appointed to the Brown County Library Board in 2014 and served as President from 2018 – 2021.  He has also served on the Brown County Board of Supervisors since 2011, a role which uniquely positions him to engender support for the libraries from his county board colleagues and the County Executive. His ability to build relationships with county officials and articulate the value of library services to the community has given the Brown County Library strong and steadfast support where they need it most—from their local government leaders. This translates not only in helping protect the library’s funding sources, but also to ensure that their county leadership appreciates the vital role public libraries play in the community.

During his term as President of the Library Board of Trustees, John led the selection and hiring process of a new Library Director, and initiated a reexamination of the mission, vision, and values, resulting in a new mission statement: “To be the place for information, entertainment, community and culture.” He also led a comprehensive facilities study that revealed deficiencies at Central Library and several branches. With allies in the Executive Office and on the County Board of Supervisors John has been instrumental in expanding and improving library services throughout the county. In the past 18 months the Brown County Library has opened a new 16,300 square foot East Branch; renovated 4,100 square feet of Central Library creating a hi-tech flexible meeting space; broken ground on a new 16,000 square foot Ashwaubenon Branch; and purchased a new book mobile. 

According to his colleagues, Van Dyck dedicates countless hours per month in committee meetings, direct phone calls, and other efforts outside the Board’s general meetings. This did not stop after he completed his term as President, motivated by his sincere belief of the power of libraries to benefit the community. Van Dyck’s ability to translate his passion for libraries into real advocacy in the community has allowed the Brown County Library to enjoy enormous success and support from their government and community leaders and the public.

Programming Innovation Award – The Library Memory Project, Bridges Library System

Memory cafés are 90-minute social events for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers, held in libraries or other community locations. Originating in the Netherlands in the 1990s, the concept of memory cafes spread to the United States in 2006 and reached Wisconsin in 2012. While the concept of memory cafes is not new, the Bridges Library System has developed an innovative approach that has enabled smaller libraries in the system to participate and, over time, for the cafes to expand their reach.

The Bridges Library System Library Memory Project utilizes a shared hosting model in which 21 libraries share the responsibility of hosting monthly memory cafés, with six cafés offered each month. Rotating the hosting enables the libraries to support their communities and sustain the program. The library hosting the next café attends the preceding event to assist, build rapport with attendees, and promote the upcoming café. Libraries collaborate with their local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and the Alzheimer’s Association to offer educational programs on brain health and wellness. Additionally, a Dementia Care Specialist from the ADRC attends the memory cafés, providing resources and support to families. The Bridges Library System provides an overall coordinator for the Project who manages the online presence, facilitates training for new facilitators, and creates the yearly schedule of memory cafés. A Strategic Planning Team made up of four library leaders from diverse settings (rural and suburban) provides direction to the Project.

The Library Memory Project aims to:

• Provide monthly social engagement for individuals with memory loss and their family, friends, or paid caregivers, creating a regular social engagement platform. Each year, there are 72 opportunities to attend memory cafés within the System’s service area.
• Educate the public on brain health and wellness through educational programs.
• Support families and friends with resources and programs.  The program provides memory care kits, dementia-related non-fiction materials, and StoryCorps-inspired recording sessions to support families and friends of those with memory loss.

Since 2015, memory cafés have grown from four libraries offering one café per month in Waukesha County to 21 libraries across Jefferson and Waukesha Counties, now hosting six cafes monthly. This rotating model has been presented at both state and national conferences, demonstrating its broader applicability and success. To address staff turnover, a "Facilitator Guide" was developed in 2024. To better explain memory cafés, a promotional video was produced in early 2024. Available on the Library Memory Project website, this video serves as a valuable tool for library staff, families, and medical professionals to introduce memory cafés to those who might benefit from them. The Project coordinator also writes grant applications helping to fund improvements. In July, the Project received a $1,000 grant to work with a DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) consultant to further expand the reach of the Library Memory Project to underserved populations.

The memory cafés have had a positive impact on families. A family from Racine traveled 48 miles to Sussex for a memory café at Pauline Haass Public Library, fulfilling an adult daughter’s wish to celebrate with her family.  In November, a regular attendee named Nancy passed away. At her funeral, a memory café facilitator noticed a photo board filled with memories from the Waukesha Public Library memory café, highlighting the significant impact of these gatherings. Over the past year, the Library Memory Project has made inroads in promoting the Project to healthcare professionals. Doctor’s offices and social workers have requested additional memory café schedules and are sharing them with patients at diagnosis. In the past 18 months, the Library Memory Project has served 2,791 attendees and reached 28 medical offices.  Visit librarymemoryproject.org. 

Citation of Merit – Kristen Mildenhall

Kristen Mildenhall is credited with making a difference in the life, success, and renewed purpose of the Friends of the Middleton Public Library. Mildenhall assumed leadership of the Friends in 2021 at a time, post-pandemic, when the organization was poised to re-envision how it supported the library’s mission of fostering learning and access to all community members. A local mother, scientist, and advocate for libraries, Mildenhall began building a foundation for the organization by recruiting new board members to fill multiple vacancies, all of whom shared her excitement and vision for the next chapter of the Friends. With the formation of a new Friends board, she led efforts to rewrite the bylaws to reflect a contemporary, forward-thinking organization continuing its traditional support of library access.

Mildenhall’s vision to stimulate and encourage gifts and bequests to the library meant moving away from the traditional Friends of the Library book sale as primary fundraiser to other, more profitable, initiatives. This new approach required diplomacy and a great capacity to cultivate relationships which, according to her colleagues, are among Mildenhall’s greatest strengths. She is recognized for her leadership in a fundraising campaign to purchase materials for a new book mobile that would expand access to library services, including securing a large matching gift from the Madison Community Foundation; a Culver’s Share Night which raised a significant percentage of sales to help the campaign; connections with local business and service groups for several large donations; and, building awareness through library activities such as a photo booth with a cut-out bookmobile background. The campaign exceeded its $50,000 fundraising goal, providing funds which will be used to stock the new bookmobile with brand-new library materials and enable the library to reach more users in the community.

Muriel Fuller Award – Anita Taylor Doering, La Crosse Public Library

Anita Taylor Doering was hired by the La Crosse Public Library (LPL) in 1989.  Today she serves as the Archives Department Manager at the La Crosse Public Library. The La Crosse Public Library Archives & Local History Department (LPLA) was established in 1980, but did not actively grow its collection until the 1990s. According to her colleagues, Doering was the first LPLA archivist to make connections in the community, resulting in the archives receiving donations from residents, businesses, and nonprofits. For the past 35 years—including the past 18 months—Anita has tirelessly managed archives projects and outreach, mentored her colleagues, and implemented innovative ideas into the archives.

As stated in her nomination, “In the Archives field, it is widely known that “Archives Are Not Neutral” because archival repositories in the western world were built by archivists who have societal biases (racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, classism, transphobia, ableism, etc.), effectively making archival records inherently biased.” Since the 1990s, far before the neutrality of archives were actively questioned, Doering collected materials from La Crosse’s women, working-class, Ho-Chunk, Hmong, and lesbian and gay communities. In 2016, La Crosse was designated a Sundown Town. Taking this research into account, Anita directed her team to build trusting relationships with BIPOC organizations so the archives will reflect these communities for future researchers. This action led to recent and ongoing collaborative work with local Ho-Chunk community members decolonizing regional historic narratives (2023-2024).

In 2005, Doering founded, coordinated, and chaired the Wisconsin Library Records Retention ad hoc committee, which drafted the General Records Schedule for Public Libraries and Public Library Systems (adopted by the State in 2006). That same year, she worked with the City of La Crosse to make LPLA the repository of the historic City records. Patrons now have immediate access to something few communities in the U.S. do: their public records. This is a radical service. Anita provided the opportunity for the average citizen to hold in their hands records that reveal the internal structure and values of local government, thereby enabling them to hold accountable the institutions that govern their lives. Since March 2023, these records have been utilized by patrons in research projects 387 times.

In the 2010s, Anita and a team of LPL librarians-built relationships with local educators to host visits for K-12 students to learn library resources and archival research instruction. Because of this early outreach, since March 2023 alone, LPLA has hosted 423 K-16 students for archives research instruction, 300 students have visited for local history scavenger hunt events, and 45 undergraduate students have completed semester-long research projects using LPLA records, including 20 projects examining a 100-year period of La Crosse’s economic growth, and five new walking/trolley tours that bring to light new stories from La Crosse’s North Side (an underserved neighborhood). All because of Doering’s dedication to local educators and students.

Her nominators report that Doering was among the first archivists in the nation to understand the importance of and put into practice online resource distribution. In 2003, she digitized materials and distributed them on La Crosse History Unbound, among the first of its kind. Today, Unbound features K-16 research resources. In 2023 the site had over 13,000 unique visitors.

Other highlights include:

• In 2009, Doering launched Footsteps of La Crosse, a website with 10 historic walking tours funded by PBS Wisconsin. Since March 2023, her team has guided 14 Footsteps tours with 371 attendees. In a 2024 update, Footsteps now provides resources that Doering created or contributed to about local architecture, as well as a Build-Your-Own-Tour function.
• In 2012, she created Dark La Crosse, a walking tour about La Crosse’s seedier side. Today, this program exists as a video series/podcast that educates listeners on the real lives and struggles of La Crosse individuals within the national and global context. Since March 2023, Doering and her team researched, wrote, and produced 12 new episodes.
• In 2013, she launched Our Stories, a blog series that highlights events, people, and stories overlooked by La Crosse’s historical institutions. Since March 2023, LPLA published 37 new blogs ranging from topics like

Doering also has an impressive list of service within library associations and has made contributions supporting the profession. She is a member of Midwest Archives Conference, Society of American Archivists, and WLA. She has served on a variety of boards at the regional, state, and national levels, including the National Digital Newspaper Program–Wisconsin Grant Advisory Committee (2015-present). Forever shaping the future of the profession, her mentorship has rippled throughout the profession. La Crosse is home to three colleges and universities, a county historical society, religious and church archives, and many corporate archives. Many of these institutions have sought Doering for mentorship in building or maintaining their records repositories. Since March 2023, UW-La Crosse, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, and Kwik Trip have all done this.

A colleague and mentee of hers shared, “She not only teaches young professionals how to do the work, but she prepares us for the internal and external politics of working in public institutions;  the constant advocacy needed in today’s political world as libraries and archives face defunding, building relationships with donors and networking, and how to avoid burnout while facing the responsibility of keeping archival collections and cultural heritage safe for our community’s future generations who deserve access to their history.”

WLA/WEMTA Intellectual Freedom Award - Rebecca Puhl, Library Director, Phillips Public Library, Phillips

As Director of the Phillips Public Library, Puhl has faced numerous book and materials challenges over the past two years. These challenges have not only been reported on locally but have also captured the attention of intellectual freedom advocates from around the country.

Through it all, Puhl has not only upheld her commitment to intellectual freedom but shielded her staff from negative comments and actions coming from the community.  As described in a recommendation letter for this award, she has consistently prioritized her patrons, her staff safety and wellbeing, and her belief in doing what is right over her own mental and emotional health.  In selecting Puhl for this award, the WLA/WEMTA Intellectual Freedom Award Committee cited her steadfast courage in defending the principles of intellectual freedom while ensuring the Phillips Public Library was a safe, welcoming, and inclusive place for all members of the community.