lbm19680625PlUSKEGO PUBLIC LmRARY BOARD SPECIAL PJEETING
June 25, 1968 -
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Muskego Library 1100 p.m. Present 1
Lenz, Hlmler, Mod11nsk1 and Teisl
Th1s meet1ng was called to decide on alternat1ve plans
for h1r1ng a l1brar1an s1nce Mrs. Zwe1bel haq declined
our offer of employment as head librar1an.
Mmes. Lelchtfuss,
After muoh discussion the board agreed on these tenta- tive proposals.
To offer Mrs. Llndbet'st the pos1tion of Acting Librarian in charge, to work 30 hours a week at $2.6.5 an hour and to offer Mrs. Good the position of ass1stant l1brar1an, to work 2,5 hours at $2.3.5 an hour.
If these terms are unacoeptable an alternative was sug- gested; to ask Mrs. L1ndhorst to work a 40 hour week and
to advertise for addit1onal l1brary help.
D1scusslon with Mrs. Lindhorst about her vacation plans
and the necessity of more page help.
Mrs. Leichtfuss contacted Mrs. Good w1th our offer and
found Mrs. Good interested but the salary terms as
stated were not sat1sfactory, she might cons1der $2050
an hour. She w1ll g1ve us a defin1te answer on friday.
Mrs. L1ndhorst accepted our of tel' of a )0 hour week at $2.65 an hour, to start July 105. The board authorized
Mrs. Lindhorst to work more hours, to start July 1, as
needed to put the l1brary 1n order.
Mrs. Modllnskl moved to adjourn, Mrs. Mlmler seconded
and the motion carr1ed.
Re~Y submitted,
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Mrs. Ant Tels1, Secretary
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PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEMS FOR hfrSCCmSIN: it sur,mARY
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The public library system is seen as the gasle ~~lt of public
library organization within which community libraries and a heai-
quarters library function as effective arms~
10 î~e a~~!,";þutlO1} _of~,'P!!1?+!,2. 11brarl syste'p~ orga~tzatlo!!
as ,-:I;.'u
--provision of the full r.:nge of public Ilbrary service
to the total population of its area of service, and
linkage with specialized state or regional resources
to meet their less usual needs;
--local communi ty libraries, adapted to the speoj.al :needs
of the partioular coæmunity with collect:cns designed
to illeet 1 ts ourl"ent needs and services adapted to its
particular lnterests;
--headquarters library with a depth resource in general
reading, reference and tec~~loal materials to meet the
range of 1nt,9rests '!,'lith!n the .,geographic area serve.d,
and with substantial collections of periodicals,
pamphletst plctureH3" films, \l11.1s10, recol"dlllgs, maps to
supplement books-..~al1d aí1'ailable to users directly in
t.he headquarters libral"Y or through approprla'ce
clrult col1ectlons~ interlibrary loa.n, or bookmobile
service~-wlth the special services of guidanoe and
information which the materials ma;}' require;
--economy and effiale:nc~r 111 centl~a11zed acqulst t'-ons.
cataloging and processing, with the benefits of joint
book selection combined wi th flexibilit;y :rOI' local
cO'1'Jmun1ty needs;
--111t\~n"l:tbl"ary referenoe service by means of teletype.
or telephone request and response;
--in-service training for staff, consultant service,
per1odi~ conference on problems of mutual concerna
2" îi!-e ".1J.ee:dM i'or ..p~.b1~...!.!Èrary sl~..!'~~~-1:~..}1~5.??.l!s!!!-...1s e-ean
n: -
--the importance of building public library serv1ce en an
ec.o~élomic base la.rge enough to a3sure adequate flnar~1al
support, as alread.y demonstrated by the value of dis-
tricts ~.11 supporting elemeIltar:r and secondary schocls
as well as the vocat1onal and technical sohools;
...-the potential for better ser'lrice as demonstrated by
the Wisconsin public school systems where the number
of school districts has been reduced from over 7.000
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to almost 55, resulting in: curriculum enriched
both in breadth and depth. Instruction lmproved bot.h
in quality and specialization. equipment both incrE~sed
and better adapted to the curriculum, and special
education elasses for both the handicapped and the
gifted child;
--the value of a well-educated, well-informed populat.,1on
capable of competing for e~ployment in a highly techno-
logical society;
--the importance of furnishing access to ideas and irforma-
tion at a level demanded by technical and executive
personnel associated with new industries coming into the
state, and to support the processes of local and state
government;
--the rapid rate at which Y~owledge becomes obsolete,
requiring the continuous withdrawal and replacement of
librar~ materials;
--the continuously ~ounting costs of books and other
library materials, making federated or consolidate~
syste~s an eaonomical solution to the need for expansive
teohnical materials as well as for broad general r~Qding
collect10nso
3. The effectiveness of public ll?l:ary systems or~n1zation
stems... from:
--a legal structure for coordinated function. by contract
and federation or by consolidation of libraries into a
single library agency;
--a policy-making body which reflects the needs and
desires of the total syste~ area of service;
--a staft of professional. technical, and clerical
personnel competent in the many diverse functions
required by library service;
--financial support fro~ local, state and/or foderal
funds, on a regular basis, adequate to provide a
reasonable budget to maintain serv1ce at the level ot
standards established by the Wisconsin Dl vision tor-
Library Services;
--a state-wide plan for- systel1s that permits every ar"ea of
the state to be served by such a system;
--guidance on the state level by an experienced and ~ompe-
tent staff of library consultants and spec1alists,
setting guidelines and approving plans for service
throughout the statea
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The feaslb~publ1c library s~stems org,an1zatJ~
~lsoons~ns
--~he ava1lab11ity of the oounty unit of government,
whioh--a1ngly or in groups--provides a sufficient
population aggregate for quality library service rt a
reasonable cost, and is a potential taxing author1,ty
tor its support;
--six years' preparation among Wisconsin librarians tor
use of the benefits of systems organization, thro,'gh
studies, reports, oonferences;
--pressures to develop a state-wide plan for librar~.
resources and reference services, in which the pul'lio
library plays a key role;
--seasoned experience in other st_tes demonstrat1ng the
workablli ty of public library systems J"
--the ourrent structurlng of professlonal standards and
financial alds 1n terms of publiQ llbrary systems;
--flexlbility for future enlargement by contract and
federation among public library systems, to profit fro~
some of the gains possible fro~ regional library develop-
ment.
s. e:nb~:n~~~O~~~;~C J~:~a~~ :Y:::;~i::~ucture have
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--in northwest W1sconsin's Multicounty Library Serv~ce--
Ashland Area, AShland's Vaughn Public Library pro~ide8
such services as oirculating book collections and refer-
ence and bookmobile service to six contraoting co'\uties;
--in the self-supporting Wisconsin Valley Library R~fer-
ence service, centralized reference servlce 1s pr~v1ded
by Wausau Publ1c Library, wl~le the collections of all
11braries in the ten-county area are being strengtnened;
--1n the Southwest Wisconsin pUblic L1brary Serv1ce~ the
central processing center at Pennimore, supported by
five counties, offers. in addition to its pt~ce8s1Dg
service. a circulat1ng book collection and 1n-ser~~ce
tra1n1ng opportun1 ties including book selection g"1.danoeo
--in the new, federally funded Eau cla1re Area Llbr~~y
System Demonstration. Eau Claire public Library orte~s
servioes to ex1sting library systems in six counties,
1ncluding reference and interlibrary loan, centra11zed
ordering, and in-service training;
--in the La Crosse Area L1brary Development Project, also
federally funded, the resources and statf of the La Crosse
PUbl1o Library are utilized to provide such services as
oentralized purchas1ng and cataloging, reference and
interloan service, and tn-service training.
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~i:~;~e plan tor publio library s~8tems must
--development of an overall statew1de plan for publjc
l1brary systems. tn order to hasten format1on of ne'.
systems. to enlarge those too s~all for eff1c1ent
serv1oe. and to support the growth already begun;
--state a1d as a key element 1n st1mulat1ng the gro,.th ot
systems, and as a necessary f1nanc1al supplement to local
funds, upon wh1ch an effect1ve statew1de plan can b~
based.
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Sectlon II
SYSTEMS SOLUTION: ELEMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED
Wlsoonsin's pUb11c l1brar1ans and trustees have given SUI'-
tained attent1on tor ten years to the need tor improved pub11c.
l1brary serv1ces, and have moved steadily toward the concept cf
the pub11c 11brary system as the most practical organizat1on t'<')
ach1eve th1s purpose 1n W1sconsin. Thi s concept can be traceè,
through the W1sconsin l1brary l1terature trom the W1scons1n St~
Plan of 1951 through Fac1ng the 60's in 1961. the Design for ~\Ò-
11e L1brarl Develo~nt in Wisconsin 1n 196), Garrison's ~ str,te-
wlde Reference Network tor W1sconsin Li brar1es ln 1964, and tl'~
Wisconsin Department of Resource Development's report on Publtc
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Llbrarr Facllities ln 19650
The role of public library systems in meeting Wisconsin's
need for adquate publlc 11brary service has three aspeots of
major emphas1s; (1) Library mater1alss providing headquarters
l1brary collections of real depth, maklng ava1lable a broad r~uge
of adult non-flct10n titles; (2) Professional services: provid1ng
specia11zed staff positions in major subjeotareas and in the
major types ot service, ava1lable to serve all users 1n the s~"s-
tem area; and ()) Library network: perform1ng the key role 1n
the network of informat1on and resources whlch wlll link each
local 11brary user to $tatew1de and nat1onal resourceso
Library Materials
Collect10ns of l1brary materlals sufter from ser1ous 1nañ,-
equacies 1n most publ1c libraries in W1sconsin. not only 1n
s1ze of collect1on but 1n the nature of mater1als as well.
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CJarrlson in 1964 noted the 8Csreity of basic bibliographic tocls
in Wisconsin public libraries, and pointed to weakness 1n most.
reference colieòt~q~s.'..
Library collections of real depth in headquarters librarjes
provide all users with access to these resources. At the sa:nE'
t1me, such central collections make it possible to avo1d exper~ive
dup11cation of 1mportant mater1als in every local libraryo HE'~iIíi
quarters titles represent a range trom oommonly-used t1tles t~
technical volumes and major reference resouroes, since generaJ
reading, information servioe and detailed reference and resear~h
on many topics require moving readily from one subject field to
another.
Ten oounties participating in the Wisconsin valley Library
Reference service are developing such a system service, basi~
1mpr()ved reference serv1ce on a growing collect10n and speoiaJ,-
lzed staff. Establ1shed with federal funds, the Reference Ser-
vice is now locally supported.
The local library user is aided in identifying publicat1ons
that may fill h1s information needs and in looating these pub11-
cations through the system headquarters. Thus syste'n developnent,
in terms of reference service, involves building up of the smrll
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library's basic reference and bibliographic tools in addition to
enriching the headquarters collection and establishing channels
tor exchange ot information and materials.
Typioal headquarters collections include pamphlets, flles
of bound or microfllm period1cals. government documents. 1ndex-
ing serv1ces, f1lms, record1ngs, art pr1nts and other audio-
visual materials, all available for use throughout the systemo
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Profess1onal Services
Personnel
Profess1onal l1brarians in public libraries in Wisoonsin are
limited in number. Currently. there are fewer than )00 Grade I
librarians, a sizeable proportion of whom had limited professional
education. The need for speoialized subject knowledge. soholarly
baokgrounds. and library skills is very real. Such specializi'1\d
staff can be justified in a library system. where their special
services can be made available to local libraries and to area
users of the headquarters library.
Speoifio staff specialists needed include those who are able
to deal competently with educational services to children, yo'\ug
adults and adults, and those who can serve as information spe~1al-
ists to the business, industrial, civic, scientific, and cult'\~al
enterprises of our co~mun1tleso These specialists are now la~k-
1ng tro~ most pjb11c library staffs. The 196) Des1gn for pub11c
Library Development in Wisconsin stated that the central l1br~,~y
1n a syste~ should have at least one experienced professional
librar1an in each lla.1or area of work: Admin1stration. adult
services, young adult services, ohildren's services. information
and reference services, organization and control of materials,
and extension services.
According to information given in their 1965 annual repo~ts,
18 of Wisconsin's 20 Type I libraries have children's librarians;
only 14 have specially designated reference librarians, and only
1 have adult services librar1ans. The Division for Library s~~-
vioes lists S6 communities in Wisoonsin which have a staff me~ber
with at least part-time responsibility for ohildren's service,
this is the only spec1alized service offered in any oonsiderable
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number ot librar1es. The development of systems will go tar to
assure the best use of the talents of professional librarians in
Wisconsin public libraries, and will recruit new professional
librarians to the interesting servioe positions that system.
enable.
Availability of the oentral library's professional staff is
one of the strongest aspeots of the service in the La crosse Area
Library Development, since there are no other professionally tralRed
librarians in the sic-oounty area. The professional librarians
at the La Crosse Public Library otfer a program of in-service
training to looal library staff, giving aid in suoh matters as
book selection, public relations and l1brary admin1stration.
Established with federal funds, this program is planned at a
level that will enabae it to be locally supported in the futur~.
Systems Servioes
The systems staft, with strength in specialized personne], can
serve in three d1st1nct ways to 1mprove public 11brary servic~1
(1)
(2)
provide a high level of headquarters library servic~;
assist units within the public library system throufh
consultant visits, or suoh special part-time serviè~q
as storytelling or publioity materials;
(J) offer in-service training to all staff in the syster
working in the speclallstÐg field.
In the practioe, the functions performed by the personnel
of the headquarters library and the activities entered into 00-
operatively by the member libraries have varied according to the
needs and abilities of the libraries involved. For instance,
qui te different patterns have emerged in the two systems serv1.ng
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northwest and southwest WisconsIn. A rather broad range of ser-
vices has been developed in the Multicounty Library Service--
Ashland Area, among which the extension function of the book-
mobile is partIcularly important~ The Southwest WisconsIn Public
Library Servioe, in oontrast, offers centralized ordering and
pro~essing, plus guidance in book seleotion, as its main serv1ces.
Both systems were established with the help of federal funds;
the Ashland slstem is now partially self-supporting and the
Southwest system wholly BOo
The type and variety of servioes offered in the five mult,!-
county cooperative library servioes now operating in wisoonsir
range, then, from the single servioe (as in the Wisoonsin Valley
Library Reference Service) to a combination of services such Be
eentralized purchasIng and processing, In-servioe trainIng, cc~-
8ultant servIces, bookmobile servioe, and book pools provided in
headquarters libraries.
The great need In WisconsIn public libraries is for a mor~
extensive and well-developed program of professional library
service through a statewide program of publio library system
development.
Systems as Part of a Statewide Network
If the inadequaoies and inequities in public library ser1"ice
are to be removed, all citizens of the state must be served br
the network of public library systemso
Acoording to the Wisconsin Divis1on for Library Serv1ces'
Service Record of 1965 statistics on Wisoonsin libraries
3,393.560 of the state's population live in communities with
public l1brary seFVice. Using the~1960 adjusted census figurr
of 3.952.76S for Wisconsin's total population, this would lea'.~
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559.205 persons without legal access to l1brary service in 19(~;
allowance for population growth might, of course. increase thB,t
figure. This means that slightly over 14 , of the population
has no access to tegal library service.
The add1tional number of residents receiving only marginal
service cannot be readily ascertained, but it is probably sub"'
at-antial. only by establishment of systems that will provide
complete coverage of the state, w1ll the objectives of the pr~aent
plan be achieved.
No public library system can be an isolated unit, but must
be backstopped in both materials and specialized services by
statewide resources. The information and reference service net-
work must inevitably involve libraries of all types within the
state: school, public, college and research libraries. The
handicaps that Qarrison noted for the Wisconsin Valley Library
Reference Service are typical library problems: lack of adequate
backstopping service at the state level, and lack of access to
academic and special library resources.
If public libraries are to make their most effective oontri-
bution to the most efficient use of such a developing network,
their organization into systems 1s a prior step. The chain of
book resources that is designed for public library users must
have its sound development wi thin the public library structuri'l\.
fro~ local community, to system area. to statewide and national
resources. Without such a network, which will link the local
library user to the state and national resources. questions
remain unanswered, curiosity unsatisfied, and general information
111-disseminated.
Wisconsin cannot afford to limit the growth of competenc~
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of 1ts c1tizens 1n their eoonomic, clvic, or personal interests.
It must assure not only appropriate local library resouroes but
full access to the speoialized and teohnloal resources wh1ch
human enterprise requires.
Wisoonsin.s library needs and present resources have bee~
assessed I the need for major colleotions, specialized servio~s.
and adquate materials and 1nformation networks is clear. The
oonoept ot library systems, and. ot partioipation through thesl~
systems in a statewide library network, has become oentral In
Wisoonsln.s library planning.
System development has begun in rural areas ot Wisconsin.
The beginnings of rural ~ultl-oounty systems have been made In the
countIes surrounding Wausau, in the Southwest area with its
processing center, In the northwestern six counties served out
of Ashland, and in the multi-oounty demonstratIon cooperativeq
among libraries in the Lacrosse and Eau Claire areas.
Various systems patterns are developing in the more populous
areas of the State. as well, notably in the Milwaukee, Dane C?unty.
and Fox Valley areas. Milwaukee Public Library extends Its s~r-
vices by contraot to a number of ne1ghboring municipalitIes, both
wIthIn and outside MIlwaukee County.
service to rural areas in the county.
It also provIdes bookmo~i18
The Dane County L1 brar~~
Service, supported by a variety of tax .ources and working th~ough
oontraots with all public libraries in the County, supplies
direct service through bookmobIle and supports local l1brary
serv1oe w1th ~aterials and consultant servIces. In the Fox
valley. municipal l1braries are cooperating in a program of
library collect1on development, wh11e the Type I libraries
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otter professional reference and train1ng serv1ces by oontract
to smaller l1braries in the area.
Suoh developments as these are the first steps 1n the
d1rect10n ot adequate publ1c l1brary servioe tor these areas ~~~
have begun to structure public library servioe in Wisoonsin w1th-
in systems.
Now a statewide plan for systems is proposed to provide t),~
citizens of Wisconsin equal advantage 1n library resouroes and
services, so that education. the economy, and the culture
may prosper.