Madison Public Library & Madison Public Library Foundation Summer/Fall 2017 Newsletter

SPRING 2016

Summer/fall SPRING 20162017

A newsletter from Madison Public Library Foundation

IN THIS ISSUE 15th Book Festival Schedule Revealed Foundation Grant Supports Equity in Collections Scooter Software Gift Funds Artists’ Program Get to Know New Library Staff

FOUNDATION NEW

Scooter Software Gift Funds Bubbler Artist-in-Residence This summer, Guatemalan native Richie Morales played the part of Artist-in-Residence for Madison Public Library’s Bubbler arts- and maker-focused programming, which recently received Madison Public Library Foundation funding thanks to a $12,000 gift from Scooter Software, Inc.

Lucas and Dennis. Lucas, a 12-year-old born in Madison with parents from Uruguay, was able to express himself more vividly with Morales’ help. “I am impressed and moved by how he connected with art as a way of expression of his thoughts and ideas at this early age,” says Morales, who even saw some of himself in Lucas. “As it was for me, this is also a way of finding himself.”

Now, Morales is spending his time on the first floor of Central Library preparing for an October show at the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters’ James Watrous Gallery.

Dennis, described by Morales as “a man without a home in this city and yet with so much to tell,” shared his experiences and observations with the artist. “I was touched by his sensitivity toward art and storytelling,” Morales says. “He would share with me about his observations of people walking and him noticing their faces. If they would look stressed, anxious, (he would) greet them sometimes just to see who responds back and who will just ignore him.”

His paintings focus on breaking down what he sees as three problems in society: consumerism, privilege and ingenuity.

“My experience (in the Bubbler) was wonderful — even better than I expected,” he says. “I met people from all walks of life, from people without a home to people with a very stable economic situation.” He described the library staff as “always very welcoming and supportive.”

Morales says he particularly felt the impact of two Bubbler visitors,

“Every person is a door to something else — a different perspective.”

— Richie Morales, the Bubbler’s Artist-in-Residence for May and June

Morales said working in the Bubbler has had a profound effect on him personally. “Every person is a door to something else — a different perspective,” he says. “It is always enriching to be surrounded by different perspectives, so I definitely feel that I have grown as both an artist and a person. Not too many people know that it is actually hard for me to be so visible and available. I easily get nervous, so this experience definitely helped me in this way, too.”

Donations Are an Important Part of Book Festival Budget free and open to the public. Support comes from companies, organizations and individuals interested in providing an exchange of ideas. The remaining budget is provided as in-kind support from Madison Public Library, festival sponsors, program partners and other organizations.

There are a variety of costs that the foundation pays for, including the festival director’s salary, authors’ travel expenses, events marketing, and facility operations and cleaning costs due to the libraries staying open late or hosting a larger number of people.

Photo by Shanna Wolf/S. Photography & Styling Marie Lu, author of young adult fiction, discusses her series of novels at a Wisconsin Book Festival program in Central Library in October 2016.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Wisconsin Book Festival, a year-round lineup of diverse programming for all ages that encourages reading and engages minds.

This annual celebration of all genres of books, and local and nationally acclaimed, bestselling authors draws not only local interest, but also visitors from throughout the state and beyond.

The entire festival budget is $250,000. Madison Public Library Foundation raises about $120,000 in private funds to keep the events

Each Book Festival program costs $1,100 on average. In 2016, there were 106 programs held, most during the fall festival weekend.

To be able to continue offering the wide assortment of events, the festival needs your support. Donations of any amount are welcome and encouraged to keep programming free, and to maintain or expand the number of events per year.

Please consider making a gift at mplfoundation.org/donate. If you own a business, corporate sponsorship is a wonderful way to reap tax benefits while supporting this important community event that contributes to the quality of life in the Madison area.

Contact the foundation at 608.266.6318 to pursue a business sponsorship or major gift to the Wisconsin Book Festival.

$15K Foundation Grant Supports Equity in Collections Equity is a critical focus of Madison Public Library, and Madison Public Library Foundation is backing this effort in 2017 with a $15,000 grant to support the library’s equity initiative.

The grant will allow the library to expand collections for inclusion of popular materials that are in great demand at the city’s nine libraries, especially in low-income neighborhoods. The dollars will cover 125 New York Times bestsellers; more than 400 popular books; and 800 film DVDs, TV series DVDs, Blu-rays, music CDs and video games, says Library Collection Manager Molly Warren.

“All Madison residents

deserve something fun to read, listen to or watch, and thanks to the generosity of the foundation, the library is able to provide free and equitable access to more popular materials.”

Some of the items purchased belong to the Too Good to Miss collection, a special assortment of new and popular items, along with some older titles that might not have received much media attention but are still standout materials.

“Madison Public Library is the great equalizer in providing access to popular materials, but the need for these materials is higher in low-income neighborhoods,” Warren says.

“All Madison residents deserve something fun to read, listen to or watch, and thanks to the generosity of the foundation, the library is able to provide free and equitable access to more popular materials.”

— Molly Warren, Library Collection Manager

The library cited several factors in its grant request to the foundation to build a case for funding more popular materials:

Photo by Shanna Wolf/S. Photography & Styling The Too Good to Miss collection contains popular materials and suggestions for items that are highly regarded by library staff.

• Going to the movie theater to watch a newly released film can cost as much as $18 per viewing, and theaters aren’t in close proximity to or easily accessible by public transportation from the majority of Madison’s low-income neighborhoods.

• Fewer feature films and television series are becoming available via streaming services like Netflix.

• Bestseller collections provide wildly popular new books for checkout without a wait list for library users who may not have access to a computer to place holds, or can’t visit the library in time to pick up holds.

The library makes titles available in-house only to reduce barriers.

Find the Too Good to Miss collections at some of the nine libraries, and support the purchase of materials equity at mplfoundation.org/donate.

Six Friends Groups Holding Book Sales During the Fall Many of Madison Public Library’s Friends groups are holding book sales this fall to benefit the libraries. Items typically available include fiction and nonfiction titles, DVDs, CDs, puzzles and more. All funds raised at the sales support projects at the respective library or go into that library’s endowment fund.

Monroe Street Library League: Saturday, September 16, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. at Monroe Street Library. All items will be marked down to half-price at 1 p.m., followed by a bag sale at 3 p.m. This sale coincides with the Monroe Street Festival.

Friends of the Sequoya Library: Saturdays, September 2, September 16, October 7 and November 4, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at 442 Westgate Mall next to TJMaxx. Bag sale begins at 2 p.m.

Friends of the Lakeview Library: Friday, September 15, 6–7:45 p.m. (pre-sale for members only, but you may join at the door); and Saturday, September 16, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., at Lakeview Library.

Friends of the Pinney Library: Thursday, October 19, noon–8:30 p.m. (pre-sale for members only, but memberships will be sold at the door); Friday, October 20, 9 a.m.–8:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 21, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, October 22, 1–4 p.m. (bag sale), at Pinney Library.

Friends of the Alicia Ashman Library: Thursday, November 2, 5–8 p.m. (pre-sale for members only, but memberships will be sold at the door); Friday, November 3, 9:30 a.m.–7 p.m.; and Saturday, November 4, 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m. (bag sale 1–3 p.m.), at Alicia Ashman Library.

Friends of the Madison Public Library: Thursday, November 2, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Friday, November 3, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, November 4, 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; and Sunday, November 5, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Sale is at the Central Library in conjunction with the Wisconsin Book Festival.

All of the Friends groups are seeking volunteers to help at the book sales.

Please visit or contact your favorite library to learn more.

Four New Staff Members Join Madison Public Library There are quite a few new faces at Madison Public Library in the last couple months, particularly at Central Library. Madison Public Library Foundation Communications Intern Cassie Hurwitz

interviewed each of them to demonstrate why they were drawn to the library and what they do in their new roles.

Hannah Peschek, Visitor Services Specialist

Martin Alvarado, Community Engagement Librarian for Business & Technology

Visitor Services Specialist Hannah Peschek loves travel, weddings and dogs. She credits her events internship with the library as the reason she fell in love with weddings – and the library.

Peschek was previously the Event Director at Jazz at Five, where she managed sponsors, band bookings, social media and more.

Library work isn’t all Peschek does. As a member of the guide dog training organization OccuPaws, the National Wedding Planners Association and the Rising Tide Society, she has her hands full. But that’s not stopping her from adopting a Newfoundland puppy with her boyfriend in the fall.

When she’s not buying toys for her future dog or dreaming about wedding planning, Peschek is planning for something else: travel.

“I love to travel,” she gushes. “I’ve been to Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, and Aruba. I spent three months traveling Costa Rica and Nicaragua. My next big trip will be to Europe.”

Madison Public Library’s newest librarian, Martin Alvarado, has been working at the library for nearly 20 years, so he’s covered lots of ground. After working at Monroe Street, Goodman South and Lakeview, he’s at Central Library, using the skills he’s amassed to assist patrons with business and technology resources.

He’s especially passionate about equity and ensuring that everyone has access to the library.

Alvarado works with three librarians to determine community needs, and responds to them with resources and events. He’s also involved with Spoke-n-words, the library’s bicycle-powered bookmobile.

His library success isn’t a surprise; it runs in the family. “I was lucky to have had two librarians in my family, my grandmother and my aunt, who made the library a magical place for me,” he says.

As she finishes out her meeting and event management degree from Madison College, Hannah will continue to supervise not only weddings, but also bar and bat mitzvahs, government meetings and other special events in the libraries.

Alvarado was born in Mexico City and moved to Madison in the mid-1990s, earning an associate degree in art with an emphasis in journalism and French from MATC, and a B.S. in geology and geophysics from UW-Madison. He’s enrolled in the UW-Milwaukee library information science master’s program.

Annie Weatherby-Flowers, Community Engagement Coordinator

Alvarado lives with his wife, two children, two dogs, one cat and four chickens. When he’s not working, he’s biking, listening to music, reading and co-hosting a Monday morning show on WORT 89.9 FM.

One of the most important pieces of Madison Public Library’s success is building connections with the community. In April, the library demonstrated its commitment to fostering community relations by adding a Community Engagement Coordinator position.

Annie Weatherby-Flowers has worked for the city of Madison twice since her move here in 1989. Born in Louisiana but considering Milwaukee her hometown, she enjoys being involved in the community as well as traveling, shopping and history – especially related to black and African culture.

She was previously a Community Organizer in Milwaukee, and Education Outreach Coordinator in Madison. She holds a B.S. in organizational behaviors and leadership, and a master’s in education.

As Community Engagement Coordinator, Weatherby-Flowers says she wants to establish a presence and a voice that reflects and promotes the library’s mission and its commitment to equity for individuals, organizations and neighborhoods throughout the city.

Libraries in general are interesting to Weatherby-Flowers because of “their significance [and] historical presence in cities throughout the world.” With Madison Public Library, she hopes to improve the library’s presence in Madison.

Kristen Colgin, Marketing & Communications Specialist Marketing & Communications Specialist Kristen Colgin says the library is helping her learn about Madisonians. She’s interested in understanding community members’ perspectives, experiences and stories in relationship to the library.

Born in McHenry, Ill., Colgin’s family relocated to Genoa City, Wis., during her high school years. Colgin traveled for a couple years post-high school, then earned her bachelor’s degree in English at UW-Stevens Point. She went on to the library information science master’s program at UW-Milwaukee. After graduating in May, she soon found Madison Public Library.

In addition to traveling, Colgin enjoys a newfound love for powerlifting, coming home to the wagging tail of her 5-year-old boxer-pit bull mix, and reading classic novels with flawed characters.

Colgin is looking forward to making a difference with Madison Public Library. “Libraries offer equal access to information and community at a time when, personally, I think we need it most,” she says. “Seeing them rise up to the challenges of today is incredibly exciting, and Madison Public Library has paved the way on many initiatives.”

LIBRARY NEW

Davis

Fink & Cranor

Glass

Goldstein

Gordon

Reynolds

Stanton

Suri

Yoon

Award-Winning Authors Fill 15th Book Festival Lineup This year, the Wisconsin Book Festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary, with the four-day annual celebration November 2–5.

• Former UW-Madison History Professor Jeremi Suri for The Impossible Presidency

The community will enjoy a wide range of author events at Madison Public Library and surrounding venues.

• Paul Yoon, National Book Foundation 5 under 35 honoree, for The Mountain

Some of the highlights for the fall festival weekend include: • Angela J. Davis, professor of law at American University, for Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution and Imprisonment • Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor, creators of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast, for It Devours • Julia Glass, National Book Award-winning author of Three Junes, for A House Among the Trees • Washington Post reporter Amy Goldstein for Janesville • Celebrated Madison author Mary Gordon for There Your Heart Lies • Jason Reynolds, National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature in 2016, for All American Boys • New York Times bestselling military historian Doug Stanton for The Odyssey of Echo Company (in conversation with David Maraniss)

Those who attend will be treated to a variety of free events for all ages, including children and teens, thanks to funding from the library budget and Madison Public Library Foundation. Learn more about how the festival is funded and how you can help keep the events free on the Foundation News pages of this issue.

Can’t make the festival? Check out the festival’s upcoming stand-alone events in September, October and November. In addition to the long November weekend, the Wisconsin Book Festival hosts author events in Madison year-round. This fall, we’re welcoming acclaimed novelists Nicole Krauss on October 5, Nathan Englander on October 9, Top Chef host Gail Simmons on October 27 and perennial favorite Alexander McCall Smith on November 17.

The festival, presented by Madison Public Library in partnership with Madison Public Library Foundation, thanks its 2017 sponsors for their support: Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation; Madison Gas & Electric; The Edgewater; Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co.; University Research Park; Stafford Rosenbaum LLP; UW-Madison Libraries; Friends of the UW-Madison Libraries; Cricket Design Works; Wisconsin Public Radio;

and Isthmus.

Visit wisconsinbookfestival.org to see our growing calendar of events.

EVENTS & HIGHLIGHTS

Ex Libris and Afterword Tickets on Sale Now

Meadowridge Friends’ Pie Sale November 21

Giving Tuesday to Benefit New Pinney Library

Tickets are on sale now at mplfoundation.org for Madison Public Library Foundation’s annual fall fundraiser, Ex Libris Vol. VII: Beer & Bites, and a new late-night event that will follow it, Afterword.

The Friends of the Meadowridge Library will hold its popular pre-Thanksgiving Pie Sale on November 21 beginning at 10 a.m. at Meadowridge Library, 5726 Raymond Road.

Ex Libris, a celebration of local food and craft beer made possible by Presenting Sponsor Woodman’s Markets, runs from 7–10 p.m.

Friday, October 13. The fun continues until midnight with Afterword, thanks to Presenting Sponsor Exact Sciences. Both events will be in Central Library and include music, fantastic kitchen creations and Wisconsin brews to sample. Participating restaurants and breweries include Central Waters Brewing Co., Dead Bird Brewing Co., Everly, Merchant, RED, Sardine and many more.

Friends members bake more than 100 homemade pies for this annual event, which takes place on the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving. The event ends when all the pies are sold, usually sometime on Wednesday.

Each pie will cost $10. Varieties typically include apple, pumpkin, cranberry apple, cherry, pecan and more.

Join Madison Public Library Foundation at the Harmony Bar & Grill, 2201 Atwood Ave., from 5–7 p.m. Tuesday, November 28, for the third annual Giving Tuesday happy hour event to benefit the new Pinney Library.

Ticket prices are $75 for Ex Libris, $25 for Afterword, or $90 for entry to both events. There is discounted pricing for Ex Libris tickets when purchased in six-packs or 12-packs. Reserve yours soon, because these events are expected to sell out!

This is a wonderful opportunity to support Meadowridge Library while eliminating baking from the to-do list at a very busy time of the year!

Sale proceeds support various projects at the southwest side library or go into the library’s endowment fund.

Admission is a suggested donation of $5, with food and drinks available for purchase. Enjoy live music, meet other library lovers and learn more about the new Pinney Library, which is slated for construction in 2018.

The library recently held an open house for the public to meet the project’s architects, and interior design plans are in the works. Visit The Capital Campaign for a New Pinney Library page at mplfoundation.org/pinney to find out more about the project, including dates for fall community input sessions.

American Express Now Accepted for Donations Good news for American Express cardholders: Madison Public Library Foundation is now accepting Amex payments!

If you are an American Express cardholder and have wanted to make a donation, now is your chance. Visit mplfoundation.org/donate to

Executive Director Jennifer J. Collins 201 W. Mifflin Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 608.266.6318 mplfoundation.org info@mplfoundation.org

Newsletter Editor Amy Mertz Contributing Writers Cassie Hurwitz Newsletter Design Tsela Barr

contribute in support of Madison Public Library programs, services, collections and facilities. You can also use your American Express card to make monthly gifts as part of our Sustainer program. Simply check the box on our Donate page that says “Make this a monthly donation.”

Contact info@mplfoundation.org or 608.266.6318 with any questions.

Madison Public Libraries Alicia Ashman 733 N. High Point Rd. Hawthorne 2707 E. Washington Ave. Lakeview 2845 N. Sherman Ave. Meadowridge 5726 Raymond Rd. Monroe Street 1705 Monroe St. Pinney 204 Cottage Grove Rd. Sequoya 4340 Tokay Blvd.

Goodman South 2222 S. Park St. Central Library 201 W. Mifflin St.