Hosted by Andrea Coffin, paneled by Maria Escalante, Jill Glover, and Tom Carson at WAPL 2014

1. IN CONCERT
BUILDING VALUABLE COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS
ANDREA COFFIN, COMMUNITY LIAISON / SERVICE SPECIALIST, WILS
MARIA ESCALANTE, LIBRARY DIRECTOR, COLLEGE OF MENOMINEE
NATION
JILL GLOVER, DIRECTOR, LUCK PUBLIC LIBRARY
TOM CARSON, HEAD OF REFERENCE SERVICES, KENOSHA PUBLIC LIBRARY

3. Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries!
May 7 – 9, 2014
Blue Harbor Resort and Spa in Sheboygan, WI
Maria Escalante
Library Director
College of Menominee Nation
S. Verna Fowler Academic Library /
Menominee Public Library

4. 
CMN Library Growth
1996 – 1998
Occupied ½ of a trailer
Fall 1998 – Summer 2008
Occupied Lower level area of
Shirley Daly Hall on Campus
Approximately 2,000 square feet

5. 
CMN Library Growth
• Library becomes a stand
alone building, August
2008 , work is done in
phases
• Library is named “S. Verna
Fowler Academic Library,”
fall 2012
• Academic merges with
Menominee Public Library
December 2012

6. 
Why a merger?
 Menominee Public Library was
looking to hire a new director
 I requested a merger to combine
the two libraries
 The College President Dr Fowler
& Menominee tribal leadership
were in favor
 Gives the community a larger
library with more programming
and resources
 Consolidates community
resources
 Allows the college to have
access to funding for public
libraries

7. 
Building Community Interest
 “If you build it they
will come…”
 In order to build
partnerships we
had to attract the
community
 The library hosted
events like this,
targeted for the
community

8. 
Building Community Interest
 To appeal to youth I
selected a creative
image for the youth
library card
 Children come in
wanting a library card
because it is so
unique
 Also worked with
Menominee Transit to
allow the library card
to work for a free ride
from the library to their
home

9. 
Building Community
Interest
 Nine DIYs in April & May 2013
to draw people in
 Building community partners,
drew on expertise of CMN
faculty, staff, UW Extension,
community as presenters

10. 
Building Community Interest
 As the library was invited to have
a booth at community events we
set up a wading pool with
“fossils”
 Digging for fossils with “Fossil
Phil” was a perfect way to
advertise our participation in the
summer reading program
 Wonderful interactive event for
the library

11. 
Building Community Interest
 The College of Menominee
Nation participated in the state
wide “Get up and go” event
 The library had an activity that
kept children moving, and helped
advertise library activities,
including the summer reading
program

12. 
Building Collections
 As an academic
library I did not have
the materials that
appealed to the
community
 Added popular
DVDs, popular
fiction, children’s
materials (books,
toys, xbox, etc)
 As our patron base
grows so do
opportunities for
partnerships
Menominee Tribal Library Statistics
Reported on DPI annual report
2012 Total Annual
Circulation 1820
2013 Merge Libraries Circulation
Community 5983
Child, Community 1105 7088
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Community
Child, community

13. 
Community Partnerships
 Semester Community Reads
 With Public library status ~
contact the Aging Division to
get books to the senior
centers
 Community really looks
forward to our next book &
author event
 Story times
 Stockbridge Head start
contacted us after the
merger to bring kids

14. 
Community Partnerships
 Special Collections
(Archives) made
connections at our
Community
reception which led
to requests for
presentations in
Fall 2013, and to be
present at a Youth
Speak Event
10/17/2013
MIHS - Intro Special
Collections, especially Treaty
of 1848 materials
Class 1 19
10/17/2013
MIHS - Intro Special
Collections, especially Treaty
of 1848 materials
Class 2 17
11/7/2013
Special Collection Open
House showcasing print &
digital photo collections 31
12/6/2013
Presentation to MIHS
Faculty on SC
Termination/Restoration
materials 25
12/6/2013
Library booth at Youth Speak
event 100

15. 
Institutional Partnerships
 To draw in the younger crowd I
purchased outside games like
Giant Jenga for family events
 Giant Jenga has worked perfect
for high school tours, much
better than the paper scavenger
hunts we used to do, now we are
a stop for high school tours
11/14/2013
MIHS Campus
Tour - stop at
library for games
& fun 100
11/19/2013
Oneida, Pulaski
student campus
tour - stop at
library for games
& fun 30

16. 
Institutional Partnerships
 The Teacher Education
Department has a grant and
works with the head start
 As part of a collaboration
with the head start and the
library they held a literacy
event in the library in the fall
& spring for families
 Head start teachers, CMN
students, and head start
families attended
 Some head start teachers
and families had never been
to the library before

17. 
Institutional Partnerships
and beyond
 For a recent grant the library
partnered with the Community
Technology Center (CTC) on
campus for creative work on
literacy with families
 Granting agency suggested we
partner with UW Madison
 This grant (IMLS – National
Leadership) has broadened our
knowledge of the literacy issues
of children under 5
 It has allowed us to work with
someone outside our community
& has brought new perspectives
 Has really led the way for me to
get even more pro-active in
seeking community partners

18. 
Institutional Partnerships
and beyond
 So far we have had a meeting with
potential community partners
 Menominee Tribal School
 Menominee Indian School District
Rep
 Menominee Daycare
 Community Resource Center (CRC) :
work with families in programs like
TANF, job training, food share, badger
care, summer youth program
 This was a focused meeting on a
specific issue & let me know what they
needed & how we could work together
 Sharing experiences from
Appleton & Oneida Public
Libraries brought new ideas &
possibilities for staff
 Starting programming in May
with toddlers on Tuesdays &
teens on Thursdays
 Every week age groups will be at
the library alternating with the
CTC

19. 
Keys to our success
 Partners that had a similar goal
 People that had the time to work
with us
 We provided library staff to
support our ideas
 We provided funding
 We listened to what they felt was
important and we tailored our
programming to meet their needs

20. Lucky Partners
The Luck, Wisconsin Public Library and
Historical Museum Working Together
Jill Glover

21. 
Luck, Wisconsin
70 miles from Twin Cities
Population 1200

22. Lake Country

23. 
1850's Rest Stop
In "Luck" to get 1/2 way

24. Luck Grows and Changes
 Indian scession treaties open land for settlement 1870’s
Danish immigration brings dairy farming
Soo Line R.R. reaches Luck in 1900
Duncan Yo-Yo “capital” from 1946-1965
Family dairy farms give way to large farms
Recreation industry gathers importance
Wood products industry a main stay
Luck becomes tied to Twin Cities metropolitan area –
population 1200.

25. Incorporated 1905

26. The Small Old Library

27. Ground Breaking 2007

28. The Finished Building
Design
 Library space (main floor, meeting room, break room and office) - 47%
 Museum (and work/storage) - 35%
 Public areas (lavatories, lobby) – 17%
 Mechanical – 1%

29. Building for the Future

30. Other Things to Consider
The lot and building are owned by the village of Luck but were
built with private donations
The public library is operated with local, county and state tax
dollars
The Museum is self supporting through grants, donations and
museum sales
Building decisions are made by a committee of the Luck
Public Works Director and representatives of the Library and
Historical Society Boards

31. Benefits of living together
 Synergy of sharing space and ideas
 Better drawing power for both
 Cost savings by sharing space and equipment
 Able to plan and offer better and more varied programs and activities
 Large group programs possible with flexible space in the museum

32. Successful Things We have Done Together
Partner to show classic free movies
Cooperatively sponsored Civil War speakers
Offer shared seasonal events eg. Lucky Days, Winter
Carnival, visit from Santa, etc.
Shared space for adult exercise classes
Provide space for census training
Make space available for community meetings (non political)
Provide space for Luck Senior Class Art Show
Give programs for school and community field trips

33. Key Elements of Success
 Strong rapport established during building project
 Friendly, cooperative staffs
 Broad community support
 Gathering point for the community
 Central Main Street location
 Open six days a week
 Facilities available for community activities
 Provides the only convenient public rest rooms on Main St.
 Available wireless high speed internet access
 Ability to accept the fact that things won’t always go exactly the way you
might like

34. Possible Pitfalls With Cohabitation
 Don’t expect the library staff to watch the museum
 Importance of keeping library and museum budgets completely separate
 Difficulty of determining a fair and equitable division building operating
costs
 Carefully planned billing procedure
 Coordination of schedules
 What if one partner defaults?

35. KENOSHA AND THE BIG
READ
Making Community Connections and Lasting Partnerships

36. About Kenosha Public Library
 Service population of 135,000
 4 neighborhood branches, 1 Bookmobile
 71,000 registered library cardholders
 2013 circulation, 1.2 million

37. About the Big Read
 The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the
Arts
 Designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture
and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and
enlightenment.

38. Application requirements
 Grant application process is straightforward
 Programming around themes of a specific book
Kick-off event
Book discussions
Book distributions
Development of partnerships

39. Our 1st Big Read 2010
• Our first selection
was The Grapes of
Wrath by John
Steinbeck

40.  We started planning six months before the application was due.
 Major requirement of the grant is to partner with local
organizations.
 Where do we start?

41. Planning-1st Big Read
 What organizations would be a good fit?
 Are their missions similar to the Library’s?
 How would they participate?
Distribution point?
Host an event?

42. 1st Big Read
 Developed partnerships with Friends of the Kenosha Public
Library, Kenosha Public Library Foundation, Kenosha Unified
School District, Kenosha History Center, Kenosha Public
Museum, Lemon Street Gallery, Kenosha County Job Center,
Carthage College, Kenosha County Detention Center

43. Grapes of Wrath

44. Grapes of Wrath
 Huge success!
Gave away 1200 copies of the title
The Kenosha Literacy Council incorporated The Grapes of Wrath
into its jail program, using the book to improve inmates’ reading
comprehension and writing skills.
Inspired other organizations to join us for our next Big Read

45. The Big Read 2012
Sun, Stone, and
Shadows: 20
Mexican Short
Stories edited by
Jorge Hernandez

46. Sun, Stone, and Shadows
New partnership
with the Boys and
Girls club
Stronger ties with
Bradford High
School

47. Family Literacy Night at the Kenosha Literacy Council

48. Julia Durango visits Uptown Library
Children’s Author Visit

49. Rewards
 New partnerships created
between other organizations
 Stronger partnerships with
Kenosha Literacy Council,
Kenosha Unified School
District and UW-Parkside

50. 2013 Big Read – Edgar Allan Poe
Most successful
Big Read
 Our most successful Big Read!
KENOSHA. POE. 2 0 1 3 .
The Big Read Ret ur ns t o Kenosha Oct ober 2 0 1 3 !
What could be creepier (or more fun!) than Edgar Allan Poe during October? Join the Kenosha Public
Library for a whole month of eerily enticing performances, book discussions, art exhibits, lectures,
family fun, and special events to explore “Great Tales and
Poems” by Edgar Allan Poe. For a complete listing of
events, visit www.mykpl.info, find us on Facebook, or visit
www.neabigread.org. A complete Big Read Event Guide
will be available in September.
The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the
Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

51. Poe Kick-Off Event

52. Green Bay Packers provided incentives for people to participate in the Big Read
Kenosha Literacy Council

53. By the numbers
31 partnerships
with local
organizations and
businesses
 60 total programs included:
 14 book discussions
 4 lectures
 6 art exhibits
 4 theatrical performances
 6 film events
 3 workshops
 2 open mic events
 5 programs for teens
 8 programs for kids & their families
 1 bus trip
 1 bake sale
 1 original opera
 And other programs of all kinds.

54. Lemon Street Gallery provides a rotating art collection for all our buildings
Rewards of Partnerships

55. Rewards of Partnerships
 Our partnership was featured on the NEA Big Read national
blog
 Also featured on the website, Library as Incubator Project
 Worked with us on the Big Yarn

56.  What does the phrase “library as incubator” mean to you?
 “Libraries have always been incubators. Essentially, that is
exactly what they are. They are the neighborhood pub for
thinkers. They are the grocery store for the curious.” Melanie
Hovey, Lemon Street Gallery

57. Art from Lemon Street Gallery

58. More Art From Lemon Street Gallery

59. The Big Yarn

60. Big Yarn

61. Yarn Bombing

62. Lessons
 Starts with a conversation
Everyone loves the library
 Plan early and plan for the unexpected
 Mix-ups will happen
 Try to get written agreements between the library and
participating partners
 Partnerships are part of our new strategic plan

63. Apply, Apply, Apply
 Grant process is simple
 Encourages your library to get out into the community
 The Big Read staff is awesome. They want you to succeed.

64. The Big Read @
the Kenosha Public Library
 2010 – Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
 2012 – Sun Stone and Shadows: 20 Mexican
Short Stories edited by Jorge Hernandez
 2013 – Short Stories and Poetry of Edgar Allan
Poe
 2014 – Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, UW–
Parkside
 2015 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
(tentative)

65. QUESTIONS?