Our 2013 Annual Report is now online! Visit mplfoundation.org and click on “Annual Report” at the bottom of the page.

FOUNDATION NEWS

LIBRARY NEWS

a quarterly newsletter from the Madison Public Library Foundation

Bubbler Programming Gains Momentum With Arts Grant

Looking for a meaningful gift for your favorite library lover? Our libraries will be selling a variety of items this holiday season. All proceeds will go toward Madison Public Library’s programs, collections and services.

For those who drink their coffee at home, Door Pottery on Madison’s near east side has created lovely, handcrafted ceramic mugs (pictured) that are stuffed with a 3-ounce bag of local coffeemaker Just Coffee’s Chocolaterian blend. They will sell for $19.99, or $16.50 without the coffee.

On the go a lot? There is a tall, stainless-steel travel mug priced at $14.99 (black), which includes a free fill at Chocolaterian in Central Library, plus a voucher to redeem a free, sleek Madison

Public Library Limited-Edition Library Card in black and silver!

The libraries will also sell Madison Public Library logo-bearing American Apparel T-shirts, tote bags, drawstring backpacks, and flash drives.

Visit Chocolaterian on the first floor of Central Library to buy the ceramic mugs. To purchase the travel mugs, the T-shirts and other logo items, stop by the help desk at any Madison Public Library location.

Don’t miss this opportunity to give a gift that reminds your friends and family to visit our wonderful libraries!

In Business Sustainability Award Goes to Central Library

In Business named Madison Public Library’s Central Library the winner of one of the magazine’s 2014 Sustainability Awards. The library took honors in the Eco-Efficiency Initiative of the Year category for making significant improvements to its facility and practices that improve material, and reduce water and energy consumption.

The LEED certified library was built with minimal waste and a variety of energy-saving features to not only bring sustainable, attractive development to the downtown, but to save taxpayers money. The library recycled 88 percent of its project waste through material reuse and recycling; these items now appear in the form of fixtures, furnishings and art installations. Gutting and upgrading outdated HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems lowered annual energy costs by 35 percent per year.

Daylight harvesting with an abundance of windows allows natural light to flood the building, reducing the need for artificial lighting sources. Thanks to a gift from MG&E Foundation that was secured by the Madison Public Library Foundation, Central has a sedum-covered green roof that collects rainwater, acts as insulation, reduces runoff and hosts photovoltaic panels that create on-site renewable energy.

View a slideshow about Central’s eco-friendly features at madisonpubliclibrary.org/green.

Friends of Meadowridge Pie Sale November 25Sweeten your Thanksgiving table and support Meadowridge Library by purchasing a homemade pie at the upcoming Friends of Meadowridge Library’s annual Pie Sale.

Friends members bake approximately 100 pies for this popular event, which always takes place on the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving each year. This year, it begins at 10 a.m. November 25 and ends when the pies are all sold. There are many varieties of pies, each selling for $10.

Along with the group’s annual book and bake sales, the Friends of Meadowridge donate proceeds

from the Pie Sale to support improvements and services at the library, said Treasurer and Pie Sale chairwoman Jacky Byrnes.

The sale is the perfect opportunity to check out the new southwest side library, which moved into the former Ace Hardware store a couple doors down from its former location in the Meadowood Shopping Center. This winter, the Meadowridge project’s final construction phase will begin, adding a joint kitchen and community meeting space between the library and the new Meadowood Community Center.

Some of the pie varieties baked for the Meadowridge Pie Sale include cherry, peach, caramel pecan apple and blueberry.

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mplfoundation.org

A quarterly newsletter from the Madison Public Library Foundation

Winter 2014–15

Ex Libris Raises Record Amount for LibrariesMadison Public Library Foundation hosted the most successful Ex Libris to date on November 7, welcoming approximately 550 guests into Central Library to sample 14 local chefs’ kitchen creations and sip microbrews from 14 area beermakers.

Ex Libris Volume IV: Better With Beer raised more than $50,000 that will go toward valuable library programs, services and collections.

Guests enjoyed an evening out while dining on local food paired with beers, as well as meeting the people who craft them. Many attendees took home silent auction items and packages, while others took their chance at a variety of raffle prizes. Losers didn’t complain, though, since each ticket included a box of two truffles made by Candinas Chocolatier.

The foundation thanks the event sponsors, in-kind donors, Tasting Partners and Planning Committee for making this year’s event possible, along with The Whiskey Farm for providing musical entertainment. Wisconsin Brewing Co. serves up brews, paired with pizza from

The Roman Candle, at Ex Libris on Nov. 7.

Madison Public Library and Madison Public Library Foundation

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Lots of Holiday Gift Options for Library Lovers

Annual Report 2013

Madison Public Library Foundation recently conducted a survey of its donors, and many of them expressed interest in hearing more about their neighborhood libraries. Branch Spotlight is a direct response to those comments. We hope you enjoy learning how each library serves its own neighborhood residents’ needs.

Jane Jorgenson, the new supervising librarian at the Hawthorne and Lakeview libraries, gave us an update on what’s happening at these two libraries on the east and north sides of the city.

Hawthorne Library Children’s librarian Tracy Moore is providing ongoing outreach and engagement with the students who attend programs at the Goodman Community Center. She visits the center and brings classes to the library, combining storytimes with hands-on literacy activities. In the coming months, she hopes to bring the Goodman Science Club to the library for a science workshop once a month.

Library leaders are also collaborating with the staff of the WIC program (through the Madison & Dane County Public Health division) and Madison Public Library’s Youth Services staff to include early literacy in the information that is given to families with young children during WIC well visits. WIC staff will be trained by the Youth Services staff about the benefits of incorporating early literacy efforts at a very young age.

Lakeview Library Lakeview staff are actively engaging with the community outside the confines of the building. Martin Alvarado, a native Spanish speaker, has become one of Lakeview’s most in-demand ambassadors. He has helped present programs in Spanish at Centro Hispano and other events throughout Madison.

Madeleine Kain, the Youth Services Librarian, provides programming at a number of north side schools and daycare centers. She plans to work with Housing & Hope (a program run by The Road Home Dane County), an apartment building for women with children who are transitioning from homeless to housing.

Librarian Katie Scharf and supervising librarian Jane Jorgenson are members of the Northside United planning team, which is organizing a Race to Equity forum to address racial inequities specific to the north side of Madison. This event will happen in early 2015, and the library will function as an informational hub.

Branch Spotlight: Hawthorne & Lakeview

Plentiful windows that fill patron areas with natural light are an important sustainability feature of the new Central Library. The Bubbler—Madison Public Library’s popular makerspace

program that facilitates learning and sharing art, design and technology skills—is taking off, in part thanks to a $456,627 National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The grant, given to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in partnership with the library, will allow researchers to examine the effectiveness of The Bubbler’s maker-focused programming and learning beginning this fall. Leaders from both UW-Madison and the library will collaboratively redesign the programs to support learning.

The Bubbler includes activities, demonstrations and make-and-take workshops in all nine libraries, plus some outside library walls at outreach events. Programs tap into local experts’ skills, encouraging the sharing of ideas and information to help library patrons learn through making.

The grant will allow the library to build innovative new partnerships using the maker-based learning model to engage underserved populations, including youth at the Dane County

Juvenile Detention Center, Shelter Home and Neighborhood Intervention. The researchers will gain an understanding of how Bubbler programs facilitate communities of learners and what makes a program successful.

These findings will be valuable to new and developing maker programs at other U.S. libraries. With additional funding from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment ($115,000

over two years) and the Morgridge Center for Public Service, ($80,519), The Bubbler team will develop youth media projects for teens in the justice system and connect them with UW-Madison students through service learning projects.

Bubbler programming for 2014 was made possible by the National Endow-ment for the Arts, the Institute of Museum & Library Services, BMO Harris Bank, Google, David & Mary Anderson Family Foundation, Anne & Tim Connor, Natalie & Dan Erdman, Linda & John Hughes, and Martin J. Levy.

Pinney Library patrons try their hand at screenprinting at a Bubbler workshop in August.

Thanks to a gift from MG&E Foundation that was secured by the Madison Public Library Foundation, Central has a sedum-covered green roof.

Jane Jorgenson

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LIBRARY NEWS

Q: What does it mean to become a Sustainer of Madison Public

Library Foundation?

The foundation has names for all of its donor groups, from Loyal Friends—donors who give each year for 10 or more years—to Silas Pinney Society members, those who commit to a planned gift. Sustainers are donors who recognize that the foundation needs a steady, reliable stream of income to take Madison Public Library from good to great. These

individuals agree to have a set donation amount withdrawn from their bank account or charged to a credit card each month.

There are many benefits to both the donor and the foundation when setting up a recurring gift:• It’s convenient and easy for the donor and the foundation.

Becoming a Sustainer takes a small amount of time initially, but once the foundation obtains the bank information required to withdraw the funds each month, the work is done. The donor doesn’t have to worry about going online or sending in envelopes unless he or she wants to make a gift beyond the monthly deduction. Staff time put into processing donations is reduced as well.

• The money comes out of one’s account over time rather than in a lump sum. Donating a set amount each month for a year—say, $25—is a little easier on the budget than $300 at once, so the donor may be able to give more over time.

• If the foundation knows the gifts are coming, it can better plan for their use. Long-term investments for the foundation become easier when there is a predictable stream of gifts coming in. Of course, the donor can always change, pause or cancel a recurring gift if the need arises.

• Automated withdrawals are eco-friendly. The foundation can cut down on appeal mailings if its staff knows a person is making regular gifts. The donor also avoids having to write checks or mail in donations.

While the Sustainer program is automated, it does not mean the foundation will cut down on communicating with the donor. Recurring gifts are a wonderful tool for a nonprofit, but they are just the beginning of a deeper relationship between the donor and the foundation. By reading the stories in this newsletter and the foundation’s other forms of communications, Sustainers can see their dollars at work, including funding new and existing programs, expanding services or collections, and improving facilities.

To take your philanthropy to the next level and become a Sustainer, visit the foundation website or call the office.

Inquiring Minds | Your Questions Answered

Book Club Corner: Meet the Red Tent Book Club

FOUNDATION NEWS

Foundation Issues Proctor Scholarship to Campbell

Thomas Campbell was presented with the 2014 Elizabeth Moon Proctor Scholarship at a special reception on Oct. 4.

Campbell, a longtime Madison Public Library staff member, is a Technical Services program assistant and enrolled in the library studies graduate school program at UW-Milwaukee.

Established in memory of Elizabeth “Betsy” Proctor, the scholarship fund supports Madison Public Library employees who want to further their career in library and information studies. Proctor enriched and enlivened Madison Public Library from 1967 until her retirement in 1996. She inspired many to pursue library careers and was dedicated to public library service.

On September 11, our staff members gathered for our annual All Staff Day. All Staff Day allows us to come together to celebrate our successes, connect with colleagues, and spend a day learning more about our organization and planning for the future.

This year, much of the day’s conver-sation focused on issues of equity in our community and in our libraries. We talked about building the awareness and understanding that will help library staff to

evaluate library policies and service models through an equity lens, and the ways we are working with the City of Madison to reform our recruitment and hiring processes.

We heard from artist and community member Jovita Hogan, whose work is on display at the Pinney Library. Her BLINK grant piece, “Healing Race Relations,” will travel to four libraries in conjunction with talks at each library by a representative from the Justified Anger Coalition. Hogan introduced our second speaker, the Rev. Dr. Alex Gee Jr., president of the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development and author of the 2013 Capital Times article “Justified Anger” that sparked an ongoing citywide conversation about racial inequality in Madison. Gee spoke about his experiences and the ways that our libraries could make a difference, a message that engaged many staff and sparked a discussion that we are committed to continuing.

Mayor Paul Soglin talked about how the library serves Madison’s youth and how important our services are to the community. He recognized the library for its placemaking ability and explained that it has a direct connection with the people. YWCA CEO Rachel Krinsky discussed racism and white privilege, suggesting how white people can be part of the solution. She shared how the YWCA was able to begin this journey toward equity.

It is always rewarding when library staff share their success stories, ranging from hosting thousands of community events at the Central Library to a customer who got a job through help received at the Hawthorne Library. We don’t get to celebrate those accomplishments as much as we should, but we need to recognize them and be inspired by our coworkers.

I would like to thank Mayor Soglin and the Library Board for recognizing the importance of the day and allowing us to be closed so all staff could attend; community and staff presenters Hogan, Gee, Krinsky and the City of Madison Human Resources staff; All Staff Day planners Sarah Lawton, Tana Elias and Susan Lee; Mary Fahndrich and Tracy Moore, co-chairs of our library’s Culture & Engagement Team; and all the staff who pitched in to help. I also want to thank Madison Public Library Foundation for the funding that helped provide worthy programs and refreshments for the staff.

All Staff Day is a contemplative pause in our service when we can gain perspective on what we have accomplished over the past year, and take a moment to congratulate each other on a job well done. This day is a small investment for the tremendous returns we gain from a productive and engaged staff. Madison Public Library is a vital part of our community, and it has earned that recognition due to a terrific staff.

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 Madison 2222 S. Park St.

•Central Library 201 W. Mifflin St.

A newsletter published quarterly byMadison Public library Foundation, inc.

Executive Director JenniFer J. collins

Newsletter EditoraMy Mertz

Contributing Writerstana elias

Jane Jorgenson

Newsletter Designergeorgia rucker

201 W. Mifflin Street

Madison, Wisconsin 53703

608.266.6318

mplfoundation.org

info@mplfoundation.org

From the Director’s Desk

Book Festival Events Deliver Great ConversationsThe 2014 Wisconsin Book Festival, held October 16-19 at Central Library and many other venues throughout downtown Madison, was packed with rich discussions, author insights and arts.

Attendance was at an all-time high for more than 60 events throughout the weekend. Gail Sheehy’s discussion with David Maraniss was a highlight, as well as the festival’s Arts Reception, the Madison Writers’ Studio Conversation and a full day of fiction in the Bubbler. High school students got their own day, High School Friday, to attend presentations just for them, and a new partnership with the Wisconsin Science Festival resulted in several fun, co-hosted events.

If you want to help bring programs and author events to Madison next year and year-round, please make a donation to the festival, or consider becoming a Book Fest Benefactor for a VIP Book Festival experience. Visit mplfoundation.org to donate or for more information.

The Wisconsin Book Festival, presented in partnership with the Madison Public Library Foundation, thanks its sponsors for their support: American Girl’s Fund for Children; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times; the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation; Wisconsin Public Radio; the Nimick Forbesway Foundation; Isthmus; and the Wisconsin Humanities Council.

Save the date for next year’s festival, October 22-25!

Greg Mickells, Director of Madison Public Library

Thomas Campbell (center) was honored on Oct. 4 at a special reception where he was presented with the Elizabeth Moon Proctor Scholarship.

Top: UW-Madison’s Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives presented “Passing the Mic Tribute Showcase,” dedicated to Nakila Robinson. The event was co-presented by First Wave, a hip-hop and urban arts learning community.Top right: Wisconsin Book Festival attendees peruse copies of festival authors’ books for sale.Right: Award-winning authors and journalists Gail Sheehy and David Maraniss talk with attendees about Sheehy’s memoir, Daring: My Passages.

Description: We are a wonderful group of 12 friends that started a book club 13 years ago when our kids were babies. Our first book was The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, hence the name. We all love to read but can’t always find the time, so our book club has served as a haven from hectic lives and a justifiable excuse (“I have to read this for book club”). We meet once a month at each other’s houses for lively discussions and wonderful food, usually based on the book we have read.

What book are you currently reading? The Fixer by T. E. Woods, a local author who will be a guest speaker at our meeting

What author would you like to have as a book club guest? We would love to meet Erin Morgenstern, author of the wildly imaginative The Night Circus. We all loved her book.

If you could host book club anywhere, where would it be? A book club in Sonoma Valley, California, so we could also have wine club … a double treat!

If you could invite any person to join your book club, who would it be? British author Neil Gaiman. His books are so well written, and he used to live in Wisconsin.

The Red Tent Book Club

Congratulations to The Red Tent Book Club!They’ve won a gift card to Chocolaterian. If you’d like to be entered in the drawing for next quarter’s newsletter, send

an email to newsletter@mplfoundation.org including a brief description of your book club and your answers to the four

questions above.

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We Want to Know.. . We asked the latest addition to the foundation office and two new foundation board members, “What is your go-to cookbook or source for holiday cooking and baking?”

I don’t cook much because my husband loves to cook, but when I do, I refer to Whole Foods’ website (wholefoods.com) and Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer.

—Francesca Rodriquez, Foundation Assistant

Google is my favorite cookbook, and New York Times food writer Mark Bittman’s entries are considered first.

—Allen Arntsen, Board of Directors member

and partner at Foley & Lardner

My favorite cook is Ina Garten, and her Barefoot Contessa cookbooks are my absolute go-to source. It’s hard to pick just one, but I think the original (The Barefoot Contessa

Cookbook) is my favorite, and my favorite recipeisherchickenpiccata. Yum!

—Melissa Selinger, Board of Directors member

and attorney at Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek

Jessica Mac NaughtonFoundation President

Keep Madison Public Library in mind when searching for your own holiday recipes. Each library has an extensive cookbook selection, and you can always use the LINKcat computer system from home or the library to request a title from another South Central Library System location if it’s not available at your neighborhood library. Each Madison

Public Library also subscribes to cooking magazines, with archives available for checkout, as well as free wifi and computers for finding recipes online. Bon appetit!

Top: A Madison Public Library Foundation grant helped pay for lunch at All Staff Day. Bottom: The Rev. Dr. Alex Gee Jr. talks to Jovita Hogan (right) and library staff following his presentation at All Staff Day.

All Staff Day is a small investment for the tremendous returns we gain from a productive and engaged staff.

—Greg Mickells

Madison Public Library Director Greg Mickells addresses the staff.

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