Library of the Year 2003

The Appleton Public Library has been named the Library of the Year 2003 by the Wisconsin Library Association. The award is given annually to a library that demonstrates community partnerships and provides library resources to a wide area with a staff involved in statewide programs and initiatives. It recognizes a library that updates its facility to meet changing community needs.

"We are honored by this recognition from our profession. This award recognizes the terrific support we receive from our local community, as well as the dedicated efforts of our staff and volunteers", commented Library Director Terry Dawson. "We are proud to accept on behalf of the people of Appleton."

The library was nominated for the award by Jim Trojanowski, the Director of Vaughn Public Library in Ashland, Wisconsin. Trojanowski has partnered with the staff of the Appleton Public Library in a joint project called Prime Time Family Reading Time that provides family literacy services to seven Wisconsin communities, including Ashland and Appleton. In his nomination letter, Trojanowski wrote "While many librarians say they believe in serving all who need their services, APL is a shining example of actually living the philosophy. APL has accomplished this by participating in new partnerships (many of them APL-initiated), by giving the highest priority to friendly customer service, and by being flexible and creative."

Examples of the library's community partnerships include:

· Fox Cities Online (www.focol.org), a community network that serves as a comprehensive directory of local web-based information and provides web hosting for non-profit organizations, most of which would not have the resources to put up their own web sites;

· Fox Valley Memory (www.foxvalleymemory.org), a collaborative project with the Outagamie County Historical Society that creates a digital library of local history resources;

· Cooperative programming with local education institutions and city government, including memoir writing and entrepreneurship classes;

· Working with and supporting organizations such as the Fox Valley Literacy Coalition, Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, and Harmony Cafe.

The Appleton Public Library is the resource library for the Outagamie Waupaca Library System and together the two organizations provide innovative library service throughout the region. Services provided include:

· OWLSnet, the shared automation network

· Cooler by the Lake (www.cbtl.org), a subject index to the web

· Joint technical services department to provide database maintenance and cataloging services for the 52 libraries in OWLSnet

Librarians from the Appleton Public Library have consistently been active in Wisconsin Library Association, Fox Valley Library Council, Wisconsin Library Communicators Network, and other professional associations. Staff members have been officers in the Wisconsin Library Association, hosted library conferences in Appleton, and served on statewide committees.

Library staff members provide a wide variety of services to the Appleton community:
· Circulation of library materials reached the 1 million mark in 2002 and is 4 percent ahead of that record in 2003.

· Over 100,000 reference questions are answered annually.

· Program attendance topped 26,000 in 2002 and is increasing slightly in 2003

· Over 2,000 uses of public meeting rooms in 2002

· Web resources including full-text articles, electronic books and databases, as well as Internet guides and catalog access, leading to hundreds of thousands of web pages viewed each month

Enhancements to the library facility recently include:
· A separate computer lab created to house computers provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

· TeenLink developed to provide an alcove for teens and the young adult book and media collections

· Expansion of the adult media collection space

Financial support for the growing facility, collections, and programs at the library is provided by the Appleton Library Foundation and the Friends of Appleton Library. The Foundation Endowment is at $1.5 million. Income from the endowment is granted to the library to provide an "extra edge of excellence". Over 450 members of the Friends group donate their time to assist in the summer library programs, used book sale, and library mailings.

"The Appleton Public Library has truly become a community center, serving the entire Fox Valley region," according to Dawson. "The library provides access to information, quality library programs, and computer resources to all ages in the community. We're open 24/7 on its web site (www.apl.org) as well. We'll keep working to live up to this award and to meet community needs."