The Tallest Building In Town

Shauna and Steev speak with two library staff members from school/public library collaborations--Kay Heiting from Granton Community Library and Bobbie Kuehn from the Denmark branch of the Brown County Library. The two libraries, located inside public school buildings, have very different ways of dealing with their situations. Also, we learn the word "colocated".

The formerly rural community of Waunakee is now a northern suburb of Madison and is home to nearly 14,000 people. Their library, which opened in August of 2019, was over a decade in the planning and is the result of much hard work and cooperation by community members and local government. We visited the library on a sunny day in September and had a guided tour of the staff workspaces and public spaces.

This month we’re visiting the Dream Bus, a new bookmobile that the Sun Prairie Public Library is utilizing this year in order to expand library services. The bookmobile operates through the Dane County Library Service (DCLS), and their Director, Tracy Harold, was kind enough to stop by and provide some background information about DCLS.

The McMillan Memorial Library in Wisconsin Rapids is one of 15 libraries in the country that is a finalist for the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. It is also only the second library in Wisconsin to ever be nominated and the smallest! Find out more as Shauna talks with McMillan director Andy Barnett.

This month we start a series on rural libraries in WI, and Rock Springs Public Library is the perfect place to begin. The smallest library in the South Central Library System is tucked within land that is rich in natural and geological history. In Rock Springs, “The Village that Roars,” the library sits among beautiful rolling hills, and their library staff are experts when it comes to facing extreme weather conditions. Shauna visited the library in its temporary location in St. John Lutheran Church and spoke with Katie Schofield, Library Director, and Jean Holtz, Library Board President. We learn the story of what happened last year (and years prior), but also see firsthand the potential of their interim space. Shauna asks Katie about work-life balance and what it’s like being a new library director.

This month we talk about collections that exist in Wisconsin that are not easily found, inside and outside of libraries. Some collections live in libraries and are professionally organized and curated, but still manage to be hard to find. Others force us to be in the right place at the right time in order to experience them out in the world.

There are 11 Federally-recognized tribal nations in Wisconsin, many of which have a library located within the borders of their reservation. Kymberley Pelky, a library staff member at the Oneida Community Library, creates all-ages programing and helps to write federal grants. She talks about some of the programs the library hosts for people both on and off the Oneida reservation. Stephanie Julian, the Education Director for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe, has been given the task of providing library access to the Bad River library. She discusses their partnership with the TLAM Project from UW Madison, and what it will take to fully reopen the library.

What is a poet's work and what role do libraries play in it? This month we talk about poets we love. Amy Ludtzke, Assistant Director of the Dwight Foster Library in Fort Atkinson, introduces us to Lorine Niedecker, a modernist poet who lived on Blackhawk Island. We gain a healthy respect for the office of Poet Laureate of Wisconsin and talk to current Poet Laureate Karla Huston.

How can a drag queen reading a story affect a community? Why do drag queens and public libraries create partnerships? Is this happening in Wisconsin? We find out in this month's episode as we tell the story of Beloit Public Library's first EVER drag queen story time, in Beloit, WI. Shauna speaks with Cass Marie Domino, a queen and activist based in Madison, WI, as well as Marilyn and Rob Schuh, co-founders of The Yellow Brick Road Organization, a non-profit based in Beloit, WI.

We start Season 2 with a deep dive into some of the ideas Shauna brought back from the Inclusive Services Institute. Shauna talks with Leah Langby (IFLS) and Rene Bue (Hedberg Public Library) about what other Wisconsin libraries are doing to make their spaces and policies more inclusive, then we discuss how the Sun Prairie Library is doing (spoiler alert: we could be doing better).

Annie Clark, known as St. Vincent, is a totally incredible guitarist and songwriter. Shauna got the chance to meet St. Vincent and ask a question during a pre-show, VIP hang-out. Hilarity ensues.