Green Tuesdays, October 11: Gasland

FREE - MONONA PUBLIC LIBRARY - 6:30 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M.

This Tuesday, October 11: Gasland

"The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudi Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verité travelogue, part exposé, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown."

Gasland will be paired with Forestry, a short film from Climate Wisconsin, a story of climate change from our own state.

Can't make it to this showing? These films will also be screened at the following Green Tuesdays & Thursdays: October 18, Oregon; and October 25, Mount Horeb.

Inflamed by hydraulic fracturing? Take action here.

Green Tuesdays & Thursdays: Creating awareness, sparking conversation, empowering change.

At Green Tuesdays & Thursdays Films & Lectures you can enjoy free screenings of films, presentations on a wide range of topics, and conversations about our world and how we can make it better, together. All are welcome.

Now in eight communities, Monona's Green Tuesdays are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, from late summer through late spring. See the complete calendar here: www.tnsmonona.org/green-tuesdays-green-thursdays.

Whole Foods Market serves treats at Monona's Green Tuesdays, so come early and stay late for delightful food and drink.

The Green Tuesdays & Thursdays program is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Edgewood College, Sustainable Atwood, Madison College (MATC), and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Green Tuesdays & Thursdays are brought to you by The Natural Step Monona, supported by the Madison Gas & Electric Foundation, the Dane County Environmental Council, and Richard and Judy Fritz.

Door Prize!
Bring your own water bottle or cup and be entered to win Richard Fortey's book: Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth.

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures

FREE - MONONA PUBLIC LIBRARY - 6:30 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M.

Next Tuesday, May 10: Blue Vinyl and Plastics--One through Seven

With humor, chutzpah, and a piece of vinyl siding firmly in hand, award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand* and award-winning cinematographer Daniel B. Gold search for the truth about polyvinyl chloride (PVC), America's most popular plastic. From Long Island to Louisiana to Italy, they unearth the facts about PVC and its effects on human health and the environment. Back at the starter ranch, Helfand coaxes her terribly patient parents into replacing their vinyl siding on the condition that she can find a healthy, affordable alternative (and it has to look good!). A detective story, an eco-activism doc, and a rollicking comedy, Blue Vinyl shows the dangers posed by PVC at every stage, from factory to incinerator. Consumer consciousness and the "precautionary principle" have never been this much fun.

Also student short Plastics--One through Seven shows how one Wisconsin woman's idea changed an entire industry.

Can't make it to Monona? Catch these films in Oregon on May 17, Mt. Horeb on May 19, and Cross Plains on June 17. (Calendar here.)

*Helfand was an artist in residence as part of the UW-Madison's Arts Institute Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program!

Green Tuesdays: Creating awareness, sparking conversation, empowering change.

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures is a free series of films, presentations, and conversations that helps us become more aware of the resources we rely on and the actions we can take to better our world. Green Tuesdays start at 6:30 and run until 8:00. Sessions are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, September through May. All are welcome. Whole Foods Market serves treats, so come early and stay late for food, drink, and conversation.

Green Tuesdays, a project of The Natural Step Monona and the Monona Public Library, now reaches four additional communities: Mt. Horeb, Middleton, Cross Plains, and Oregon.

Green Tuesdays is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Edgewood College, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and is supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

Monona Public Library and the Komen Foundation

From Toni Streckert, Monona's most excellent Outreach Coordinator (at our very own 2010 WLA and SCLS Library of the Year):

For the second year in a row the Monona Public Library was a Komen for the Cure-Madison grantee recipient. Funds (described in detail below) went to support the continuing development of the Susan G. Komen special collection of the Monona Library, as well as to fund related outreach activities. This is a unique opportunity and honor for the library and it recognition of the wonderful work the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation does, we are again forming a library team to Race (or sleep in) for the Cure.




Website Info:

Support the Cure


Support the Monona Library's Susan G. Komen Special Collection

Monona Library has a team in the June 4th Race for the Cure, Madison. We are a 2011 grant recipient from Komen for the Cure - Madison.

http://madison.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/MSN_MadisonAffiliate/2063616982?pg=team&fr_id=2090&team_id=167611

Collection:

Monona Public Library

Monona Library Komen Collection

Monona Public Library will continue to build and enhance the core Susan G. Komen for the Cure special collection of breast health and breast cancer related materials at the Monona Public Library. This unique collection brings together in one place, a wide variety of current high quality materials in multiple formats. The collection includies bilingual materials, children's materials, patient guides, memoirs and autobiographies, cookbooks, nutrition and well-being/movement information, self-care and stress management, and creativity and self-expression materials, parenting (with a serious illness) guides, and CDs , DVDs and audiobooks. The collection is accessible at any SCLS member library (over 50 libraries throughout south central Wisconsin to anyone with a library card). Grant monies will also help to establish rotating satellite collections at the nonprofit cancer patient support organizations, Gilda's Club and Breast Cancer Recovery.

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures

Introduction to Organic Gardening with Erin Schneider

Tuesday, March 29, 6:30 – 8:00pm, Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Road, Free

Learn how to turn your yard into an “edible ecotopia” by attending this introduction to organic gardening from Erin Schneider, co-owner of Hilltop Community Farm, LLC, and a Fellow and Facilitator with the UW Office of Human Resource Development.

On tap from Schneider: how to look at garden design from a systems perspective—from the ground up—and then design our backyards and gardens in the image of an ecosystem. Schneider will emphasize site preparation and sustainable garden design for urban areas. She’ll also share ways to integrate perennials into a vegetable garden, information about plant guilds and plant community functions, and more tools for creating abundance.

Green Tuesdays: Creating awareness, sparking conversation, empowering change.
Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures is a free series of films, presentations, and conversations that helps us become more aware of the resources we rely on and the actions we can take to better our world. In Monona, sessions are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, September through May. All are welcome. Whole Foods Market serves treats, so come early and stay late for food, drink, and conversation.

You can also enjoy Green Tuesdays (and Thursdays!) with our partners in Oregon, Mt. Horeb, Cross Plains, Madison, and Middleton. To see the calendar for all Green Tuesday and Thursday dates, go to www.tnsmonona.org/green-tuesdays-green-thursdays.

Green Tuesdays is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Edgewood College, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and is supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

Upcoming Green Tuesdays in Monona:
April 12: Big River/King Corn and An End to Slim Pickings
May 10: Blue Vinyl and Plastics—One through Seven

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures

Free films: The End of the Line and Getting Them Home

Date: Next Tuesday – 3/08/2011
Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Location: Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Road

Imagine a world without fish. The End of the Line is the world's first major documentary about the devastating effect of overfishing. Scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048. Solutions exist, but we have to act. Also student short Getting Them Home: a love story...with a wild streak.

Can't make it to Monona? Catch these films in Oregon on March 15, Middleton and Mt. Horeb on March 17, and Cross Plains on April 5. (Calendar here.)

Green Tuesdays: Creating awareness, sparking conversation, empowering change.
Share in learning and thoughtful discussion with others who care about creating a more sustainable world. Free films and presentations prime the conversations about the natural, social, and economic systems we rely on and ways to support more sustainable living. Monona's Green Tuesdays are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, from September through May. All are welcome. Whole Foods Market serves treats, so come early and stay late for delightful food and drink.

You can also enjoy Green Tuesdays (and Thursdays!) with our partners in five locations: Oregon, Mt. Horeb, Cross Plains, Madison, and Middleton. The calendar for all Green Tuesday and Thursday dates: www.tnsmonona.org/green-tuesdays-green-thursdays.

Green Tuesdays is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Edgewood College, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and is supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

Mark your calendars for upcoming Green Tuesdays in Monona:
March 29: Organic Gardening with Erin Schneider of Hilltop Community Farm
April 12: Big River/King Corn with An End to Slim Pickings
May 10: Blue Vinyl with Plastics--One through Seven

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures

FREE - MONONA PUBLIC LIBRARY - 6:30 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M.

Next Tuesday, January 11: A River of Waste, plus student short, America's Dairyland

A heart-stopping new documentary, A River of Waste exposes the huge health and environmental horrors of our modern industrial system of meat and poultry production, a system dominated by the use of arsenic, antibiotics, and growth hormones, a system which dumps massive amounts of sewage into fragile community waterways. This film provides evidence of the harms caused by our massive consumption of cheap meat and poultry. Student short, America's Dairyland, invites you to meet today's milk producers and cheese packers - Farmer Johns and Farmer Juans, the new faces of dairy production.

Green Tuesdays: Creating awareness, sparking conversation, empowering change.
A free series of films, presentations, and conversations that help us become more aware of the resources we rely on and the actions we can take to better our world, Monona's Green Tuesdays are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, from September through May. All are welcome.

Green Tuesdays, a project of The Natural Step Monona and the Monona Public Library, now reaches four additional communities: Mt. Horeb, Middleton, Cross Plains, and Oregon. To see the calendar for all Green Tuesday and Thursday dates, go to www.tnsmonona.org/green-tuesdays-green-thursdays. Whole Foods serves treats, so please come early for delightful food and drink.

Green Tuesdays is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Cottage Grove Green Tuesdays, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and is supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

Upcoming Green Tuesdays in Monona:
February 8: Trees with Sean Gere of Gere Tree Care.
March 8: End of the Line and Getting Them Home.

PICK A BOOK is Back - at Wisconsin's Number 1 Public Library

PICK A BOOK is Back!

Give the Gift of Literacy by purchasing a book or DVD for the Monona Public Library - an item of your choice from the bulletin board in the Children's Room. Choices ranging in price from $4 to $24 are available.

It's Easy! 1. Pick a book that you would like the library to own, 2.

Take the white "tag" down and 3. Go to the Circulation Desk to pay for that item. When the book or movie arrives, we will put your name or family name or another name you indicate on a bookplate. We will now be having a year-round Pick a Book Bulletin board. Thank you to the many patrons who made this suggestion!

Potter Fest Returns to the Monona Public Library - December 29

Potterfest 3

This Wednesday

December 29, 2010
Wednesday 2:30 to 6pm

The Monona Public Library, 2010 Wisconsin Library of the Year, and the Teen Advisory Board present our third annual Harry Potter Fest Saga. Planned and hosted by teens this event is for those in grades 6 to 12. Registration can be done online, by phone: 608-222-6127, or in person 1000 Nichols Road, Monona Public Library.

Potterfest 3

December 29, 2010



Wednesday 2:30 to 6pm

Monona Public Library Names New Director

The Monona Public Library Board selected Interim Director Erick Plumb as the new leader to succeed the late Demita Gerber. (Well-deserved, in my opinion.)



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


Monona Public Library Names New Director

CONTACT:

Andrew Taylor, President, Monona Public Library Board

608-347-1048, ataylor@artsaxis.com



After a national search and intensive interview process, the Monona Public Library Board has selected Erick Plumb as its new Director. Plumb, who came to Monona in 2006, had been serving as the library's Assistant Director since 2009, and as Interim Director following the sudden illness and passing of former Director Demita Gerber in 2010. Plumb begins his new position immediately.



"Erick has shown true leadership and innovation during a challenging time for our Library," said Library Board President Andrew Taylor. "He has been a key partner in the work that led to our selection as the Wisconsin Library Association's Library of the Year in 2010. And he is a great choice for our next evolution in service and support to the community."



"I'm thrilled that I will continue to serve the people of Monona," Plumb said. "Over the past four years, I've come to care deeply about this community, and have been amazed at the extraordinary level of support the community gives to its library. We have a terrific staff that is always looking for innovative and improved ways to serve Monona."


Plumb is a graduate of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and received his Master of Library Science from Indiana University in Bloomington. He was honored with a Mayoral Award in 2009 for valuable contributions to the city of Monona, and a "Webby Award" from the Wisconsin Library Association in 2008 for his design and development of the Monona Public Library web site.

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures

Green Travel

At the November 30th Green Tuesday in Monona, local travel writers Lynne Diebel and Pat Dillon, authors of Green Travel Guide to Southern Wisconsin, will share small footprint fun - green lodgings, local fare, silent sports, low impact events, and more – and conservation volunteer Joel Knutson will share his insights on sustainable travel as adventure, and discuss his work to protect sea turtle habitat in San Jose del Cabo in Mexico. More info here.

Green Tuesdays: Creating awareness, sparking conversation, empowering change.
A free series of films, presentations, and conversation that helps us become more aware of the resources we rely on and the actions we can take to better our world, Monona's Green Tuesdays are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, from September through May. All are welcome.

Green Tuesdays, a project of The Natural Step Monona and the Monona Public Library, now reaches four additional communities: Mt. Horeb, Middleton, Cross Plains, and Oregon. To see the calendar for all Green Tuesday and Thursday dates, go to www.tnsmonona.org/green-tuesdays-green-thursdays.

Whole Foods serves treats, so please come early for delightful food and drink.

Green Tuesdays is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Cottage Grove Green Tuesdays, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and is supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures

See the films Flow and UW student short Holy Land, WI

When: Tue, November 9, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Where: Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Road, Monona, WI

Flow is Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century – the world water crisis.

“An astonishingly wide-ranging film. An informed and heartfelt examination of the tug of war between public health and private interests.” – New York Times

“Lively and engaging…Smartly Done” – Los Angeles Times

Plus, student short Holy Land, WI. Some of Wisconsin’s most sacred land – fifteen effigy mounds – is under a farmer Frank’s feet. What will happen to the land when Frank is not here to protect it?

If you miss it in Monona, you can see it in four other communities. Check out the full calendar here.

About Green Tuesdays

A free series of films, presentations, and conversations on sustainability, Green Tuesdays in Monona are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, from September through May. All are welcome. Whole Foods serves treats, so attendees are encouraged to come early for delightful food and drink.

Green Tuesdays, a project of The Natural Step Monona and the Monona Public Library, now reaches four additional communities: Mt. Horeb, Middleton, Cross Plains, and Oregon. To see the calendar for all Green Tuesday and Thursday dates, go to www.tnsmonona.org/green-tuesdays-green-thursdays.

Green Tuesdays is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Cottage Grove Green Tuesdays, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and is supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

"Toward Self-Sufficiency" at Green Tuesdays

FREE - MONONA PUBLIC LIBRARY - 6:30 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M.

Tuesday, October 12: The Jindrich Family's journey toward a more self-sufficient future

The Jindrich Family of Monona is becoming more self-reliant by using fewer resources. Learn about their passive solar methods and their new geothermal system. Hear how they came up with an elegant solution to the age old too-much-rain-in-the-spring-but-not-enough-in-the-fall issue. Follow the design process of their waterworks, a series of pocket ponds, rain gardens, swales and berms that retain water for plants, people, and other animals to use.

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures: Creating awareness, sparking conversation, empowering change.

A free series of films, presentations, and conversations on sustainability, Monona's Green Tuesdays start at 6:30 and run until 8:00, with engaging and fun conversations often pushing the conclusion a bit past that hour. Sessions are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, from September through May. They are open to the public: all are welcome.

Green Tuesdays, a project of The Natural Step Monona and the Monona Public Library, now reaches four additional communities: Mt. Horeb, Middleton, Cross Plains, and Oregon. To see the calendar for all Green Tuesday and Thursday dates, go to www.tnsmonona.org/green-tuesdays-green-thursdays.

Whole Foods serves treats, so please come early for delightful food and drink.

Green Tuesdays is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Cottage Grove Green Tuesdays, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and is supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

Monona “Global Work Party” Joins Thousands of Events across the Planet

10/10/10: World’s Largest Day of Practical Action to Fight Climate Change
On Sunday, October 10, people across the planet will pick up hammers, shovels, and caulking-guns and join the 10/10/10 Global Work Party, the world’s largest day of practical action to fight the climate crisis. In Monona, people will pick up pens and laptops.

Organizers from The Natural Step Monona and Project Home are hosting a letter-writing campaign, “Pressing Our Leaders for Action, Now,” at the Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Road, from 1:30 to 3:30. Because leaders at all levels have failed to take the necessary bold actions that our climate crisis demands, this Global Work Party will make it easy for people to tell those leaders what they think. Organizers expect citizens to create over 350 letters by helping with whatever obstacle is in their way – assistance putting their ideas into words, lists of facts about climate change, leaders’ addresses, a computer to type on, or someone to type for them. This Global Work Party will make letter-writing a fun, community activity.

The Natural Step Monona and Project Home are mobilizing, armed with their laptops. Please join them in holding our leaders accountable because citizens need to motivate their leaders to the urgent action that is essential. Drop by any time between 1:30 and 3:30 on Sunday, October 10 and write one letter or twenty.

The 10/10/10 Global Work Party is being coordinated by the international climate campaign 350.org and 10:10 Global.

The Natural Step Monona is a grassroots charity that fosters the creation of a more sustainable community and world through effective education, community action, and collaboration.

Project Home's mission is to improve the quality and affordability of housing for low-to-moderate income residents in Dane and Green counties. They provide services that improve comfort and safety, and reduce energy bills.

For more information on this particular 10/10/10 Global Work Party, please visit www.350.org/monona.

Monona Public Library on Kathleen Dunn

While driving Up North on Monday (September 13) I tuned into Kathleen Dunn's excellent show on Wisconsin Public Radio and caught a program about libraries. One of the guests was 'Eric'....hey, wait a minute, that's not Eric, that's Erick as in Erick Plumb, Interim Director of our very own best library in the entire cheese-eating state of Wisconsin. You can listen to the show here.

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures

The Yes Men Fix the World and More Jam, More Jobs

Tuesday, September 14, 2010
6:30pm -- 8:00pm
Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Road

Green Tuesdays Films & Lectures: Creating awareness, sparking conversation, empowering change.

The Yes Men Fix the World is a screwball documentary that follows a couple of gonzo political activists as they infiltrate the world of big business and pull off outrageous pranks that highlight the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet. Along the way the duo discover the culprits behind the cult of greed, and in a wildly uplifting ending, they find a way for everyone to save civilization from its own worst excesses. "Comedic vigilante justice!" - USA Today. "Great fun! It takes some nerve, not to mention diabolical intelligence... to pull off the elaborate pranks devised by the Yes Men." — New York Times.

More Jam, More Jobs, a student short from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, shows one woman's attempt to convince twelve sororities to buy local. When Chi Omega sorority sister Jessica Halpern finds out that buying high quality, locally produced products can help create jobs for homeless people in her town, she takes matters into her own hands. Follow Jessica and her tray of crackers as she tries to change sorority consumption patterns, and the local commodity food chain, one sister at a time - by buying Porchlight jam.

About Green Tuesdays

Green Tuesdays, a free series of films, presentations, and conversations on sustainability started by The Natural Step Monona and the Monona Public Library, now reaches four additional communities: Mt. Horeb, Middleton, Cross Plains, and Oregon. (Cottage Grove joins the circuit in January 2011.) Check this calendar for all the dates.

In Monona, Green Tuesdays start at 6:30 and run until 8:00, with engaging and fun conversations often pushing the conclusion a bit past that hour. Sessions are on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, from September through May. They are open to the public: all are welcome. Whole Foods serves treats, so attendees are encouraged to come early for delightful food and drink.

The series is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona, in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Cottage Grove Green Tuesdays, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and is supported by the Dane County Environmental Council.

Another Monona WLA Award-Winner

The Monona Public Library recently won the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) Library of the Year award. It turns out that wasn't the award they sent our way. The WLA announced this week that Bob Bocher won The Special Service Award.

Bob is Public Library Technology Consultant with the Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning at the Department of Public Instruction. "No one can argue that Bob has been one of the strongest proponents of enhancing library service through technology. Bob has been a strong and knowledgeable advocate for shared integrated library systems, Internet access, and BadgerNet connectivity."


Congratulations, Bob.


See info on all the winners.

Mystery Solution: Monona Public Library Named Wisconsin Library of the Year

Drum roll, please.

What now seems like an eternity ago, Monona Public Library Board President Andrew Taylor sent along the thrilling news that the Wisconsin Library Association has selected the Monona Public Library for the 2010 "Library of the Year" award. Andrew likes to talk about the importance of aspiring to great things and this is a great thing.

The award will be presented during the 2010 WLA Annual Conference, November 2-5, at the Kalahari Resort. Excerpts from Andrew's comments:

The award recognizes excellence, service, and innovation, which our extraordinary team has shown in great abundance over the past many years. A wonderful recognition, well deserved.

My warm congratulations to Erick and the super-human staff, not only for their part in building this reputation alongside Demita, but also for their uncanny ability to maintain such high standards of service in the face of such extraordinary challenge. Many thanks also to Ed Van Gemert, his team on the board, and the staff who helped prepare such a compelling nomination (the WLA representative couldn't say enough nice things about that application).

We already know amongst ourselves what a jewel we have in the Monona Public Library. It will be a great joy to share that knowledge with the rest of the state!

***

I was asked to write a letter supporting the nomination. Here is an excerpt:

This wonderful staff whipped our general collection into shape….in particular by updating the children’s collection and creating new special collections in sustainability and health & wellness.


Highly motivated staff members have also made huge improvements in young adult programming. Monona has long been known for its children’s programming, but YA circulation was nothing special and YA programming almost nonexistent. Young adult circulation has soared, YA programming has blossomed and – no kidding – teenagers are coming to the library for library programs….

Movies for adults are offered through a Foreign & Art Film Series …

The Book a Librarian program ….

…the library’s outstanding children’s programming including Preschool and Toddler Storytimes, the Summer Reading Program, the R.E.A.D. program, and special National Children's Book Week programming.

The Monona Public Library has also steadily improved its web presence with Web Pages for Kids: Books and Authors, free access for Monona residents to Tutor.com, and the Good Reads program to name a few.

And I have not even mentioned the successful fund-raising drive to endow the innovative (there’s that word again) Booked for Life program.

And while all these things have been happening, the library’s circulation has increased by solid double digits.

***

A few words for those of you who might be groaning that the 'mystery news' isn't a wonderful new store coming to share the wonderfulness of Monona. While I'd love to welcome some of the places mentioned on this blog and in Sunny's recent column (I'd add a Borders or Barnes & Noble to my wishlist), think about what this truly remarkable award says about our city, what we value, and what we are willing to spend our precious public and private treasure on. I recall former city administrator Kevin Brunner saying years ago that the first place he checks out in a city is the library because that will tell you a great deal about what that community values.

This award is a really big deal. There are something like 480 public libraries in the state and our library has been named the library of the year - not for a region of the state or a population size, but for the entire state of wisconsin, from Green Bay to Beetown, Mt. Pleasant to Pokegama, Monroe to Bayfield and everywhere in between.

Kudos Monona, kudos all around: to the late Demita Gerber, interim director Erick Plumb, the great staff, the volunteers, Mayor Robb Kahl and city council (pat-pat-pat), the Friends of the Library, the Madison Community Foundation, the Monona Public Library Foundation, the library board and the patrons; and to former director John DeBacher's long tenure built the base that created the possibility of this acheivement. (I'm beginning to feel like Sally Fields at the Oscars here).

A special kudos must be extended to past Board Presidents Dick Gregory, Harold Polzer, and especially Mary O'Connor and current President Andrew Taylor. Being Library Board President is a demanding job and the pay is even worse than city council (none!).

***

By the way, this award is still technically a secret so - shhhhhh - keep your voices down. Why then did I post the news? I couldn't take the secrecy anymore. It was also in danger of becoming the worst kept secret in town and I could not live the chance that Sunny would scoop me on my own mystery.

It has been interesting and fun reading people's hopes - aspirations - for our community. In my opinion, this news outdistances all the guesses (except for the tunnel under Lake Monona to the Great Dane, although I would have made it a comuuter train tunnel!). Library Board member Ben Redding referred to it as Monona Doug's Monona Rag moment......

Memorial Gathering for Demita Gerber

A memorial gathering for our dear friend and Monona public library director Demita Gerber will take place this Saturday, July 31, 2010, at 9 a.m. in the Atrium at OLBRICH BOTANICAL GARDENS, 3330 Atwood Ave., Madison.

All are invited to come and share memories of Demita. She is much missed, but her remarkable spirit lives on in the hearts of those whose lives she touched.

Previous: http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/07/obituary-for-demita-anne-gerber.html

Previous: http://mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010/06/monona-library-director-demita-gerber.html

Andrew Nath - Caught Doing Good

Monona public library employee Andrew Nath has been busted and dusted - doing good. He and some friends are going to be wandering around the back roads of Iowa (wait - aren't they all back roads in Iowa?) putting on free concerts for seniors.

According to the Sioux City Journal,

Andrew Nath will spend his time away from work crossing the state while making music. He's driving an old John Deere, pulling a flat rack full of musicians. They'll stop and play free concerts almost daily over the next week and a half....

The tour wraps up with a concert July 31 at the World Horseshoe Tournament in Cedar Rapids. Nath has named it the, 'Please Don't Disturb the Livestock Tour.'...

"We'll play primarily for seniors, with a few stops to visit friends and family along the way," said Nath, the son of Roger and Renee Nath of Everly, and Gina Nassif of Cedar Rapids. "There are a few engagements that will be open to the public, which promise to pay just enough to keep gas in the tractor. We're not charging seniors or our family, because the seniors have certainly paid their dues, and our families have had to tolerate us for years."

Obituary for Demita Anne Gerber

I have excerpted parts of the obituary for Monona's late library director Demita Gerber ran in this past Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal.

The complete obituary is here:
Obituary for Demita Anne Gerber


Madison

Demita Anne Gerber, director of the Monona Public Library, died June 12, 2010, in HospiceCare of Madison....

....She was born Demita Anne Ashley on Oct. 8, 1942, in Phoenix, Ariz. Demita....obtained a B.A. from City College of New York in 1966, along with a master's in library science from Columbia University in 1968. She began her lifelong career as a librarian in 1970.....Demita devoted her working life to the ideals of public librarianship, persistently striving to adapt library services to the changing demands of an increasingly high-tech information age, extend them to broader groups of people in the communities she served, while instilling a positive, enthusiastic spirit in her coworkers and patrons. In 1993, she became library director in the town of Greenburgh, N.Y., where she spearheaded several successful and innovative projects, such as a cybermobile for underserved neighborhoods, "Teenburgh" programs for young adults, and the construction of a new, award-winning library building....

Demita embraced her new job and the greater Madison area wholeheartedly, valuing the opportunity to escape the political intrigues and intense pressures of Greenburgh in favor of a more supportive, people-oriented community with greater proximity to her grandchildren. Her energetic efforts inspired her staff and helped the Monona Library improve circulation by 10%, the number of library cards by 8%, and program participation by 25% in 2009. She was also a dynamic fundraiser for the library, recently helping to secure over $153,000 in donations for its "Booked for Life" endowment fund drive. To honor Demita's contributions, the Monona Library plans to inaugurate a "meditation and mindfulness reading nook" in her memory and to name a part of its new garden space after her.

Demita loved her job both for its challenges and for the opportunity it gave her to contribute to people through providing library services. She was equally giving outside of work. She had a rich spiritual life as a practitioner of Siddha yoga, and she was a leader in the vibrant Siddha yoga community of Madison. She took great pleasure in being an active part of her children's and grandchildren's lives. She also enjoyed politics, the opera and symphony, travel, exploring new ideas and experiences, and visiting with friends, both locally and around the country.

Demita spent her final weeks surrounded by devoted family, friends, and members of the Siddha Yoga community of Madison.

She is survived by her son, Theodore Gerber of Madison and his wife, Molly Wesling; her son, Matthew Gerber of Longmont, Colo., and his wife, Heather; four grandchildren, Nicholas and Oliver of Madison, and Victor and Elizabeth of Longmont; brothers, Fred Ashley of Cherry Hill, N.J., and Russell Ashley of Riverdale, N.Y.; sister, Diane Dokos of San Juan Capistrano, Calif.; former husband, Dean Gerber of Santa Fe, N.M.; and many dear friends in New York, Arizona and Wisconsin.

A memorial meeting will be held on Saturday, July 31, 2010, at 9 a.m. in the Atrium at OLBRICH BOTANICAL GARDENS, 3330 Atwood Ave., Madison. All are invited to come and share memories of Demita. She is much missed, but her remarkable spirit lives on in the hearts of those whose lives she touched.