Skip to main content

From the Ground Up -- Spring 2022

Library Nostalgia Equals Life Long Support

by Gary Poulson

Image

President, South Central Library System Board of Trustees & SCLS Foundation Trustee

My library adventure started early for me. Although the City I grew up in had no branch libraries, only a main branch located downtown approximately 3 miles from my home. However the City had bookmobiles and I was one lucky kid because it stopped less than 3 blocks from my house. I have fond memories of walking to the bookmobile with my mom (avid reader) and browsing the shelves for treasures  that would catapult me into new worlds of wonder. My youthful tastes tended towards fantasy, sci-fi, monsters and the Hardy boys. 

Although my tastes have "matured"  the appreciation for libraries remains strong. Later in life as a City Alder, my first committee request was to be appointed to the Madison Library Board. This experience helped me develop a strong appreciation for the fundamentals of operating a library. Any community that supports a library is on the pathway towards a strong and vibrant place to live.

After my Alder days, I was fortunate to be appointed to be a Trustee to the South Central Library System. I have learned more about what it takes to have a thriving library community with many supportive partners providing new worlds to the young and not so young alike. When I take my grandson to his branch library and see what an impact it has on him, I feel like I have come full circle in my library journey.

 

My Book Challenge to You

by Theresa Walske, President

Image

SCLS Foundation Board

What are you reading? Anything good? My friend recently told me she had a “book hangover.” She stayed up too late finishing a book and had a headache from a lack of sleep. I was so envious. I love books that you can’t put down. I love books that make you think about the characters long after the book is closed. I also love books that shift my perception and I look at the world a little different.

What a wonderful gift to order a library book online and have it show up at my local library. What I have learned as a volunteer of the South Central Library System Foundation Board is the process of ordering a book - that seems so easy to me –takes thoughtful coordinated effort behind the scenes.

Libraries are full of adventures, experiences and knowledge. Libraries are welcoming safe spaces of a community. They are open to all who would like to enter and share its contents. But to run a library system takes knowledgeable and dedicated people.

My challenge for you this month is to check out a book from your library. I hope it is one that makes you stay up all night and look at the world a little differently. I hope the book is so good you need extra coffee to run your errands in the morning. I hope you think about those characters and share the book title with another person on your errand route. Know it took a cascade of wonderful people behind the scenes to move that book through the South Central Library to provide you that experience.

Please join me in making a financial donation to the South Central Library System Foundation to support the library system for years to come. You may do this online or through the mail.

 

Foundation Fund Performance

As of March 31, 2022, the fund balance was $6,034,681.99, of which $302,852.08 was held on behalf of the Foundation. 

The gross return since inception on Dec. 1, 2012, is 7.34% and the one-year return was 1.35%.

For more information about investing with the Foundation, please contact Martha Van Pelt, SCLS Director, at (608) 246-7975 or mvanpelt [at] scls.info.

 

Foundation Contributors

These people have donated to the SCLS Foundation since March 1, 2022. The category in which each is listed represents their total Foundation contribution to date.

  • Legacy -- $10,000 +
     
  • Benefactor – $9,999 - $5,000
     
  • Steward – $4,999 - $1,000
    Bob Blitzke & Jane Grogan
    Theresa Walske
  • Advocate – $999 - $500
     
  • Patron – $499 - $250
     
  • Friend – $249 - $100
    Laren Maerz
  • Supporter – $99 - $50
    Susan Barthel
  • Sponsor – $49 - $1
    Cindy Leggett