By Renee Reckner, Circulation Librarian and History Room Archivist, Somerset Public Library Our library houses an extensive collection of carefully curated historical materials, including newspaper clippings, genealogy records, and photographs. However, despite our dedicated efforts, accessibility to these records is a challenge—researching historical records takes time, requires specific knowledge, and depends on library hours. With… READ MORE
Category: Ideas to Action
The WiLS 2025 Ideas to Action Fund Application Period Is Open!
The WiLS 2025 Ideas to Action Fund application period closed on June 2nd. Please check back in April 2026 for your next opportunity to submit a proposal! The WiLS Ideas to Action Fund application period is open! Through this fund, WiLS provides grants of up to $5,000 so libraries and cultural organizations can bring their… READ MORE
Presenting the 2024 Ideas to Action Fund Recipients!
We are very excited to share the awardees for this year’s Ideas to Action Fund! The WiLS Board and staff had very hard decisions to make, sifting through intriguing and important ideas proposed by a record-breaking 53 public, academic, and K12 libraries as well as cultural and tribal organizations. We are honored to see the… READ MORE
Ideas to Action 2023: Leaves and Sheaves: Papermaking for Art and the Environment
This is the mid-point report, written by Community Engagement Librarian Ellen Ward-Packard, for Lake Geneva Public Library’s 2023 Ideas to Action project, Leaves and Sheaves: Papermaking for Art and the Environment. This project is connecting books, history, recycling, and plant foraging with a hand papermaking project that encourages sustainable thinking and innovative adaptations of traditional… READ MORE
Ideas to Action 2023 – Libraries for Everyone: Supervised Visitations @ Your Library
by Jamie Mercer, W.J. Niederkorn Library (Port Washington) In 2022 through the beginning of 2023, we were pleased to see an increase of people coming back to the library. With the increase, we observed that patrons were using the library as something more than a repository of books, we were really transforming into a public… READ MORE