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Guide to the Winding Rivers Library System Records, 1938-2006
La Crosse Series 014
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Abstract
- The Winding Rivers Library System, headquartered in La Crosse, Wis., began with a Library and Construction Act (LSCA) grant in 1965 to the La Crosse Public Library to develop an area library system among public libraries. It was known as La Crosse Area Library Development initially and in 1972 the name was changed to La Crosse Area Library System. Another name change in 1978 resulted in Winding Rivers Library System (WRLS). Today WRLS serves multiple libraries in a seven county region of Wisconsin: Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau and Vernon Counties. Records include Board materials, such as minutes (1971-1990), director’s files and the like; historical materials which include a time line of WRLS development and newspaper clippings; financial records include audits (1971-1993), budgets and financial statements; Library and Technology Act (LSTA) grant files; visual materials which include photographs and 35 mm slides of various staff, board members and services; programs which include Mail-A-Book, Mail-A-Film, Bookmobile and others; publications which include the system newsletter “Whirlpools” (1979-2005); reports which include annual reports to the state of Wisconsin (1973-1993) and to the WRLS board of trustees (1985-2001); and files on system members. Lastly are materials of the defunct Winding Rivers Intertype Library Council (1978-1996) and the West Central District Library Association (1938-1996).
- Collection Title
- Winding Rivers Library System Records
- Date of Materials
- 1938-2006
- Creator
- Winding Rivers Library System, Wisconsin.
- Call Number
- La Crosse Series 014
- Amount
- 8.0 cubic feet
- Physical Description
- 17 archives boxes, 1 record center carton
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- La Crosse Public Library Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Winding Rivers Library System Records, La Crosse Series 014, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI
Historical Note
The Winding Rivers Library System, headquartered in La Crosse, Wis., began with a Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) grant in November 1965 to the La Crosse Public Library to develop an area library system among public libraries. The $300,000 helped to defray costs of a new La Crosse Public Library building. It was known as La Crosse Area Library Development initially and in 1972 the name was changed to the La Crosse Area Library System. The director of the La Crosse Public Library served as director for the system as well.
The concept was that the area library would serve other libraries in the system rather than individuals. The La Crosse Public Library would contract with the system to provide centralized purchasing and cataloging as well as reference service and in-service training. Initially six counties participated: Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau and Vernon.
Later, system services included interlibrary loan, the bookmobile and mail-a-book and mail-a-film. Another name change to Winding Rivers Library System (WRLS) occurred in 1978.
Today WRLS serves multitple libraries in a seven county region of Wisconsin: Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau and Vernon Counties. WRLS Web is a consortium of WRLS libraries that have joined the automated library catalog through LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) grants. Van delivery between libraries and the headquarters helps to deliver library materials quickly.
Scope and Contents
Records include Board materials, such as minutes (1971-1990), director’s files and the like; historical materials which include a time line of WRLS development and newspaper clippings; financial records include audits (1971-1993), budgets and financial statements; Library and Technology Act (LSTA) grant files; visual materials which include photographs and 35 mm slides of various staff, board members and services; programs which include Mail-A-Book, Mail-A-Film, Bookmobile and others; publications which include the system newsletter “Whirlpools” (1979-2005); reports which include annual reports to the state of Wisconsin (1973-1993) and to the WRLS board of trustees (1985-2001); and files on system members.
Lastly are materials of the defunct Winding Rivers Intertype Library Council (1978-1996) and the West Central District Library Association (1938-1996).
There are additional annual reports filed in the Annual Report file collection under La Crosse County-Winding Rivers Library System.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
La Crosse Public Library Archives 1992-2005
800 Main St.La Crosse, Wisconsin, 54601
(608) 789-7136
archives@lacrosselibrary.org
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for patron use.
Acquisitions Information
(Accession no. 1992.016) Transferred from Winding Rivers Library System 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002
Processing Information
Processed by Anita Taylor Doering, Marlie Bendiksen, and Katie Adams, 1992; 2002; June 2005
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- La Crosse Area Library Development (Wis.).
- La Crosse Area Library System (Wis.).
- Winding Rivers Library System, Wisconsin.
Subject(s)
- Regional library systems--Wisconsin
Collection Inventory
|
Board Materials |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Bylaws, 1978-1990 |
1 | 1 | ||
|
Board packets, 1990-1993 |
2 | 1-3 | ||
|
Contracts, 1973-1992 |
2 | 5 | ||
|
Director's files, 1976-1990 |
2 | 6-10 | ||
|
List of members, 1972-1993 |
1 | 2 | ||
|
Minutes, 1971-1990 |
1 | 3-7 | ||
|
Planning Committee, 1985-1988 |
2 | 4 | ||
|
Statistics, 1979-1988 |
3 | 1 | ||
|
Historic Materials and Origins |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
La Crosse Area Library Development (LALD) LSCA Title I grant request, 1967 |
3 | 2 | ||
|
La Crosse Area Library System (LALS) |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
History |
3 | 3 | ||
|
Provisional plan, 1972 |
3 | 4 | ||
|
Plan, 1972 July |
3 | 5 | ||
|
Final plan, 1972 November |
3 | 6 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Newspaper clippings |
3 | 7 | ||
|
System maps |
3 | 8 | ||
|
System formation |
3 | 9 | ||
|
Financial Materials |
||||
| Box | Folder | Box | Folder | |
|
Audits, 1971-1993 |
4 | 1-4 | 3 | 10-12 |
|
Budget, 1968-1992 |
5 | 1-4 | 4 | 5-12 |
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Equipment |
5 | 5 | ||
|
Job descriptions |
5 | 6 | ||
|
Statements, 1966-1980 |
5 | 9 | ||
|
LSCA/LSTA Grants |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Index, 1976-1991 |
5 | 10 | ||
| Box | Folder | Box | Folder | |
|
Funded grants, 1976-1988 |
6 | 1-6 | 5 | 11-16 |
|
Project Grants |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Area resource sharing, 1985-1986 |
6 | 7 | ||
|
Audio books, 1987-1988 |
6 | 8 | ||
|
Bookmobile Mail-a-book, 1976-1979 |
6 | 9, 11 | ||
|
Bookmobile demo project, 1978-1979 |
6 | 10 | ||
|
Cooperative system workshop media kits, 1978-1979 |
6 | 12 | ||
|
Enrichment, 1978-1979 |
6 | 13 | ||
|
Home delivery, 1978-1979 |
6 | 14 | ||
|
Public relations, 1978-1980 |
6 | 15, 18 | ||
|
System-wide delivery, 1978-1980 |
6 | 16, 19 | ||
|
Library services outlets project, 1979-1980 |
6 | 17 | ||
|
School Mail-a-Book, 1984 |
6 | 20 | ||
|
Small library improvement, 1982-1984 |
6 | 21 | ||
|
Special needs, 1987-1988 |
6 | 22 | ||
|
Videos by mail, 1986-1987 |
6 | 23 | ||
| Box | Box | Folder | ||
|
Multi-type demo grants, 1986-1992 |
7 | 8 | 1-2 | |
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Public Library Standards grants, 1988-1991 |
8 | 3-5 | ||
|
Retrospective Conversion grants, 1986-1991 |
8 | 6-10 | ||
|
LSCA grants (not funded) |
9 | 1 | ||
|
Visual Materials |
||||
|
Photographs |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Board |
9 | 2 | ||
|
Staff |
9 | 3 | ||
|
Services |
9 | 4 | ||
|
WRLS area public libraries, 1982-1997 |
9 | 5-7 | ||
| Box | ||||
|
Slides |
10 | |||
|
Programs |
||||
|
Bookmobile |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Accident |
11 | 1 | ||
|
Artsmobile |
11 | 2 | ||
|
Blueprints and design |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
1967 Ford |
11 | 3 | ||
|
1976 International |
11 | 4 | ||
|
1988 Barth |
11 | 5 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Circulation totals |
11 | 6 | ||
|
Electrical outlet program, 1993 |
11 | 7 | ||
|
Evaluation and study, 1981-1989 |
11 | 8-11 | ||
|
Goal setting yearly schedule, 1989 |
11 | 12 | ||
|
Memorabilia |
12 | 1 | ||
|
Bookmobile News newsletter |
12 | 2 | ||
|
Newspaper articles |
12 | 3 | ||
|
Parades |
12 | 4 | ||
|
Photographs and slides |
12 | 5-6 | ||
|
Promotions |
12 | 7 | ||
|
Promotions report, 1988 |
12 | 8 | ||
|
Quilt project |
12 | 9 | ||
|
Schedules, 1968-1997 |
12 | 10 | ||
|
Staff |
12 | 11 | ||
|
"Stops" |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Assessment, 1991 |
12 | 12 | ||
|
Community |
12 | 13 | ||
|
Schools |
12 | 14 | ||
|
Formulas, 1989 |
12 | 15 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Summer reading |
13 | 1 | ||
|
Survey, 1991 |
13 | 2 | ||
|
Wisconsin Bookmobile Service Directory |
13 | 3 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Calendars, 1991-2005 |
12 | 4-6 | ||
|
Continuing education workshops, 1966-2005 |
13 | 7-9 | ||
|
Extension collection selection guidelines, 1989 |
13 | 10 | ||
|
Films by mail, 1989 |
13 | 11 | ||
|
Forms |
13 | 12 | ||
|
Interlibrary Loan |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Cost study, 1984 |
14 | 1 | ||
|
Procedures manual, circa 1985-1991 |
14 | 2 | ||
|
Procedures, undated |
14 | 3 | ||
|
Mail-a-Book |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Administrative files, 1976-1980 |
14 | 4 | ||
|
Catalogs, 1974-1987 |
14 | 5 | ||
|
Procedures and forms |
14 | 6 | ||
|
Statistics, 1985-1988 |
14 | 7 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Nursing home service |
14 | 8 | ||
|
Publications |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Fliers, circa 1968-2005 |
14 | 9 | ||
|
System directories, 1979-2005 |
15 | 1-4 | ||
|
Policy and procedures manual, 1988-1989 |
15 | 5 | ||
| Box | ||||
|
Whirlpools, 1979-2006 |
16 | |||
|
Reports |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Annual reports to the state, 1973-1993 |
17 | 1-21 | ||
|
Annual reports to the trustees, 1985-2001 |
17 | 22-28 | ||
|
Cost study, 1984 May |
18 | 10 | ||
|
Long range system plans, 1976-1995 |
18 | 1-5 | ||
|
Public library systems for Wisconsin, 1967 |
18 | 6 | ||
|
Report by Governmental Study Committee, 1972 |
18 | 7 | ||
|
Strategic transition plan, 1997-2000 |
18 | 8 | ||
|
System evaluation, 1983-1991 |
18 | 9 | ||
|
Winding Rivers Multitype Library System Development Plan, 1986 |
18 | 11 | ||
|
System Members |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Buffalo County, 1976-1988 |
18 | 12 | ||
|
Jackson County, 1969-1989 |
18 | 13 | ||
|
Juneau County, 1966-1988 |
19 | 1 | ||
|
La Crosse County, 1952-1987 |
19 | 2 | ||
|
Monroe County, 1969-2002 |
19 | 3 | ||
|
Trempealeau County, 1965-2002 |
19 | 4 | ||
|
Vernon County, 1962-1989 |
19 | 5 | ||
|
Winding Rivers Intertype Library Council |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Administrative files, 1978-1996 |
19 | 6 | ||
|
Minutes, 1978-1996 |
19 | 7-8 | ||
|
West Central District Library Association |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Constitution |
20 | 1 | ||
|
Annual meeting, 1982-1989 |
20 | 2-9 | ||
|
Annual conference, 1990-1996 |
20 | 10-16 | ||
|
Meeting minutes, 1938-1973 |
20 | 17-18 | ||