Long Ago in a Galaxy Far Away, or, Suburban Madison Public Libraries as Late Bloomers

Prepared by the Library Study Committee of the

League of Women Voters of Middleton (1965)

I first discovered a copy of this 11-page report when reorganizing the library's administrative file drawers, probably around the time of Middleton's 2003-2004 remodeling and expansion project.   I casually paged through it but otherwise didn't give it much thought.  It seemed like such ancient history.

But then while looking for documents to supplement the "Chapter 43" series,  I stumbled across a copy at the UW-Madison SLIS library. This time I decided to give it a more careful reading.

From the title page.  A late great sociologist, Edward L. Thorndike, has suggested that we can measure the ambitions, the cultural and intellectual interests, and the social goals of any community by the quality of its library.  He noted that a well-supported public library is a universal characteristic of an intelligent, progressive community.

I made a halfhearted effort to locate the actual quote, without success.  Anyone else up for the challenge?

The reports recommendations.  It is readily apparent that the Middleton library falls short of Wisconsin statutory requirements and ALA minimum standards in many respects.  The low circulation figures, the poor quality and number of books, and the low budget are all indications that the library does not presently reflect the "ambitions, interests, and goals of the community".  It is equally apparent that community resources -- both human and financial -- are entirely adequate to the task of developing a library that will meet the needs of all of its citizens.

Reformatting the information found on page 2 of the report.

I exclude Stoughton from the suburban Madison category, using this observation from Wikipedia as my reason.  For much of the history of the area, Stoughton has been the second-largest and economically important city in Dane County after Madison.


But more importantly.....