Building Bridges: The Creation of a New Library System

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The public library has long had a reputation as a vital thread in the fabric of our nation’s communities. County and regional library systems work to support and improve those libraries through cost-sharing, resource development, and collaboration efforts, thus helping public libraries continue to be innovative centers for building strong, informed communities and engaged citizens. The Waukesha County Federated Library System (WCFLS), one of 17 library systems in Wisconsin, was founded in 1981 as a single-county system to provide services to the 16 public libraries in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. In 2015, in partnership with neighboring Jefferson County, WCFLS began a system restructuring project to create a new multi-county library system out of a single-county system. This project was the first one of its kind in the state of Wisconsin, setting a precedent for future library system reinvention across the state. Officially established on January 1, 2016, the new Bridges Library is comprised of all 24 public library in Waukesha and Jefferson counties and provides its individual member libraries, as well as residents of both counties, positive benefits in the form of greater fiscal security, increased access to information and services, and progressive, collaborative relationships.