Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame

Seven individuals were inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame by the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center at the the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Appleton on October 22. The seven inductees were Charles A. Bunge (1936- ), Matthew Simpson Dudgeon (1871-1949), Sarah Janice Kee (1908 -1998), Henry Eduard Legler (1861-1917), Klas August Linderfelt (1847-1900), Charles R. McCarthy (1873-1921), and Margaret Ellen Monroe (1914-2004). Bunge was the first living individual to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He is shown in the photo above responding to his induction. All seven of the individuals made contributions to library service at the national level as well as the state level in Wisconsin. Bunge was a library educator and a national authority on library reference service. He was twice nominated to run as ALA president. Legler and Linderfelt were both elected as president of the American Library Association. Dudgeon played a leadership role in the ALA Library War Service during World War I. Kee had a varied library career including serving as Executive Director of the Public Library Association prior to coming to Wisconsin as Secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission. McCarthy was a leader in the progressive movement and helped create the model for legislative reference libraries around the country and at the Library of Congress. Monroe was a national leader in library adult services and director of the Wisconsin library school. The first ten individuals were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. The Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame and the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center are programs of the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation. To my knowledge this is the only ongoing library hall of fame in the world.