WI Library Hall of Fame Inducts 7

Zona Gale

Pulitzer Prize winning author Zona Gale (1874-1938) was one of seven individuals inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on October 25 at the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in La Crosse, WI. Gale was a champion of libraries and served as Chair of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission. Also inducted was former American Library Association Adult Education Specialist John Miller Chancellor (1896-1980). Chancellor resigned from ALA to become a Wisconsin farmer, but ended up playing a leadership role on the Wisconsin Free Library Commission at a critical juncture in its history. Chancellor was made an Honorary Member of ALA (the Association's highest honor) in 1962. Others inducted included: former Milwaukee Public Library City Librarian Richard E. Krug (1905-1983); Wisconsin Free Library Commission instructor and later Oregon State Librarian Cornelia Marvin Pierce (1873-1957); former Brown County Library (Green Bay) Director Gerald A. Somers (1921-2003); former Secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission Clarence Brown Lester (1877-1951); and former Wisconsin Library School Director Rachel Katherine Schenk (1899-1973). This was the fifth class of Library Hall of Fame inductees which now total thirty-six. The Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame is a project of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center which is a program of the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation. It's been my pleasure to Chair the Steering Committee of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center that selects the Library Hall of Fame inductees each year.

Photo: Wisconsin Historical Society Digital Collection.