MADISON — The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Wisconsin—Madison is pleased to announce the winners of the recent “East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program” competition. Grants have been awarded to public libraries throughout Wisconsin, enriching their collections with new titles that will enable patrons to deepen their understanding of East Asia (which includes China, Japan, and Korea). Over $14,000 in funding will be distributed to 19 libraries, representing 10 of the state’s 14 library systems.
This is the third year of the competition, which generated a wide variety of programming when it was launched in 2020.
“This program started out as a way to make use of our federal grant in the midst of a pandemic,” said Laurie Dennis, assistant director for CEAS. “When everything else shut down, libraries found ways to keep serving their communities and so we were able to continue to provide resources and spread knowledge about East Asia through the East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program. Now the program has become an integral part of our center’s mission and we look forward each fall to reading the proposals from Wisconsin librarians.”
New for the 2022 cycle is a pilot program with a school library – Midvale Elementary in Madison – and also a statewide project spearheaded by the Winding Rivers Library system in West Salem to add more e-books and audio books on East Asia to the increasingly popular Wisconsin Digital Library.
Winning proposals came from the following libraries:
- Argyle Public Library, Argyle
- Butler Public Library, Butler
- Cadott Community Library, Cadott
- Clinton Public Library, Clinton
- Community Library, Salem
- D. Locke Public Library, McFarland
- Graham Public Library, Union Grove
- Kaukauna Public Library, Kaukauna
- Kenosha Public Library, Kenosha
- Lake Geneva Public Library, Lake Geneva
- McIntosh Memorial Library, Viroqua
- Menomonee Falls Public Library, Menomonee Falls
- Midvale Elementary School Library, Madison
- Milton Public Library, Milton
- Pepin Public Library, Pepin
- Rusk County Community Library, Ladysmith
- Shawano County Library, Shawano
- Stoughton Public Library, Stoughton
- Winding Rivers Library System (statewide project), West Salem
Sun Prairie Public Library’s “Book and Origami Bag” kits from their 2020 grant.
CEAS once again partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Library Association, and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center to plan and promote the program. Applicants were encouraged to use a list comprised of hundreds of materials curated by UW–Madison faculty with titles about China, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea and Japan.
The East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program is partially funded by a Title VI grant from the US Department of Education. The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) is the focal point connecting East Asia to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. One of the UW–Madison’s eight federally funded National Resource Centers, CEAS is dedicated to all aspects of research, education and outreach related to China, Japan, and Korea.