Series: 1. Automotive Services, 1926-2008

Delivery Vehicles, Photographs, 1926-2001, undated

General, 1971-2008, undated

Reorganization with MLOS, 1995

Reports

Annual, 1995-2004

Monthly, 1986-2002

Series: 2. Bookmobile, 1948-2006
Biography/History

The first Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) Bookmobile began as a Wisconsin Library Commission demonstration program grant to try out a mobile library service in order to reach more residents. The initial vehicle was borrowed from the Commission and the demonstration lasted from May to August, 1951. A few years later MPL’s first official Bookmobile went into service on May 14, 1956. A bus was specifically designed and purchased for the service. It contained books and a driver that took staff to preplanned stops. It had a collection of 4,000 items and rotated routes every two weeks. It circulated on average about 1,000 books a day which was equivalent to a branch library. This was the beginning of many decades of MPL Bookmobile services that expanded to multiple vehicles. In 1957, MPL received another Wisconsin Free Library demonstration program grant through the Library Service Act of $30,000 to expand Bookmobile service to rural areas. MPL had long offered services to many of these Milwaukee County (or further) locations as part of a 1915 agreement, but the travel required for patrons was a barrier. The rural demonstration service began on March 1, 1958 and only lasted a few months.

Due to its popularity, Bookmobile numbers 2 and 3 began service on March 20, 1959 and May 8, 1959, respectively. Bookmobile 3 was named the “Johnny Appleseed” and was completely dedicated to Milwaukee County municipalities who contracted with MPL for the service. Then in 1971, MPL added a 4th Bookmobile. Eventually the routes shrunk and the Johnny Appleseed Milwaukee County Bookmobile ended in 1984. Due to budget cuts and decreased funding by 1994, only one City Bookmobile was running. In 2003 that Bookmobile got computer access via a satellite dish and on-board computers funded by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Although efforts were made to continue, the Bookmobile program official ended December 29, 2005.

About / History (includes photographs), 1953-2005, undated

Budget / Issues, 1971-2001, undated

Circulation Statistics, 1958-2002, undated

Circulation Statistics Ledgers

Bookmobile #1, 1956-1966

Bookmobile #2, 1959-1969

Bookmobile #3, 1959-1971

Bookmobile #4, 1967-1978

Bookmobile #6, 1970-1978

Bookmobile #7, 1972-1978

Clippings, 1968-1974

Clippings / Scrapbook Pages, 1956-1981

Collections / Programs (includes photographs), 1970-2001, undated

Collections / Programs (volume), 1972-1984

Community Development Block Grant

Activities Report, 2002

Agreements, 2002-2003

Budgets, 2000-2003, undated

Correspondence, 2002-2006

Schedules / Stops, 2002-2003, undated

Construction

Company Brochures, 1975, undated

Correspondence, 1954-1991

Designs / Plans

1954-1991, undated

1954, undated

1953-1971, undated

Photographs, 1952-1977, undated

RFP / Bids (includes photographs), 1949-1990

Specifications, 1948-1990

Suggestions, 1965-1969, undated

Cybermobile, 2003, undated

Dedication, Photographs, 1959

Demonstration / City Bookmobile Service Project

Photographs, 1952

Reports, 1951, undated

Demonstration / Rural Bookmobile Service Project

Circulation, 1957

Correspondence, 1957-1959

Services Plan, 1957-1961, undated

Disposal, 1965-1991

Drivers / Garage / Parking, 1972-2006, undated

Ephemera

General, 1986-1992, undated

Schedules, 1956-2003, undated

Festivals / Parades (includes photographs), 1988

Maps, 1950-1989, undated

Maps, Photographs, undated

Non-Milwaukee (includes photographs), 1951-1997, undated

Other Libraries (includes photographs), 1948-2001, undated

Other Libraries, 1965

Photographs

Album (staff personal), 1959-1971, undated

City Hall / Staff (includes Mayor Frank Zeidler), 1952-1991, undated

Exterior, 1956-1998, undated

Exterior, undated

Interior, 1956-1991, undated

Photocopies, 1952-2003, undated

Procedures, 1981-2003

Proposals, 1984-2006, undated

Repairs / Maintenance, 1955-2004, undated

Repairs / Maintenance, undated

Reports

Miscellaneous, 1955-1989, undated

Monthly, 1979-1991

Routes / Schedules / Stops, 1956-2006, undated

Safety, 1971-2001

Staff Meetings, 1974-1991

Staff, Photographs, 1970-1975, undated

Staff, Photographs, undated

Studies / Surveys, 1984-1996, undated

Suburban Service

Discontinued, 1980-1985

History, 1960-2003, undated

Operational Costs, 1959-1984, undated

Tiers / Basement 4T, Photographs, 1959, undated

Bookmobile and Truck Department - Reports - Monthly, 1968-1977

Series: 3. Community Librarian, 1964-2011
Biography/History: The Community Librarian Project planning began in the early 1960s. The initial two year federally funded grant was approved in 1965 to offer librarians, library staff and library services. The project was primarily focused on economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, the “Inner Core”, and their residents to bring awareness of and encourage the use of library services. By 1967 the project was expanded to include two Community Librarians, one for the north side and one for the south side of the City, along with six community/library aides. Additionally, two federally funded Vista volunteers were approved by the State and were added to assist with outreach. The project continued to expand, utilizing some of the neighborhood branch library staff as well as more Vista volunteers and University of Wisconsin library school interns. The project was renewed for another 3 years with the City preparing to eventually take over the funding when the federal funding ended in 1970. A library-staffed community van drove to neighborhoods, parks and churches to offer services such as a circulating book collection and library programs. In 1985 the Community Librarian North and South were merged together and known as Community Librarian Service (CLS) under the Extension Services division until the early 1990s.

Books By Mail / Under 60 Homebound Service, 1988-2005, undated

Browsing Centers, 1983-1990, undated

Budget, 1964-1977, undated

Circulation Statistics Ledgers, 1967-1977

Collections / Programs, 1965-1991, undated

Community Information & Resource Pilot Program / Inner Core Project, 1968, undated

Correspondence, Miscellaneous, 1965-1991, undated

Equipment, 1966-1991, undated

Native American Library Project

Agreements, 1978-1981

General, 1977-1983

General, undated

Reports, Monthly, 1980-1982

Photographs, undated

Plan for Services / Project History, 1964-1989, undated

Procedures, 1979-1990, undated

Publications, 1964-1983, undated

Reports

Annual, 1967

Monthly, 1966-1986

Monthly, 1987-1991

Narrative, 1972-1973

Routes / Schedules / Stops, 1967-1990, undated

Schedules / Stops - Ephemera, 1974-2011, undated

Staff Interns, 1978-1991, undated

Staff / Staff Meetings, 1966-1991, undated

Statistics, 1983-1990

Transition to Model Cities Program, 1971-1976

Vehicles

Bicycle, Photographs, 1968

Programs / Visits, Photographs, 1966-1983, undated

Van (includes photographs), 1967-1990

Van, Photographs, 1967-2001, undated

Wonder Van, Photographs, 1970-1978, undated

Volunteers

Peace Corps, 1966

Vista

Activities / Descriptions, 1968-1970, undated

Assignments, 1968-1969, undated

Correspondence, 1968-1970, undated

Telegram Re: MLK Jr's assassination, 1968

Series: 4. Library Direct Services & Other Outreach, 1899-2010

Daycare Services

Books to Go, Renewing Service to Preschoolers / Books-2-Go (B2G), 1999-2010, undated

Reading Readiness,

Begin with the Best, 1990, undated

General, 1988-1990, undated

Education & Outreach Service (EOS) - "Library Now", 2017

Extension Services

About / History, 1983-1995, undated

Central Library Workspace, Photographs (basement / 4T - room T401), 1967

Library Service to the Blind

East Branch, Photographs, 1937

General, 1899-1961, undated

Norris Branch, Photographs, 1953

Library Service to the Deaf, 1982

Library Services to Fire Departments, 1958, undated

Library Services to Hospitals

Correspondence, 1922-1980

Descriptions, 1922, undated

Ephemera, 1918-1922, undated

Photographs, 1920-1923, undated

Library Service to Jails

About / History, 1957-1991, undated

Collection / Selection, 1972-1985, undated

Correspondence

1973-1990

1991-1992

1988-1989

Grant

Applications, 1984-1985

Committee, 1984-1985, undated

Correspondence, 1984-1985

Workshop, 1984-1985, undated

Layouts / Flow Chart, 1989, undated

Operating Costs / Discontinuation, 1985-1992, undated

Self Help Coalition, 1975, undated

Library Services to Police

About / History, 1972-1974, undated

Bibliography

Correspondence, 1972-1975

Published Lists, 1972-1975

Collection / Selection Lists, 1964-1972, undated

Correspondence, 1970-1975

Grant

Applications, 1971-1973

Awards / Reports, 1972-1975, undated

Budget, 1971-1974, undated

Metropolitan Milwaukee Criminal Justice Council, 1972-1974

Statistics, 1971-1972

Library Services to Schools, 1955-1977, undated

Library Services to Unions, Photographs, undated

Outreach Events / Tabling, Photographs, 1967-1998, undated

Outreach Programs / Grants, Other, 1970, undated

Series: 5. Mobile Library and Outreach Services (MLOS), 1991-2008

Automation Grant, 1998-2005

Correspondence, 1997

Daycare Delivery Schedule, 1991-2008

Ephemera, Miscellaneous, 1997-2001

Floor Plans (basement north end / 4T), 1994-2006, undated

Goals, 2003

Nursing Home Delivery Schedule, 1997-2002

Procedures, 1997-2001

Reorganization / Transition to YCOS, 1995-2003, undated

Reports

Monthly, 1991-1999

Monthly, 2000-2006

Routes / Schedules

Ephemera, 1991-2009

Miscellaneous, 1992-2003

Staffing / Staff meetings, 1991-2006

Statistics, 1995-2003, undated

Series: 6. Model Cities Program, 1967-1974
Biography/History: The Model Cities Program was a national program created by the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966. It was a part of President Lyndon Johnson’s push to combat poverty. Model Cities was a 5-year program with goals to reduce poverty and urban blight through more comprehensive urban planning/rehabilitation, increase local resident involvement, and increase access to social services and programs. The City of Milwaukee created its own Model Cities Department to administer and organize this project. The Library’s scope was to focus on offering additional library activities in the Model Cities designated area to increase access to library information, services and materials for those residents. Two additional mobile book vans were added to the one operating Community Librarian van. The van staff offered programs and books similar to the Community Librarian Project. Vans made stops at locations such as day cares, group homes, senior care facilities and schools. The larger task included creating six new fixed library center locations within the Model Cities designated area. Centers provided books, community rooms for meetings and programs. Transportation was offered to residents in the Model Cities area to the library centers, branches and Central Library. The program ran from 1970-1974. Library centers opened in late 1971, after delays due to approval of sites. Mobile vans were operational in late 1971. In 1974 the legislation that created the Model Cities program ended and the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program began replacing some of that funding.

About / History, 1967-1973

About / History, undated

Budget, 1970-1973, undated

Citizen Participation Board, 1972-1973, undated

Clippings, 1972-1974, undated

Correspondence

1967-1972

1973-1974, undated

1972-1974, undated

Evaluations, 1973, undated

Library Centers

1919 N 3rd St (includes photographs), 1971-1973, undated

2039 W Wells St (includes photographs), 1971-1972

29th & Clybourn / 2827 W Clybourn, 1971-1973, undated

29th & Clybourn / 2827 W Clybourn, Photographs, 1972

29th & North Ave / 2831 W North Ave, 1971-1973, undated

29th & North Ave / 2831 W North Ave, Photographs, 1972

7th & North Ave (642 W North Ave), 1971-1973, undated

7th & North Ave, Photographs, 1972-1973

Apollo Village / 1109 N 18th (18th & Juneau), 1971-1972, undated

Apollo Village / 1109 N 18th, Photographs, 1972-1973

Building Services / Maintenance (includes photographs), 1971-1973

Dedication (includes photographs), 1972, undated

Leases, 1970-1973

Leases, 1971-1972

Salvation Army / 1645 N 25th, 1971-1973, undated

Salvation Army / 1645 N 25th, Photographs, 1972

Maps, 1962-1971, undated

Petitions to Continue Funding, 1973, undated

Programs / Ephemera, 1972-1973, undated

Reports

Annual, 1972-1974

Narrative, 1971-1973

Output, 1971-1973

Output Forecast, 1970-1971

Output, 94-B, 1971-1973, undated

Space Comparison, 1972

Staff

General, 1971-1973, undated

Meetings, 1972-1973, undated

Project Operator Manual, 1970-1973, undated

Training / Procedures, 1972-1973, undated

Transition / Discontinuation, 1973-1974, undated

Vehicles

Bus, Photographs, 1972, undated

Bus, Usage, 1971-1974, undated

Van / Knowmobile (Includes photos), 1971-1973, undated

Van #10 / Knowmobile Reports, 1971-1973

Van #11 / Knowmobile Reports, 1971-1973, undated

Van Schedules, 1971

Series: 7. Services to Seniors, 1967-1990

Advisory Committee, 1968-1969, undated

Assessments / Reports, 1967-1985, undated

Clippings / Articles, 1967-1968, undated

Correspondence, 1966-1986

Ephemera - MCFLS, 1978-1987, undated

Ephemera - MPL, 1975-1978, undated

Library a la Carte / Homebound Seniors Project, 2005, undated

Library Service to the Aging Project

General, 1966-1969, undated

Reports - Monthly, 1967-1968

Over 60 Service Project

Reports, Monthly

1968-1970

1971-1980

1981-1982

Programs / Projects, Other, 1974-1990, undated

Vehicles

MCFLS / Over 60 Bookmobile Design, 1981, undated

MPL / Over 60 Bookmobile Plans, 1966-1967, undated

Vehicles, Photographs

Exterior, 1968-1969

Interior, 1968-1969, undated

MCFLS, 1975, undated

Visits, Photographs, 1968-1985, undated

Series: 8. Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL), 1956-2021
Biography/History

The Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL) has officially operated within the Milwaukee Public Library since 1961. The program’s purpose is to provide braille and recorded books with playback equipment to Wisconsin residents who have difficulty reading standard print. It is part of the larger Talking Book Program of the Library of Congress. MPL’s service to the blind community began even earlier with a designated Braille Reading Room set up as early as 1895. In 1931, when the US Congress initially created the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind, there were four regional libraries in the NLS. These regional centers sent Library of Congress Talking Books and players to residents. The state of Wisconsin was served by the NLS regional center operating out of the Chicago Public Library. In November of 1934, E.E. Seebach, head of MPL’s Department for the Blind, requested to serve as a substation for the Chicago regional center and shortly after, the first Talking Books arrived at MPL. By 1936 MPL had circulated 31 Talking Books and 27 braille volumes, by 1944 those numbers had grown to 400 and 80, respectively.

By the early 1960s, the program had expanded and in 1961 the Wisconsin State Legislature contracted with MPL to officially serve as the Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (LBPH). In 1964, Library Director Richard Krug applied for a federal grant to establish a dedicated center at MPL’s Central Library to serve the blind and visually handicapped in Wisconsin. This center would include a braille reading room, reference area, space for transcription, copying, information, volunteers, agency connections, and a service center for other requested formats. In the fall of 2009, the LBPH changed its name to become the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library. WTBBL is one of the few libraries in the NLS network that can duplicate digital books in house. The service is still headquartered in Central Library. It is funded by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Division for Libraries and Technology and administered by MPL. WTBBL continues to be a part of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled network.

About / History

National, 1966-2007, undated

Wisconsin, 1962-2021, undated

Advisory Committee, 1963-1990, undated

Ambassador Handbook, 2007

Anniversaries, 2021

Audit Conference / Meeting, 1971-1980, undated

Automated Circulation System

Agreements / Specifications, 1981-2002, undated

Correspondence, 1978-2006

Plan Description, 1980

Reports, 1978-1981

Automated System / Services Proposal, 1993

Association for the Blind, 1968, undated

Budget

Agreements / Contracts, 1962-2009, undated

Correspondence, 1967-2008

Estimates / Summaries

1990-2007

1963-1989

1978-1985

Expenditure Reports, 1962-1989

Grant Applications, 1963-2003

Justification Reports, 1967-1988

Budget - Ledgers, 1978-1983, undated

Requests, 1979-1984, undated

Resolutions, 1968-2001

Circulation Statistics Ledgers

Braille, 1963-1972

Cassettes, 1969-1972

Large Print Books, 1967-1972

Magnetic Tapes, 1971-1972

Talking Books, 1962-1965

Talking Books, 1966-1972

Tapes, 1967-1970

Collection / Selection, undated

Collection / Selection, 1956-1998, undated

Conferences / Workshops

Milwaukee, WI, 1969

Other, 1960-2004

Coordinating Council for the Visually Handicapped, 1961-1965

Correspondence

1960-1979

1980-2024

1970-1974

Data / Statistics, 1961-2009, undated

Donations / Estate Gifts (includes photographs), 1970-2006

Embossed Writing Systems / Braille History, 1981-1986, undated

Equipment & Supplies, 1980-2004, undated

Equipment & Supplies, 1963-1979

Exhibits / Programs, 1983-1988

Exhibits / Programs, Photographs, 1963-1975

Expansion, 1964-1969, undated

Illinois Braille Contract, 1990-1998

Long Range Planning, 1971-2011

Name Change, 2009-2010

Network Consultants, 1981-2004

Newspaper Clippings, 1960-1982

Procedures

Equipment Guides, 1960-2008, undated

General, 1967-2008, undated

Manuals, 1967-1997, undated

Manuals, 1988-1989

Publications

Brochures

National, 1967-1976, undated

Wisconsin, 1979, undated

"Bulletin Board", 1984-2022

"Bulletin Board", 2024

New Borrowers, 1983, undated

"Newsletter", 1962-1965

"Newsletter", 1966-1972

Promotional Items, undated

Promotional Packets, undated

"Quarterly Bulletin", 1983-1984

"Spillage", 1981-1982

Reports

Annual, 1961-2011

Monthly

1961-1966

1967-1973

1974-1980

1981-1994

1997-2009

Service Agreements for Sound Reproducers, 1977

Spaces

Central Library, 1964-2004, undated

Central Library, 1964, undated

Central Library, Photographs, 1969-1974

Proposed, 1970-1986

Special Needs Center

Correspondence, 1985-1989

Kurzweil Reading Machine, 1985-1989, undated

Proposals / Supplies, 1985-1990, undated

Special Services Network Meetings, 1988

Special Users Committee Meetings, 1988-1990

Special Users Network Meetings, 1988-1989

Staff, 1990-2004, undated

Staff, 1961-1989

Staff Meetings, 1974-2009

Staff & Patrons, Photographs, 1966-2006, undated

Standards Project, 1961-1983, undated

Studies / Surveys, 1965-1994

Summer Reading Program, 1989-1998

Summer Reading Program (Braille), 1969-1976

Utah Braille Contract, 1999-2008

Volunteers, 1961-1967, undated

WATS Line, 1967-1986, undated