WI Public Library Standards Steering Committee Work Begins

Members of the Wisconsin Public Library Standards Steering Committee met November 24, 2025, in Baraboo at the Carnegie-Schadde Memorial Public Library. The meeting was the committee’s first opportunity to gather and discuss their upcoming work. 

The Steering Committee is part of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Bureau of Libraries project to review and revise the Wisconsin Public Library Standards to ensure they provide useful benchmarks for public library evaluation by the Bureau of Libraries and can be utilized by public libraries for administrative decision making when planning, evaluating, and improving library services to all state residents.  

During the first meeting, the Steering Committee discussed the need for the revision, shared differing perspectives on what role standards can and should play in library planning, and established a timeline for their work. Committee members elected a chairperson and identified the need for four workgroups to inform the development of their recommendations:

• Management, Governance, and Decision-Making
• Infrastructure
• Collections and Movables
• Services

The goal of the Steering Committee is to provide recommendations to the Bureau of Libraries by early summer 2026, which the Bureau will utilize to draft new standards as authorized by Wisconsin Statute § 43.05(6). 

State Librarian Ben Miller appointed the Steering Committee members from a selection of more than 60 volunteer applicants from across Wisconsin. The members chosen represent a variety of community sizes and types, as well as varying amounts of experience in the library community.  

Members of the committee are:  

Kristie Hauer, Nicolet Federated Library System, Steering Committee Chairperson 
Nancy Bell, Ripon Public Library 
Rebecca Buchmann, Door County Library 
Nick Demske, Racine Public Library & SRLAAW representative 
Brendan Dooley, U.S.S. Liberty Public Library in Grafton 
Darryl Eschete, Oshkosh Public Library 
Jamie Healy-Plotkin, UW-Madison iSchool & COLAND representative 
Kristina Kelley-Johnson, Somerset Public Library 
Emily Kornak, Lake Geneva Public Library 
Kayla Mathson, Independence Public Library 
Brooke Newberry, La Crosse Public Library 
Joseph Scribbins, Brewer Public Library 
John Thompson, IFLS Library System 

Information about the Public Library Standards project, including meeting agendas, minutes, and other communication, will be shared on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s website throughout the process. Visit dpi.wi.gov/pl-standards-7th-ed for more information, or contact Teresa Schmidt, Public Library Administration Consultant, at teresa.schmidt@dpi.wi.gov.