Over the past year or so, we’ve kept you updated on the work to renovate Milwaukee Public Library’s South Side Tippecanoe branch, which reopened in December after work that began the previous January.
The new library is bright, airy and welcoming, and according to MPL Foundation’s Valerie Lorenz, library users are responding.
"Neighbors and information seekers of all ages and interests are frequenting the new Tippecanoe Branch, and the first few months in operation indicate that the community loves its new library," Lorenz told me in an email.
Here are some details from Lorenz:
- Library card registration is up by 42%, and daily average circulation is up 43%. Library card registration was up 51% in February over the same month in 2014 (the library was in a small temporary space during renovation in February 2015).
- Meeting spaces are booked 68% of open hours – a large part of the time is used for an active schedule of drop-in tutoring.
- Teens enjoy having their own space after school, and the children’s area attracts kids, parents and caregivers with interactive materials and comfortable furnishings for family visits to the library – attendance at preschool story time is up 211%.
- Programs with a green and sustainable living emphasis complement Tippecanoe’s new landscaping and partnership with the Garden District Neighborhood Association.
According to branch manager Chris Gawronski, a History Buffs Book Club launched in February, as did the library’s Bring Your Own Device, which offers help for patrons who need some guidance with their tablets, laptops, e-readers and other devices.
Children’s librarian Jennifer Hron hosted a "Frozen"-themed Valentine’s Day event that drew more than 100 folks, and she also put together a Teen Top Chef competition. Tippecanoe’s weekly playgroup with stories for preschoolers averaged 40 kids and parents as compared to 25 in February 2014.
Adult programming included a four-week Poi movement class and a Green Home Series talk on solar home energy.
Lorenz adds that community members who support the Tippecanoe branch in March will have an opportunity to be featured on the commemorative donor recognition wall and receive an exclusive garden party invitation to celebrate the new library’s upcoming inaugural green season.
Details at mpl.org/tippe.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
