Ask Cathy Markwiese About Jeopardy! ... but not just yet

Milwaukee--Milwaukee Public Library's own Cathy Markwiese (Database Maintenance) will be appearing on Jeopardy! the week of July 25th. But don’t ask her about it just yet. Cathy is under contractual obligation not to discuss how she did until after her appearance. But be sure to tune in the week of July 25th to see for yourself.

Cathy took the online test for Jeopardy! in January of 2010. “I had just finished chemotherapy and was feeling kind of broken,” Cathy said. “I wanted to do something that would make me feel like myself again.”

After completing the online quiz, Cathy was invited to Chicago in August to compete with other finalists before being chosen to appear on the program. “I met some really amazing people,” Cathy said. “The whole experience was really kind of mind-blowing for me.”

So what’s it like onstage at Jeopardy!? The show only records on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  A week’s worth of shows are taped in a single day.  Each contestant station has an individual elevated platform that can be raised to make all the contestants appear at the same height. “At each filming break one of the crew would come running over and say ‘Can we help you down, Cathy?’ since my platform had to be raised quite high.”

The buzzers are super-sensitive and you’re “blocked out” if you try to answer the question too quickly. A member of the crew activates a frame of lights around the board to signal when contestants can try to answer.

Host Alex Trebek was very interested in Cathy and her story and made a point after the show of getting to talk to her about her experience. “He asked me all about the chemotherapy and what it was like,” she said. “He kind of made a bee-line for me after the program and left the other contestants to talk amongst themselves.”

So tune in and see how you stack up against Cathy and the other contestants. While we don’t know yet how she did, there’s no question she represented MPL with her usual class and character.
--Sandra Rusch Walton, MPL Marketing & Public Relations Officer

Milwaukee Public Library's Green Roof Wins Mayor's Design Award

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Public Library’s green roof, high atop Central Library in downtown Milwaukee, has won another award – a Mayor Tom Barrett Design Award. The green roof was recognized in an awards ceremony on May 25, 2011 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

The Mayor’s annual design awards recognize design excellence throughout the City of Milwaukee. A project is selected for its contribution to the character of its surroundings, adding value to its neighborhood, and contributing to the urban fabric. MPL’s green roof was entered in the Spaces and Places category.

Library Director Paula A. Kiely accepted the award on behalf of MPL and the team that worked on the green roof design, construction, and ongoing updates and maintenance. The architect for the project is HGA Architects, and the contractor is F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co.

The Mayor’s Design Award is the latest public recognition for Central’s green roof. Earlier, MPL received awards from the Public Policy Forum and The Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee. For more information on MPL’s green roof, go to http://www.mpl.org/file/green_index.htm.

Audrey Barbakoff, Milwaukee Public Library, Receives FTRF Conable Conference Scholarship

CHICAGO - The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is pleased to announce that Audrey Barbakoff, a reference librarian with the Milwaukee Public Library, is the fourth recipient of the Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship.  The Conable Scholarship will provide for Barbakoff’s expenses to attend the 2011 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans.

As part of the scholarship, Barbakoff will attend various FTRF and other intellectual freedom meetings and programs at the conference, consult with a mentor/board member and present a report about her experiences and thoughts.  She will be recognized at the FTRF Annual Member Reception from 5 - 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 23 in room 354 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Barbakoff holds a B.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington, which she received in 2010.  In her capacity at the Milwaukee Public Library, she provides reference and readers’ advisory services; coordinates programs and displays; and blogs.  She also coordinates the Teen Advisory Board and leads preschool story times.  Barbakoff is a member of the WLA's Intellectual Freedom Round Table and recently had an article about the ethics of filtering computers in public libraries published on the peer reviewed website In the Library with the Lead Pipe.  This will be her first ALA Conference.

“Audrey’s application stood out amongst a group of excellent applicants because of her eloquent and passionate advocacy for policies and practices that protect the intellectual freedom rights of all library users in today’s digital environment.  The committee also was impressed by her dedication to library services for young people, from preschool to teens,” said Conable Scholarship Committee Chair Candace Morgan.

The Conable Scholarship was created to advance two principles that Gordon Conable held dear: intellectual freedom and mentorship.  Gordon Conable was a California librarian and intellectual freedom champion who served several terms as president of the Freedom to Read Foundation.  His unexpected death in 2005 inspired his wife, Irene Conable and the FTRF Board to create the Conable Fund, which provides funding for the Conable Scholarship. 

To donate to the Conable Fund, please visit http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/othergroups/ftrf/relatedlinks/conablememoralfund.cfm or call (800) 545-2433 x4226.

 

Milwaukee Public Library Breaks Ground on New Neighborhood Library

Groundbreaking for the new Milwaukee Public Library at Villard Square took place on September 17 at the corner of N. 35th St. and Villard Avenue.  The Villard Square project is a mixed-use development that will include the new MPL branch on the first floor of the building, with 47 apartment homes on three stories above for families where grandparents are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren.  The grand opening of the new library is scheduled for Fall 2011.

The new library will replace an aging, energy-inefficient building located 1-1/2 blocks away at 3310 W. Villard Ave.  The new Villard Square Library will cover 12,871 square feet, and will include 50 desktop and laptop computers for library customers, community meeting and study rooms, children’s and teen areas, and self-checkout stations.  An on-site parking lot for 32 cars is part of the plan.  Local architectural firm Engberg Anderson is the interior architect.

MPL’s partners in this project include the City of Milwaukee, WHEDA, the Northwest Side Community Development Corp, and Gorman & Company, a development and construction company.

Photo shows Villard Square groundbreaking participants left to right:  Milwaukee Public Library Board of Trustees President Ald. Ashanti Hamilton, Library Director Paula Kiely, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, WHEDA Executive Director Antonio Riley, Northwest Side CDC Executive Director Howard Snyder, Board of Trustee member Ald. Nik Kovac, and Ald. Michael Murphy, chair of the Milwaukee Common Council’s Finance & Personnel Committee.

ALA recognizes Milwaukee Public Library's Computer Training Website

The American Library Association’s Learning Round Table contributor Sarah Houghton-Jan recently recognized the Milwaukee Public Library’s computer training web page and printable handouts as a top 5 source for information professionals to use as reference sources for library customers.  To read more about what makes MPL’s content a winner go to http://alalearning.org/2010/09/25/5-library-sources-for-quick-computer-training/.