Here are great ideas and good news from around the Winnefox Library System:

⇒ Brandon Public Library set up a YouTube channel to share time-lapse videos of their 3D printer in action.

⇒ Caestecker Public Library in Green Lake hosted a 2½ hour animation workshop for ages 11 and up, "showing how you can make your own animated movies using objects that are in your home."

⇒ Neenah Public Library is the latest to add baking pans to their collection.  They join Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose and Wautoma Public Library in circulating them (find them all in the catalog), and offer 5 heart-shaped pans just in time for Valentine's Day baking.

⇒ Oshkosh Public Library's board approved the Strategic Plan and Action Plan for 2016 - 2018. OPL director Jeff wrote, "The road to get here kicked off with our Staff Development Day back on February 13. The process of conversing with members of the community about their hopes and wishes for a good life in Oshkosh was shepherded by Lisa Voss and Brenda Haines of Blue Door Consulting.  Working together as a staff, we came up with an inspiring new vision statement for where we hope the library to be in ten years --  'A Library In Every Life'." "By early October, Brenda had translated the thoughts and themes into a draft with a solid vision, four major goals, and a number of major strategies with attached tactics to achieve them. Since October, the management team has been specifying and prioritizing work projects necessary to pursue the various tactics." "It is my intention to place the vision and the plan at the very core of our organization. If we mobilize our energy and our resources to reach this vision and accomplish the goals in this plan, we can make the library a central place for learning, creating and enjoying life for new generations of Oshkosh residents." Starting in 2016, there will be regular communication to staff about the plan, its goals and projects, so that everyone in the organization has the opportunity to stay informed, better understand and participate as the plan is carried out.

⇒ The Oakfield Public Library's outdoor sign was updated with a new logo, signboard, and a coat of paint; it was paid for in part by family and friends in memory of Gudrun Kenyon, a long-time library board member.

⇒ The Friends of the Montello Public Library are on track to exceed last year's silent auction sales of $1500. "The support of our community for the Montello Public Library is overwhelming."

⇒ Thanks to a donation from the family of Cindy Barden, a native of Fond du Lac and prolific author of educational books for children, the Cindy Casetta Barden Teachers’ Resource Center has opened inside the Children’s Room of the Fond du Lac Public Library.  It includes "a growing collection of materials for teachers, homeschoolers and parents and includes book club kits, musical instrument kits, classroom kits, big books for storytelling and much more." The center is open to all, and materials can be checked out by anyone with a valid library account.

Photo credit: Oxford Public Library/s Facebook photo album