University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Magazine | Page 22

From Friends President Michael Chaim https://www.library.wisc.edu/ friends/about/ “We share the Libraries’ goal of welcoming the broader community to the scholarship that takes place at UW–Madison.” 22 | LIBRARIES Fall 2015 As the University of Wisconsin–Madison Friends of the Library Board transitions to a new slate of officers for the coming year, one can’t help but be reminded of the roll call of distinguished UW–Madison Friends and associates who have served in past years. Past Friends presidents have included some of the University’s finest scholars, such as Frederick Cassidy and ellsworth snyder, as well as its greatest citizens, like Art Hove. My immediate predecessor, Maria Saffiotti Dale, is both a fine scholar and an exemplar of the idea of service that UW–Madison prizes. These individuals have grown and maintained the Friends of the UW–Madison Libraries as one of the longest-lasting library friends organizations in the nation—67 years and going strong. I came to the Friends board 11 years ago through a different route. As a bookseller for many years, I was recruited to fill the post that Trudy Barash of the former Canterbury Books, Caryl Askins of Paul’s Books on State Street, and others had held on the Friends board. I was pleased to be part of the Friends’ ongoing connection to the community. Intrigued with the idea of getting to know the UW’s wonderful library system, I signed on, and I’ve been absorbed in exploring the Libraries ever since. We move and work among a collection of treasures on the UW– Madison campus—the dazzling collections in the Mills Music Library, the maps and reliefs in the Geography Library, and the world-renowned archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society. In fact, the Friends highlight several of these collections each year in our “Treasures of the Libraries” event series. Bookselling was a rewar