Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

March 23, 2011, Page 12

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Library Foundation makes library

Improvement purchases possible

The Neillsville Public Library recently received a new microfilm reader/printer through a donation from the Neillsville Area Public Library Foundation, Inc.  The ST ViewScan makes searching and reading microfilm much easier.  Displaying the new equipment are Don Erpenbach (l) Neillsville Area Public Library Foundation member, and Jo Ann Gustavson, library director.   (Contributed photo)

The Neillsville Area Public Library Foundation, Inc. [Foundation] was formed in 2007 with a bequest of $275,000 to the Neillsville Public Library.  This gift was from Hazel and Myrtle Hansen.

The mission of the Foundation is to help the Neillsville Public Library with purchases that are above and beyond the library’s budget.  In the past, the Foundation has purchased a disc repair system, a copier/printer/scanner for inventory and has made a 25-percent match in order for the library to receive four new computers through the GATES Foundation’s Hardware Grant.

In November of 2010, the foundation again helped the library with a purchase that would not have otherwise been possible. The Foundation purchased a new digital microfilm machine.  The ST ViewScan, from Clear Image, makes searching and reading microfilm much easier. The image is displayed on a 28-inch monitor.  A person can print the entre page of the Clark County Press, or highlight a certain article and print only that article. The information can even be saved to a CD or a thumb drive. That way the person can take the information with them and add to it at a later time.

The cost of the ST ViewScan and computer was $8,900.  In the last two years, the Foundation has funded purchases and projects totaling almost $20,000.

To learn more about the Foundation, contact one of the Board of Directors.  They are: president, Gary Weirauch; treasurer, Martha Opelt; secretary, Connie Opelt; Becky Barrette, Don Erpenbach or Elsbeth Johnson.