Thank you to all who voted in our recent election! We are delighted to welcome these two new members to the WiLS Board in July.
Michelle Byholm, Librarian, Chequamegon School District
Michelle has been a librarian in the northern part of Wisconsin for over 20 years. During that time, she has worked with at least 7 area districts, each of them relying on the accessibility of low-priced online resources that cover a large range of grade levels, which she accesses via her membership in WiLS Cooperative Purchasing program. Michelle is also a member of the Wisconsin Schools Digital Library Consortium (WSDLC) Board and active within her CESA. Her knowledge of a variety of schools and resources makes her a positive asset to WiLS. As a Board member, Michelle wants to continue and provide a voice for the small schools in the northland.
Ashley McHose, Library Manager, Lakeshore Technical College
Ashley has been with Lakeshore Technical College since 2020 and has been a tremendous asset to both the library and the technical college community. She has been involved in numerous WiLS initiatives and committees, including being the technical college representative on the Cooperative Purchasing Advisory Committee (CooPAC), a 2022-23 Ideas of Action grant recipient, and a WISPALS library consortium Executive Committee member. Her passion for libraries, open access to information, inclusion and belonging efforts, and mentoring and coaching make her a great fit for the WiLS Board.
At their June meeting, the Board approved updated bylaws for WiLS. The changes include the addition of up to two appointed seats to be determined by the Board to allow expertise and perspectives to be added to the body as needed. Additionally, what was previously a two-seat allotment for special libraries and government agencies has been changed to one seat for special libraries and government agencies and one seat for cultural organizations. Cultural organizations are a key, and growing, component of the WiLS community, and it’s important their voices are represented in WiLS’ governance.