COW Updates
If you are interested in either speaking at or attending the summit, check out the call for proposals and brochure for more information. Please share this announcement with any colleagues or friends that may be interested in speaking or attending as well.
For any questions, contact Bob Butterfield at butterfieldr@uwstout.edu or use this form.
I wanted to send you a quick note to get you up to date on the COW activities since our face-to-face meeting last March.
The summer has been busy and several things have been set in motion to move us along rapidly. Accomplishments include:
Evaluating the data collected at the face-to-face meeting at the “E”ffordability Summit 2018.
Meeting of the group’s officers in June and August.
COW officers met with the Wisconsin Library Association’s Library Development and Legislative Committee to introduce COW and discuss potential legislative priorities for the future.
Applying for a Ideas to Action grant from Wisconsin Library Services (WiLS). The application was successful (Thank you to Vince Mussehl for writing the grant!) and will provide funding for several COW projects.
Planning is underway for the next face-to-face meeting at the Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference in La Crosse on October 23-26, 2018. An informational presentation on COW and a booth to encourage member recruitment are planned along with the meeting.
Planning is also underway for “E”ffordability Summit 2019. A COW meeting will be planned along with a lineup of programming on affordability and open resources.
A steering committee is being formed to assist in driving the community’s initiatives. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact the COW chair.
Outreach is being conducted with organizations inside and outside of Wisconsin. This information will help inform the structure, operation and initiatives for the Community for Open Wisconsin.
As you can see, a lot has been accomplished in getting COW ready to be an organization of action. A lot of this initial work has been “behind the scenes” to get us ready organizationally. More information will be forthcoming on specific initiatives but there is work for you now.
We need you to gather questions, compile lists of things you would like to accomplish over the next couple of years, be willing to assist on committees and workgroups, and most of all, spread the word! We want to keep growing as our voice intensifies with the growth of our membership. We will also be looking for a few willing individuals that are interested in being part of the COW Steering committee that will be launching this fall.
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions and I hope the rest of your summer is glorious!
Thank you!
Bob Butterfield
Chair, Community for Open Wisconsin