Medford library gets East Asian grant funds

The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is pleased to announce award recipients for the most recent “East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program” competition. Nearly $15,000 in funding will be distributed to 24 libraries, representing the state’s 15 library systems.

The Frances L Simek Memorial Library in Medford received $500 to add some material to the local collection. Materials included manga, anime, cookbooks on Asian cuisine and travel guides.

Medford was the only library in the Wisconsin Valley Library Service to receive the grant funding.

This is the fifth year of the competition, which offers grants of up to $1,000 to public libraries in Wisconsin, with the goal of enriching patrons’ understanding of East Asia through the funding of new programming and materials.

“This is the first time that we have been able to award at least one grant to every single library system in the state,” said Laurie Dennis, assistant director for CEAS. “It is important to our center, as part of the Wisconsin Idea, to be able to offer materials and programming about East Asia across Wisconsin.”

Dennis described one proposal from a small rural library in central Wisconsin seeking to supplement the lone book on Asia available on the shelves.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer that library funding to significantly expand its collection,” Dennis said.

Awardees for the 2023-24 round used their funds to purchase over 500 items and hold numerous book clubs and events, centered around East Asia.

Along with the purchase of new books, manga collections, DVDs and related materials, funding in 202425 will go toward: a Mahjong program in New Berlin, Hong Kong arts and crafts in Brillion, Chinese qigong sessions in Land O’Lakes, and more. It will also connect libraries to special events, such as the celebration of sister-city relationships between Waupaca and Mitoyo City, and between Racine and Oiso, Japan.

In addition, a school library in Verona has received funding to purchase audio books for its Chinese immersion program.

CEAS once again partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Library Association, and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center to plan and promote the program. Applicants were encouraged to use a list comprised of hundreds of materials curated by UW–Madison faculty with titles about China, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan.

The East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program is partially funded by a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) is the focal point connecting East Asia to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. One of UW– Madison’s eight federally funded National Resource Centers, CEAS is dedicated to all aspects of research, education, and outreach related to China, Japan, and Korea.