Fox Cities Chamber: League Of Women Voters Honors Appleton Public Library With Making Democracy Work Award

Appleton WI

27 May, 2022

10:54 AM

Description

Press release from the Fox Cities Chamber: May 26, 2022 The League of Women Voters of Appleton-Fox Cities presented its 2022 Making Democracy Work Award to the Appleton Public Library at the League's annual meeting held May 19 at Pullman's at Trolley Square. APL Director Colleen Rortvedt accepted the award an behalf of the staff. The League's Making Democracy Work award was established to recognize individuals or groups who make a significant contribution to strengthening our democracy and helping our community members be informed."The staff of the Appleton Public Library staff has consistently been an active and trusted partner with the League throughout the years," says League Co-President Marti Hemwall. "For our League, Appleton Public Library has long been a go-to resource for study meetings, candidate forums, and other voter service activities such as registering voters and answering questions and concerns. "Elected officials on all sides of the political spectrum have long trusted the neutrality of the Appleton Public Library for their own public listening sessions and town hall meetings." APL especially was recognized with the award for its response to serving the needs of the community during the COVID lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. "Appleton Public Library mobilized during the pandemic to effect change which benefited our entire community -- just as they have done for over 120 years," Hemwall says.Many services shifted to virtual and safely on site. Librarians set up access to free WiFi in the parking lot for community members who needed to use the Internet. APL served as a PPE gathering space for the City's health care services. Librarians developed a way to order books online and safely pick them up in the parking lot. Children's librarians offered story hours and other classes by Zoom. Community Partnership librarians facilitated virtual community discussions on diversity, equity and inclusion. Award details and League information are available online at lwvappletonfoxcities.org and on Facebook and Twitter. —END— ABOUT THE LEAGUE — The League of Women Voters of Appleton-Fox Cities, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League supports diversity, equity and inclusion in principle and in practice. Membership is open to men and women of all ages. With more than 750 affiliates across the county, the League is one of the nation's most trusted organizations. Find the League online at lwvappletonfoxcities.org and on Facebook and Twitter. This press release was produced by the Fox Cities Chamber. The views expressed here are the author's own.