Ashwaubenon Library in Green Bay, WI

Ashwaubenon Library in Green Bay, Wisconsin is part of the Brown Library System that has been serving its community since 1889. In 2006 2.4 million items has been checked out and there had been 1.3 million visits to the establishment.

The Brown Library System was officially created in 1968 as the first countywide system in Wisconsin. The Brown County Library was named Wisconsin Library of the Year from 1980 to 1993. It was also recognized for its efficient, effective and diverse community service in the 1994 Library Journal and Gale Research Inc. by being named the National Library of the Year.

The System is currently made out of a Central Library, eight branches and a bookmobile. It serves more than 80 percent of the household in the county. Most residents can get to any one of the branches within 20 minutes driving time.

The library is run by a board that has a president, vice president, secretary and financial secretary. There are also five trustees. The board meets the third Thursday of every month and also has an Open Forum where members of the community can speak before the board.

The mission of the Ashwaubenon Library in Green Bay is "to provide all residents of Brown Country access to information and ideas from throughout the world in support of lifelong education, cultural enrichment, responsible citizenship, leisure activities and economic development." It strives to provide superior customer service and community partnerships.

The library has a Local History and Genealogy department. It has grown since its 1974 beginning with a modest collection of 300 volumes to over 10,000 volumes. These volumes include maps, atlases, periodicals, and books. There are 4000 reels of county histories, newspapers, indices and related material on microfilm.