Friends of the Goodman South Madison Library

Tom is a Bay Creek resident of 40 years who became involved with the Goodman Library in 2010 as part of its capital campaign to build the Library’s new south Madison home. That engagement led to membership on the Madison Public Library Foundation board during its successful capital campaigns for the new Central and Pinney libraries. Tom now serves on the Madison Public Library board – the city body that has jurisdiction over the day-to-day operations of all nine Madison Public Libraries. Tom’s interest in libraries stems from his mom, Marie, who was a life-long avid reader and great lover of the public libraries in the family hometown of Cleveland,
Ohio.

Linda is a Professor Emerita from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing and affiliate faculty in the School of Medicine and Public Health. She practiced as nurse practitioner with underserved populations. Her research examined how beliefs about health and illness influence self-care behaviors with a focus on diabetes and was conducted in the US, Uganda, and Vietnam. Linda has lived in the Baycreek area since 1978 and is active in volunteering for community issues. She appreciates what critical services and opportunities libraries provide, and is committed to having Madison libraries thrive and continue providing a variety of opportunities to Madison
residents.

Brad Gottschalk, membership coordinator, grew up in Platteville and moved to Madison in 1989. After working for a movie theater, two mortgage companies, Madison Newspapers, Inc., and as a stay at home dad, he went back to school and earned an MLS from UW-Madison in 2007. He is currently the archivist for the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. He began volunteering for the Goodman Library in 2016 as a shelver and joined the board of the Friends of the Goodman Library in 2017. A lifelong reader and library patron, Brad is also a writer whose stories have appeared in a number of literary magazines including Wisconsin’s own Rosebud.

Cindy McCallum‘s mom was a librarian who was very active in the League of Women Voters. When Cindy retired from the Department of Transportation in 2022, she wanted to spend her time giving back to the Madison community. She started volunteering on Monday mornings at the Goodman South Madison Library and volunteering as an election official for early voting and on election days.

Every day, the library staff extract a pick list: a list of books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines that patrons would like placed on hold. Cindy and other volunteers use this pick list to pull the items from the shelves so the staff can set them out for the patrons.

Tom DeChant and Cindy McCallum have been neighbors for 35 years. When Tom saw Cindy volunteering, he asked her if she would like to attend a Friends of Goodman South Madison Library board meeting. Cindy attended the board meeting and was so welcomed by everyone that she decided to join the board and accept the role of treasurer.

Janice Zmrazek began her involvement with the Library Friends groups more than 30 years ago through her work as a budget analyst at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction with responsibility for state library aid. She became the membership coordinator for the Central Library Friends group and is also currently the treasurer for that group.

Janice spent several years as the representative for library Friends groups to the Madison Public Library Foundation, and in that role, joined most of the branch Friends groups to get to know their issues, neighborhoods, and board members. When the Friends of the Goodman South Madison Library was revived in anticipation of its move to a new building, she offered to support the group as note taker/secretary, a position she holds to this day. Janice was also a founding member of the Ashman Library Friends group (1999), has supported other Madison Friends in a number of ways, and is currently also secretary and membership manager of the Polish Heritage Club in Madison

Janice has degrees from UW-River Falls and UW Milwaukee, and since retirement from the state spends time at her new vacation home up north, reading and gardening

Chris Wagner has worked or volunteered for libraries since 1985, including Lincoln Library in Springfield, IL and the Goodman South Madison Library. As a part of her position on the Friends of Goodman South Madison Library Board, she is responsible for sorting books and other materials donated to the Friends group. She also volunteers at Neighborhood House, UW Madison Odyssey Project, and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Friday Community Meal. She believes that public scholar and champion of human rights, Vartan Gregorian, described the role of the public library best: “In our democratic society, the library stands for hope, for learning, for progress, for literacy, for self-improvement and for civic engagement. The library is a symbol of opportunity, citizenship, equality, freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and hence, is a symbol for democracy itself.”