Wauwatosa Historical Society’s Carol Bannen Receives 2024 Governor’s Archives Award for Archival Innovation

Research Librarian Honored for Work on the Lefeber Glass Plate Negative Collection

For Immediate Release

WAUWATOSA, WI (July 3, 2024) — The Wauwatosa Historical Society is proud to announce that Carol Bannen, the organization’s dedicated research librarian, has been honored with the 2024 Governor’s Archives Award for Archival Innovation from the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The award recognizes Bannen’s leadership in preserving and sharing the Lefeber Glass Plate Negative Collection, an extraordinary archive of more than 2,000 glass plate negatives documenting Wauwatosa’s history, other areas of Wisconsin and the country, and the Lefeber family’s activities between 1885 and 1935. The collection is considered one of the Wauwatosa Historical Society’s most valued holdings.

The Governor’s Archives Award is presented jointly by the Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board and the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Board of Curators to recognize outstanding historical work that connects people to the past. The judging committee praised Bannen’s dedication to digitizing the entire collection and making it publicly accessible, as well as her effective leadership in advocating for the collection, organizing volunteers, and securing grant funding. Her strategic approach and commitment to the collection’s long-term sustainability were also commended.

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About the Wauwatosa Historical Society

CONTACT: Amanda Saso, Executive Director, 414-774-8672 director@wauwatosahistoricalsociety.org

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