On March 31, 2025, all Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) employees were placed on administrative leave, with access to their work systems blocked. The President replaced the agency’s leadership with the Deputy Secretary of Labor. Without leadership and staff, it’s expected that library funding will be halted.
This action puts crucial services at risk across the country—and especially here in Wisconsin. Federal law requires IMLS to provide support to public libraries, but that support is currently only guaranteed through September 2025.
Why IMLS Funding Matters to the Amery Area Public Library:
IMLS funds support BadgerLink, the state of Wisconsin's online library, currently available for free to all library users.
IMLS funds help support digital literacy efforts and access to free wifi and public computers to the Amery community, a real lifeline in rural communities where internet access is spotty.
IMLS funds help pay for staff to have required continuing education trainings. This allows us to spend more of our budget on materials and services.
IMLS funds support the ILL loan program, allowing patrons to access materials unavailable in the MORE catalog.
What can library users and supporters do to help?
Advocate for the services that matter to you! Please visit https://mywisconsinlibrary.org/ to learn more!
Adult Book Clubs
We have three book clubs to choose from:
- Books & Brews meets the first Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Amery Ale Works. This club reads a variety of fiction books, and even non-fiction on occasion.
- Mystery Book Club meets the second Tuesday of each month at 2:00 p.m. at the library.
- Non-fiction Book Club meets the last Thursday of each month at 2:00 p.m. at the library
Books & Brews
Next Meeting: Thursday, May 1st at 6 p.m. at the Amery Ale Works.
Book: Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate
“Oklahoma 1909: Eleven-year-old Olive Augusta Radley knows that her stepfather doesn’t have good intentions toward the two Choctaw girls boarded in their home as wards. When the older girl disappears, Ollie flees to the woods, taking six-year-old Nessa with her. Together they begin a perilous journey to the rugged Winding Stair Mountains, the notorious territory of outlaws, treasure hunters, and desperate men. Along the way, Ollie and Nessa form an unlikely band with others like themselves, struggling to stay one step ahead of those who seek to exploit them… or worse. Oklahoma 1990: Law Enforcement Ranger Valerie Boren O’dell arrives at Horsethief Trail National Park seeking a quiet place to balance a career and single parenthood. But no sooner has Valerie reported for duty than she’s faced with local controversy over the park’s opening, a teenage hiker gone missing from one of the trails, and the long-hidden burial site of three children deep in a cave. Val’s quest to uncover the truth wins an ally among the neighboring Choctaw Tribal Police, but soon collides with old secrets and the tragic and deadly history of the land itself. In this emotional and enveloping novel, Lisa Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law, and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val traverse the wild and beautiful terrain, each leaving behind one life in search of another”
Mystery Book Club
Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 13th at 2 p.m. at the library
Book: Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
“Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate. I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Have I killed someone? Yes. I have. Who was it? Let’s get started”–
MORE Catalog Record
Past Books
- 2025
- January – The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben
- February – Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
- March – The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
- April – City of the Lost by Kelly Armstrong
- 2024
- January – Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain
- February – Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
- March – The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
- April – The K Team by David Rosenfelt
- May – The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson
- June – Nothing Ventured by Jeffrey Archer
- July – Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
- August – Spider Woman’s Daughter by Anne Hillerman
- September – The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang
- October – Wicked Autumn by G. M. Malliet
- November – Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
- December – The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P. D. James and Thin Ice by Paige Shelton
- 2023
- February – The Maid by Nita Prose
- March – The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
- April – The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
- May – Nine Lives by Peter Swanson
- June – The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
- July – And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
- August – The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
- September – Still Life by Louise Penny
- October – The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
- November – Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner
- December – An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
Non-fiction Book Club
Do you enjoy reading non-fiction? Then this is the book club for you.
In most book clubs, the members all read and discuss the same book at a meeting. However, when it comes to non-fiction, it is often difficult to obtain multiple copies of the same book. So, this book club uses a thematic approach instead. Each month the members read a book of their own choice about a theme that the group agreed upon at the previous meeting. Then at the book club meeting, each member talks about their book and what they learned.
For April the theme is “Papal/Vatican”. Read any Non-fiction book and join us to share what you discovered!
- Next Meeting: Thursday, May 29th from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
- Theme: Nautical (read any non-fiction book you want)
- Meeting location: Makerspace Room on the lower level of the library
Questions? Contact the library at 715-268-9340.