The state of Wisconsin is dotted with more than 15,000 lakes and crisscrossed by thousands of miles of rivers and streams. It borders the mighty Mississippi and two of the Great Lakes. Residents of the Badger State are no strangers to freshwater.
All this water holds more than trout and bluegill. It holds information; a body of knowledge about bodies of water and all they contain. The Wisconsin Water Library, founded in 1964, collects, organizes and disseminates this knowledge. And leading this vital work is the Wisconsin Water Library’s senior special librarian and education coordinator, iSchool alumna Anne Moser MA’87.
Since 2008, Moser has transformed the library’s collections and educated Wisconsinites of all ages about freshwater science. Driven by a lifelong love for the natural world—she says outdoors is her “happy place”—Moser has won multiple awards for her remarkable work in education and outreach. “I’ve been really lucky to work not only as a librarian, but in an area that I am so passionate about,” she said.
Landing in libraries
As a student in the iSchool in the 1980s—then called the School of Library and Information Studies—Moser’s first library job was at Steenbock Memorial Library as a reference desk assistant. She helped students and other patrons track down the materials they needed, a role she found fulfilling. “The detective aspect of librarianship immediately appealed to me,” Moser said. “I love being curious and I felt very at home helping people find the information they needed.”
She continued, “Librarians are pathologically helpful. We don’t allow ourselves to settle for a mediocre or incomplete answer. I noticed early on that librarians really do their due diligence, and I was jazzed up intellectually by that.”
Following completion of her MA in Library & Information Studies, Moser launched a career in environmental librarianship. She worked for a Madison environmental consulting firm, overseeing their small library of environmental protection and engineering materials. She then took a role at another environmental consulting firm with its own library, this time in Seattle. In both private sector libraries, Moser absorbed knowledge about environmental issues like waste reduction and water pollution. And she learned how to adapt those libraries to keep up with the latest technologies.
In 2001, Moser returned to Madison to work for the iSchool’s Continuing Education unit. At the time, she said, one of her main tasks was to help local governments set up new websites. “Local governments generally didn’t have websites back then,” Moser said. “Librarians like me could assist with organizing information, making sure it was easily discoverable and accessible.”
A few years later, Moser transitioned to her current role: senior special librarian at the Wisconsin Water Library at UW Madison. “It had been seven years since I had worked directly in a library, and I missed it,” she said.
A champion for water science education
The Wisconsin Water Library is supported by two federally funded institutes, the Water Resources Institute (funded by United States Geological Survey, or USGS) and – Wisconsin Sea Grant (funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA). Part of the mission of both institutes—and an endeavor Moser has taken to new heights with the Water Library—is to enhance water science education and outreach across the state.
“I’m the only librarian for Wisconsin Sea Grant,” Moser said, which means she travels frequently across the state to teach residents about Wisconsin’s freshwater resources. She called this a version of the Wisconsin Idea, but “on steroids.”
The audience Moser most enjoys teaching is children, or as she calls them, “little learners.” Moser visits schools and public libraries in every corner of the state, teaching about everything from shipwrecks in the Great Lakes to the history of sturgeon in Lake Winnebago. “It’s important for the youngest among us to get connected to the natural world.”
Shipwreck stories resonate particularly well with younger audiences, she said, because “Shipwrecks have a way of capturing the imagination. We go in a time machine, and we become the crew of this real shipwreck that went down in Lake Michigan.” Not only does this capture the kids’ imaginations, Moser said, but it serves as an opportunity to “explain to them what maritime archaeologists actually do.”
In addition to her work with children across Wisconsin, Moser has helped to transform the Wisconsin Water Library’s collections. “It used to be a repository of technical documents,” Moser said, “but now the collection reflects the mission of Sea Grant and Water Resources, where we’re trying to educate the public.”
She has created and enhanced the library’s digital collections as well. For instance, Moser digitized a selection of oral histories that emerged from the process of writing the book People of the Sturgeon, co-authored by UW–Madison alum Kathy Kline. The histories bring to life the interwoven stories of people and Lake Sturgeon in an easily accessible and compelling audio format.
Additionally, leading the Wisconsin Water Library has deepend Moser’s admiration for libraries as spaces of learning. “Many people don’t understand that libraries are educational institutions,” Moser said. “They support lifelong learning from birth to death.” Especially in Wisconsin, she added, there is a robust library system that supports education in cities, towns and villages throughout the state. This includes 478 public libraries—478 spaces where Moser can spread her wealth of water science knowledge.
For her remarkable work, Moser has been recognized by her peers with multiple awards. These include the 2022 Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education Nonformal Educator of the Year award, as well as the 2023 Wisconsin Library Association President’s Volunteer Award. “To get honored by your peers is really incredible,” she said. “It warms my heart.”
The future of librarianship
When Moser learned the news, in 2019, that the iSchool would join the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS) as a founding department, she was elated. “I was so happy, because it’s been my philosophy my entire career that information technology professionals and librarians have to be the best of friends, because neither of them can really do their jobs as well [without the other].”
“Being able to have computer scientists and data scientists and information architects and librarians all together—I just think that is the way that we should go forward in our field.”
Finally, to current and future iSchool students, Moser offered the following words of wisdom:
- “Keep an open mind and try new experiences during your time on campus. Spend a semester working at a public library. Explore digital collections. I’ve spoken with many students who have benefited enormously from those experiences they’ve gotten outside their coursework.”
- “Don’t necessarily assume that a particular job is not for you. You won’t know until you try it, so don’t limit yourself.”
- “Librarians bring a powerful skill set to the table. You can be neutral arbiters in our society. You have the power to combat misinformation and the growing distrust of science, and to educate people. Understand the power you have to make a difference in people’s lives.”
Watch a short video about Anne Moser’s work.
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