Contact: Teresa Cuperus 608-224-5101
MADISON – A local food marketing guide published by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is the recipient of the 2008 Wisconsin Distinguished Document Award, presented annually by the state library association.
The Wisconsin Library Association’s Government Information Round Table presented the award May 29 at a program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Memorial Library. The award means that Wisconsin Local Food Marketing Guide: A Producer’s Guide to Marketing Locally Grown Food will be nominated for inclusion in the American Library Association’s Notable Documents List published next May in the Library Journal. It will also be displayed at the state library conference.
The guide is a 118-page soft-cover book that is also available online. It explains step-by-step how to move products from field to consumer. It covers selling directly to consumers via farmers markets, community supported agriculture, agritourism, on-farm stores, pick-your-own operations and roadside stands, and selling through intermediate channels such as restaurants, grocery stores, institutions, and distributors. The guide also provides information on pricing products, licensing, labeling, regulations, food safety, food liability, and farm insurance, and lists resources to find additional information at the end of each chapter.
The Government Information Round Table invites nominations annually from librarians and others around the state. Criteria for nomination include contributions to knowledge and to understanding of government agencies, inspiration and pleasure for an identifiable readership, and typography and design.
Beth Harper, chair-elect of the group, said that the book received five nominations. Few, if any, publications have ever received that many nominations, she noted. Nominators’ comments included:
* “relevant and timely”
* “highly attractive, well organized, works both in print and online”
* “The guide is a beautiful book, the layout invites easy and repeated use”
* “Very colorful, eye-catching with beautiful photographs and wonderful quotes”
* “contains a wealth of information”
The guide is available online at http://www.datcp.state.wi.us, search for marketing guide. Individuals may request hard copies by sending in names and addresses to Teresa Cuperus, teresa.cuperus@wi.gov or DATCP-DAD, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911. Copies are also available at the more than 40 public and academic libraries around Wisconsin that participate in the Wisconsin Document Depository Program (see http://dpi.wi.gov/rll/liblist.html for a list of participating libraries)
Previous winners are listed at the Government Information Round Table’s web site at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/girt/distdocs.htm.
