History Of Alice Baker Memorial Library
Eagle's public library is known as The Alice Baker Memorial Library. Our library was named after Alice Baker, a long-time local resident, who was committed to teaching and to the field of education. She was one of three children of Francis and Lydia Baker, a pioneer family in the area. Her brother Earl was noted for his humanitarian efforts in China. The Chinese were so grateful for his service that a bridge spanning the Yellow River near Shensi Province was named for him. Her sister Aurel was a Red Cross nurse in World War I and cared for Russian soldiers in Kiev. After returning home, Aurel was the long-time public health nurse for Waukesha County.
Alice Baker graduated from Whitewater Normal School, now known as the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. She began her long career in education at Eagleville School in 1910. A temporary move took her to Montana where she taught botany. When she returned to Wisconsin, she continued her teaching at Whitewater High School, at Lancaster, and at Eau Claire. When she traveled to China to visit her brother in the early 1930s, she was persuaded to stay and teach for two years at the Kuling School in Peking, where her students were mostly children of American parents. In 1936, Alice returned to Wisconsin and to Eagleville School. Before her retirement in 1945, she also was employed by a school in Shullsburg, Wisconsin.
Alice Baker was dedicated to the teaching and sharing of knowledge. She was a strong advocate for the establishment of a public library in Eagle, and devoted much time and effort to make this possible.
Today, the Alice Baker Memorial Library is a busy, modern facility with a growing collection of books, in both printed and audio form, videocassettes and DVDs, music CDs and computer software. In 1994 we moved into our present building. We were the second library in Waukesha County to offer internet access to our patrons.
Alice Baker Library automated its circulation and catalogue in November of 2001. In August 2005, we became a member of the CAFE group, sharing a catalog and patron database with twelve other Waukesha County libraries in order to offer more efficient service. Patron registrations continue to increase, and we are pleased to offer library services to all surrounding communities.
Our goal is to provide our patrons with all the resources available so that they can enjoy, learn, and prosper from our collection. We are committed to the dream of our namesake Alice Baker, in sharing our resources of knowledge and wisdom with all.
