Spring Break for the Madison Metropolitan School District starts on Friday, March 26. How will you be spending your time off? The library has plenty of fun and exciting programs to interest and entertain everyone in the family!
Fun Films Fest Monday, March 29, 10:30 a.m. at the Lakeview Branch
Tuesday, March 30, 1:30 p.m. at the Hawthorne Branch - Register online or call 246-4548 Monday, April 5, 2:00 p.m. at the Alicia Ashman Branch - Register online or call 824-1780
Enjoy popcorn and lots of laughs as you watch these funny films at the library.
Art in a Suitcase with Mary Tooley Monday, March 29, 1:00 p.m. at the Pinney Branch - Register online or call 224-7100
Join Artist Mary Tooley for an Elephant Extravaganza!! Learn about elephants and make a craft. For children 4 and up.
Keyboard Jewelry Tuesday, March 30, 11:00 a.m. at the Meadowridge Branch - Register online or call 288-6160
Bring your friends and make unique jewelry with a mish-mash of keyboard pieces and parts. Rings, necklaces, earrings and more.
Around the World in 80 Strings Tuesday, March 30, 1:00 p.m. at the Sequoya Branch - Register online or call 266-6385
Join Eric Sorenson and explore musical instruments from all over the planet, from steel drums to the didgeridoo. Ages 4 and up.
Be A Parade Tuesday, March 30, 2:00 p.m. at the Central Library Come one, come all to the library’s parade! Stories, crafts, and of course, a parade around the library. Fun for all ages.
Reid Miller’s Paw Paw Theater Wednesday, March 30, 10:30 a.m. and Saturday, April 3, 2:00 p.m. at the Pinney Branch
Wednesday: Puppeteer Reid Miller will perform the “Fable of Lion and Mouse” and “Tale of Mama Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile” for preschoolers.
Saturday: Puppeteer Reid Miller will perform the “Fable of Monkey and Crocodile” and “The Story of Mootown Musicians” for children in grades K-5.
Joy of Origami Wednesday, March 31, 2:00 p.m. at the Lakeview Branch - Register online or call 246-4547
Certified origami instructor Ruth Anne Bessman teaches how to make beautiful and fantastic origami. All materials supplied.
Magnetic Poetry-Palooza Thursday, April 1, 11:00 a.m. at the Meadowridge Branch - Register online or call 288-6160
Express yourself with a lollapalooza of words & phrases! Join in the fun and create your own eye-popping poetry and ridiculous rhymes. All supplies provided!
Wii Outdoor Challenge Monday, April 5, 2:00 p.m. at the Sequoya Branch - Register online or call 266-6385
Are you up to the challenge? These games will get your heart pumping. Ages 7 & up. Please wear socks.
The Soloist is the remarkable story of the bond between a journalist and a mentally ill, homeless, classically trained musician in Los Angeles. “The Soloist is a great read,” says Porchlight executive director Steve Schooler. “More importantly, the main characters - Nathaniel and Steve - help us understand the intertwined issues of homelessness and mental health and inspire us to care more about the people who live in our midst.”
The Soloist is available both as a book and as a major motion picture starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. Community members can get involved by either reading or viewing The Soloist. Porchlight and Madison Public Library have developed an online Community Read Tool Kit that is available to all book clubs and individuals, and prepared book club kits with multiple copies of the book which are available for checkout from the library. Members of the community are invited to read the book, see the movie, and join a discussion—either at home with friends or at the library.
We will be holding seven book discussions at libraries around the city. Please join us for a conversation about this “unique yet universal” story.
Porchlight provides emergency shelter, food, employment services, counseling, and affordable transitional and permanent housing to homeless people in the Dane County area. Porchlight’s services are designed to foster independence and the transition into permanent housing and employment. For more information, visit their website.
Lights, camera, library! Want to show off your creative talent and your love of reading? The Library has a new Flip Video Camera, and we want for you to show us how we should use it and help create a video advertisement for the 2010 Summer Library Program. We’ll be hosting five events in early March for you to film your masterpiece at the library with our camera. Or, if you’ve got your own digital video camera, you can shoot a short on your own and share it with us online. Be sure to register if you’d like to use our camera; space is limited, and we want for everybody to be able to bring their vision of reading fun to life! Registration opens the week of February 22.
The Madison Public Library is pleased to welcome ensembles from the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) in three performances at Madison Libraries during February and March.
WYSO provides young musicians in southern Wisconsin with opportunities in musical excellence; musical groups include three full orchestras and a string orchestra, a chamber music program, a harp program, a percussion ensemble, and a brass choir program. To supplement the educational experience of its orchestra members. WYSO also offers a number of opportunities for members to participate in small ensembles. Chamber music ensembles will be appearing at these three Madison Public Library locations for free performances of classical music, open to the public.
Join us at upcoming Valentine Cards and Candy Sushi workshops for kids.Make a one-of-a-kind card with glitter, stickers, and sparkles & create some sweet candy sushi for someone special. All supplies provided!
Next week, we’ll be introducing two new e-newsletter booklists: Anime, Graphic Novels and Manga; and Art of the Picture Book. Both lists compliment Dane County Collection Grants from the Madison Community Foundation. Sign up to receive news about new additions to the collections, as well as upcoming events and items of interest.
Anime, Graphic Novels and Manga: Complimenting the Comics & Anime Collection, housed at the Alicia Ashman Branch, this newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the best new additions to the collection, hand picked by the librarian who selects graphic novels for the Madison Public Library. The first edition highlights noteworthy titles of 2009.
Art of the Picture Book: Complimenting the Art of the Picture Book Collection, housed at the Sequoya Branch, this newsletter highlights new additions to this collection of the finest in childrens’ book illustration.
If you are interested in receiving other email newsletters, please visit our Subscription Page to sign up for additional lists.
A FoodShare specialist from Second Harvest FoodBank Wisconsin will be on hand at many library locations to help you find out if you’re eligible and to assist you with the application process. Call (toll-free) for an appointment at 877-266-3635 or feel free to drop-in. The program is available to singles, families, students, seniors and disabled individuals with limited or fixed income.
At this time, the schedule is as follows. But check back–more dates will be added soon.
Central Library–Every Monday through February, 12-4pm; Wednesdays, February 10 and 24, 10am-2pm.
Meet award-winning author/illustrator team Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek at the Sequoya Branch Library on Sunday, January 24 at 1 p.m., where they will discuss writing and illustrating children’s picture books. Their most recent picture book, Birds(2009), delightfully bridges the gap between concept books and longer narrative stories for children, and was recently named a 2010 Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book. Henkes is the author of more than 25 books for children, including Caldecott Medal winner Kitten’s First Full Moon (2005) and several books featuring Lilly and other mouse characters, including Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse(1996) and Julius, the Baby of the World (1989). Dronzek is a painter whose work has been exhibited nationally and an award-winning children’s book illustrator who previously collaborated with her husband on Oh!(1999).
This is an adult event, but older children are welcome to listen. The event is the last in a series of author events in support of the Sequoya Endowment Campaign through the Madison Public Library Foundation with assistance from the Madison Community Foundation. Through the establishment of the Sequoya Branch Endowment, Madison Public Library Foundation will be able to give earnings on the endowment to the Sequoya Branch Library on an ongoing basis for programs and resources.
The Sequoya Branch is also a recipient of a three-year Madison Community Foundation library collection grant dedicated to the Art of the Picture Book. In addition to adding to Sequoya’s fine collection of picture books (including Caldecott and other medal winners and honor books), a series of programs celebrating picture book art and artists are scheduled for this winter.
Art of the Picture Book: Making pictures in the style of Denise Fleming.
Children ages 5 and up use paper-making techniques to create pictures.
Lakeview Library, January 22, 2-3 p.m. - call 246-4547 to register.
The Art of the Picture Book: Making pictures in the style of Eric Carle (two parts).
Kids age 5 and up will use paint to prepare papers (part one) that will be used to create the Eric Carle-style pictures (part two).
Sequoya Branch
Part One, February 13, 10-11 a.m. and Part Two, February 15, 3:30-4:30 p.m. - Call 266-6385 or register online beginning 1/30 for both parts.
Alicia Ashman Branch
Part One, March 30, 1-2 p.m. and Part Two, March 31, 1-2 p.m. - Call 824-1780 or register online beginning 3/16 to register for both parts.
All Madison Public Library locations will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 18. You can still use the library when we’re closed: place holds in LINKcat, return items to our bookdrops, or use our 24/7 online reference service, AskAway. See our web site for more information on area celebrations or on Martin Luther King, Jr. or discover our recommended resources for African American History Month in February.
Join others in celebration of the life of Dr. King at the 25th Annual Madison-Dane County King Holiday Observance at the Overture Center Capital Theater at 6 p.m. on Monday, January 18. Former SCLC Education Director, Dorothy Cotton, who served under Dr. King’s direct supervision, will bring her message of hope on her first visit to Madison. Sponsored by the King Coalition and the Urban League of Greater Madison; see more information on Cotton and other ULGM sponsored events.
Madison Public Library has acquired an online subscription to the Value Line Investment Survey. Formerly available in paper at six of our nine libraries, the new online service is available at all nine Madison public libraries, as well as to city of Madison residents with valid library cards.
Value Line is best known for the Investment Survey, one of the most widely read investment services in the world. Value Line online offers the same one-sheet summary as the Investment Summary, but also includes more up to date information on the stocks covered, as well as stock screening, custom reports, industry information, historical data, and email alerts. Madison Public Library’s subscription also includes the Value Line Special Situations Service.
Madison Public Library chose to switch from paper to online access to Value Line after much public input from individual investors and local investment clubs. Paper access will continue for at least six months at most locations that currently subscribe, and you can call the Central Reference Desk to schedule a demo of the new service for yourself or your investment group.
Want to learn more? Visit our online tutorial web site, watch our YouTube video tutorial below, or just log on and get started! (Online help and investment advice is always available in the Education Section tab.
Lights, camera, library! Want to show off your creative talent and your love of reading? The Library has a new Flip Video Camera, and we want for you to show us how we should use it and help create a video advertisement for the 2010 Summer Library Program. We’ll be hosting five events in early March for you to film your masterpiece at the library with our camera. Or, if you’ve got your own digital video camera, you can shoot a short on your own and share it with us online. Be sure to register if you’d like to use our camera; space is limited, and we want for everybody to be able to bring their vision of reading fun to life! Registration opens the week of February 22.
The Madison Public Library is pleased to welcome ensembles from the 
