Madison Public Library is excited to celebrate 150 years of service to the community in 2025!
Our theme is "Celebrating the Past, Inspiring the Future", and we'll be hosting events, sharing fun facts, gathering stories, and highlighting everything you can do with your library card all year long.
Explore below to celebrate the past, connect with us in the present, and help inspire the future.
How it Started
Since our founding in 1875, we've been here for the Madison community - providing books and so much more! Click through the interactive timeline below to discover some of the most important milestones from the early years to now.
- When was Central Library built?
- What significant leaps in technology were made?
- How did the Bookmobile get its start?
Find the answer to these questions and many more in the timeline below, then be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to our Check it Out email newsletter, because we'll be sharing even more fun facts from our history all year long.
Email Newsletter Sign-Up
Sign up for one of our email newsletters to stay up-to-date with 150th Anniversary News (Check It Out), the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park, and Programs for Kids and Families (Library Kids)!
Our past has gotten us here, and so have all of you.
We want to invite new people to discover Madison Public Library in 2025, welcome back those who haven't visited in awhile, and celebrate the loyal library lovers who have been with us all along.
See below for all of the ways you can connect with us on the 150th Anniversary journey this year.
Your Mission: Check Out 150 Items in 2025
There are so many things you can check out from the library - do you know all of them?
The 150 Items Challenge will help you find and explore new things to love within Madison Public Library's collection! This year, we're challenging library visitors new and old to check out 150 items in honor of the 150th Anniversary. Download a tracking sheet here or pick one up at any library location. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Find and place holds on your next great read with our Book Lists
- Check out librarian-reviewed titles for all ages from MADreads reviews
- Look for the latest blockbusters and hit TV shows in the Serendipity Collection at your local library
- Download the Libby app to enjoy eBooks, Audiobooks, and Magazines on the go
- Want the unexpected? Get outside with a Birding Backpack or Disc Golf Kit from the Library of Things
Our iconic book arch will be at Central Library throughout the year for visitors to browse local history content, take selfies, and show us what you're checking out. Look for it on the 1st floor behind the display tables from January - April, 2025.
Show us what you're checking out on each visit and how much progress you've made by taking photos and tagging @madisonpubliclibrary on Facebook and/or Instagram.
When you reach 150 items, return your sheet to the front desk and you'll receive a 150th Anniversary drawstring bag.
150th Anniversary Events
You don't make it to 150 years without knowing how to throw a party -- and we've got several celebrations planned throughout the year thanks to the support of the Madison Public Library Foundation.
150th Anniversary Parties
Our first location opened on May 31, 1875, and we rang in 150 years of library service in Madison with birthday cake, giveaways, a mini-parade and marching band, and interactive activities for every age at all nine locations in May 2025! See the photos from our 150th Anniversary parties online.
150 Artists x 150 Years
Language is changing and evolving all the time, and every year, new words and terms are added to the dictionary. We’ve pulled together a year-by-year list of our favorite words from the years Madison Public Library has been in existence (1875 to 2025). This list of words, from anamorphic to zhuzh, are on display now in the Diane Endres Ballweg Gallery on the third floor of the Central Library as part of the Words For Now exhibition.
We’re invited 150 artists who have made tremendous contributions to The Bubbler’s programming—through residencies, workshops, exhibitions, and more—to create a new piece of art from these words. Each artist is assigned a year from 1875 to 2025 and they will be able to choose from the words connected to their year to be the basis for the creation of a piece of artwork that will be part of a larger art show at all nine library locations this fall at Madison Public Library.
The upcoming system-wide exhibition will be called 150 Artists x 150 Years and will celebrate Madison Public Library’s 150 years of service to the community. We'll also host two community events in relation to the show in December as a wrap-up to the year's celebrations, so stay tuned for more info about this fun exhibition.
Get 150th Merch at Outreach Events
Throughout our 150 years, we've made a habit of coming into the community and meeting the people where they're at. Whether that was through mini collections called book deposits at local stores and businesses, mobile libraries like the bookmobile and the Dream Bus, or by attending community events.
We'll be sending a team of library ambassadors out across Madison to table at events. You'll be able to sign up for a library card or email newsletter, share your experiences at the library, and learn more about what's happening for the 150th Anniversary. Plus, we'll be handing out fun, 150th-themed merch when you sign up for a library card at these special events.
Meet Us Here
April
- Earth Fest Forum: Climate Courage on April 23, 2-5pm | Discovery Building
- Forward Madison FC Game on April 26 for the WE READ Youth Voices Writing Contest Kick-Off Event, 5-7pm | Breese Stevens Field
May
- MMSD Play & Learn's Jumping Into Literacy on May 30, 10am - 1pm | 333 Holtzman road
We're proud of making it to 150 years, and we know that wouldn't be possible without the support of so many - from the millions of library visitors who have come through our doors, to the generous donors, supportive Friends groups, thriving community, and fundamental City support - we know it's because of you that we're here.
The question we face now is, "What will the next 150 years of library service look like?"
Read below to see how we might inspire the future together!
Madison Public Library's 10th Library
The Imagination Center at Reindahl Park is a project that has been in the minds and hearts of the city's northeast side residents for more than a decade. Located off E. Washington Ave at Portage Rd., this multi-functional, indoor-outdoor library and community space will be the first-ever library facility within a Madison park.
Through the hard work and dedication of many, the library will break ground in spring 2025 and open in the fall of 2026 as our 10th library location. It will be the first net-new library for the City of Madison in the past 25 years!
We encourage you to learn more about the planning for the project by signing up for the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park newsletter, where we'll begin sharing out regular updates in April.
The Imagination Center is a unique collaboration that involves four partners: Madison Public Library, City of Madison Engineering, Madison Parks and Madison Public Library Foundation.
How Far Will $150 Go?
What could your $150 help fund? The possibilities are endless - the Madison Public Library Foundation supports our libraries by providing funds for collections, technology, programs, professional development, equity and innovation projects, capital campaigns, endowments and the Wisconsin Book Festival.
All types of gifts help support the future of library service in Madison. Here are some non-financial ways you can support the library:
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