Events Calendar

Central Library Madison and the American Red Cross are hosting an upcoming blood drive.

Please join our lifesaving mission and schedule an appointment today!

Drive Details:
Site: Central Library
Address: 201 W. Mifflin St, Madison, WI, 53703
Room Name: Community Room 301
Date: Mon Jan 23, 2023
Time: 09:30 AM - 01:30 PM

The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.

Thank you for supporting the American Red Cross blood program!

Play & Learn is a fun and engaging program that is offered free-of-charge for children ages birth to 3+ and their caregivers who reside in the Madison Metropolitan School District.  Registration is required.  Contact Play & Learn staff members for more information and assistance with registering for Play & Learn sessions. 

English (608) 204-6784

Spanish (608) 204-7918

Hmong (608) 212-4683

READ and PLAY together with children under age 5! Engaging with books, songs and playful experiences all help children develop communication skills, patience, empathy, and pre-reading skills​ and helps to build a lifelong love of reading.

Library programs are always free. Siblings and childcare groups are welcome.

The Personal Archiving Lab at Central Library is a collection of equipment that can be used to digitize at-risk analog materials like home movies video tapes audio cassettes photographs and more. Stop by the Central Library on Mondays, 2-4pm (Room 209) for a tutorial on how to use the library's Personal Archiving Lab. Tutorial duration is approximately 20-30 minutes. The instructor may not be able to accommodate those who arrive after 3:40pm.

Following the tutorial, you will be able to make an appointment during library hours to use the equipment - up to 2 hours per day - for your personal archiving project.

The Personal Archiving Lab supports the following formats: VHS and VHS-C tapes DVDs (not BluRay) audio cassettes MiniDV and Hi-8 tapes photographs (including negatives and slides) and other paper-based documents. Patrons who use the lab must bring some form of external storage — a portable hard drive, or a thumb drive — on which digital files can be stored.

Call 608-266-6350 for more information.

Create your own avatar by sketching in 2D on graph paper and then designing in 3D using Tinkercad! Your avatar will be a visual representation of your identity or a fictional character’s identity. When done, you can share images of your creation with your friends and family!

For ages 8 to 12.

Read aloud to a furry friend from Alliance of Therapy Dogs at Lakeview Library. Bring a favorite book or try a new one from our collection. First come, first served.

Join us for this exciting Dungeons and Dragons campaign for kids ages 9 - 17! Set in the world of Krixth, The Dragon Queen Draco Vonet needs your aid. Travel to her keep and see what she needs. What adventure and mystery await you on the way? What will occur in this Ballad of Interesting Events?

Spots are limited, and registration is required. Sign up below or by calling (608) 288-6160.  All materials will be provided.

Play Minecraft in both survival and creative worlds!  There is a limited number of computers, so participants will take turns as needed.

Mondays January 9 - May 22, with no meeting on January 16 (library closed).

Drop-in and play Nintendo Switch and board games. Families are encouraged to attend and play together.

Youth 7 years & younger must have a caregiver with them during the program.

Have an idea for a book or poetry collection, but don't know how to get started? Maybe you are stuck on plot, pacing and/or character development? Or perhaps you have nearly finished your manuscript, but are unsure of when to have it edited or start pursuing publication (via the mainstream market or self-publishing)?

Make significant strides on finishing your book by joining a six-month intensive focused on writing exercises, reading, revising and learning the business side of publishing. You will be immersed in resources and develop relationships key to pursuing your writing aspirations while completing a first draft.

Participants will be assigned 2 to 3 diverse novels, essay collections or poetry books to read and discuss during monthly group meetings and 1-on-1 sessions with the intensive facilitator. The intensive will also include three or four published authors and publishing professionals as special guests (either in person or via Zoom).

Each session is focused on a theme:

• Session 1 (September 19, 2022) Intros & Genres & Goal Mapping
• Session 2 (October 17, 2022) The Art of Narrative
• Session 3 (November 14, 2022) Character Development
• Session 4 (December 19, 2022) Defining Audience 
• Session 5 (January 23, 2023) Group Critique
• Session 6 (February 20, 2023) The Business Side of Publishing & Wrap-Up

This cohort of learners has already begun and is closed to new participants. 

Join friends and neighbors for a game night! Revisit old favorites or try something brand new from the library's collection of board games and card games. Beverages and snacks will be provided.

Chess meets the second and fourth Monday of every month. All ages and skill levels are welcome.