Events Calendar

A short mix of books, songs, and activities in English and Spanish, followed by time for open-ended play, designed to share literacy skills and a love of reading. For kids up to age 5 with their caregivers. Siblings welcome.

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.

Are you behind on your rent because of the pandemic, either directly or indirectly? You are not alone. Many people are experiencing financial hardship right now.

The African Center for Community Development will be at the Hawthorne Library on Mondays, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, to help individuals and families who owe back rent apply for Dane CORE 2.0 assistance.  For questions about the program or to set up an appointment, please call African Center at (608) 957-5623 or (608) 294-0066. More info at https://africancentermadison.org/housing-support/ (link is external)

Free assistance from AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers to help you fill out and file your Federal and Wisconsin personal income taxes. Call 608-246-4547 beginning January 17 to reserve a half-hour appointment (required).

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide provides in-person and virtual tax assistance free of charge with a special focus on taxpayers who are over 50 or have low-to-moderate income. Tax-Aide volunteers are trained and IRS-certified every year.

Some situations are outside the scope of the service -- see what type of taxes they can prepare or ask if in doubt.  You must have lived in Wisconsin for ALL of 2022 to use this service.

Click here for a list of all 2023 Tax Assistance dates at Central, Lakeview, and Sequoya Libraries, or take a look at our calendar. Appointments are required at all locations.

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.

A representative from the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will be tabling in the front the library from 10am until 12pm to recruit for a research study. For more information on the open studies at Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, visit their website at https://www.adrc.wisc.edu/volunteer-study

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?

This program is currently full and sign-ups are closed for the time being. Check back later for additional availability, or call (608) 288-6160 for more information.

Drop-in and play cooperative games on the library's iPads. Cooperative board games will also be available! Families are encouraged to attend and play together. 

Cooperative games (co-op games) are a form of play in which players work with one another in order to achieve a common objective. 

Geared for ages 5 & older! Youth 7 years & younger must have a caregiver with them during the program.

The Madison Writing Assistance (MWA) program offers free, one-to-one writing support for community members at library branches throughout the city. Our friendly, experienced writing coaches are happy to help with writing projects across a wide range of genres, including resumes, cover letters, application essays, grant proposals, fiction writing, memoirs, and more.

Schedule an appointment online with the link below, by phone, or in person.

MWA services are made possible through generous donations from the Evjue Foundation and UW Anonymous Fund, along with administrative and program support from the UW-Madison English Department, the UW-Madison Writing Center, and our Library and neighborhood center partners.

Chess meets the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month from 4-5:45 p.m. Come and learn chess basics in the library with a 30 minute introduction of the game and then play a friendly game of chess with an opponent. Lessons start promptly at 4 p.m., followed by an open game at 4:30 p.m. Chess club is open to all ages and skill levels. No Chess 1/2, 1/16, 6/19.

Masks are not required but recommended.

The Madison Writing Assistance (MWA) program offers free, one-to-one writing support for community members at library branches throughout the city. Our friendly, experienced writing coaches are happy to help with writing projects across a wide range of genres, including resumes, cover letters, application essays, grant proposals, fiction writing, memoirs, and more.

Schedule an appointment online with the link below, by phone, or in person.

MWA services are made possible through generous donations from the Evjue Foundation and UW Anonymous Fund, along with administrative and program support from the UW-Madison English Department, the UW-Madison Writing Center, and our Library and neighborhood center partners.

Acompañenos a ver una pelicula en Español y luego hagamos unas manualidades auspiciadas por la biblioteca de Madison.

Viaje Al Paraíso

20 de marzo,  5:00 -7:30 PM

Biblioteca Central, 3er piso

La película se presentará en Español con subtítulos en Inglés.

Join staff from Edgewood College's ROSE program for a hands-on science experiment perfect for the whole family!

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.

The Madison Writing Assistance (MWA) program offers free, one-to-one writing support for community members at library branches throughout the city. Our friendly, experienced writing coaches are happy to help with writing projects across a wide range of genres, including resumes, cover letters, application essays, grant proposals, fiction writing, memoirs, and more.

Schedule an appointment online with the link below, by phone, or in person.

MWA services are made possible through generous donations from the Evjue Foundation and UW Anonymous Fund, along with administrative and program support from the UW-Madison English Department, the UW-Madison Writing Center, and our Library and neighborhood center partners.

You're invited to a FREE preview of the 25th Wisconsin Film Festival (April 13-20, 2023). Watch trailers of this year's films, learn about the ins and outs from WFF staff, and bring your questions about the festival.

Sneak Peek events are made possible through partnership with the Wisconsin Film Festival and the Madison Public Library, as well as by a generous grant from the Madison Public Library Foundation.

The Wisconsin Film Festival is presented by the UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts. For more info about the festival, go to wifilmfest.org.

Presented in partnership with the UW Program in Creative Writing, a reading from the graduating MFA cohort in poetry.