Events Calendar

You and your child will dance, Dance, DANCE! Bubbles, shakers and more! The last part of each class involves free play with library toys and a chance for caregivers to chat. Geared for children ages 5 & under, but older kids are always welcome to join in, too! 

Babies too young to toddle can clap and bounce to the rhythm. Preschoolers are leaders in following cues. Children participate in their own way, in their own time. The only expectation is to have fun!

READ and PLAY with your favorite baby or toddler! Reading, singing, talking and playing with your baby from the beginning is important because the roots of language are developing in a baby’s brain even before they can talk! Library programs are always free. Siblings and childcare groups are welcome.

Attention word lovers: exercise your brain by playing Scrabble with other adults!

Join other neighborhood families for a casual library playdate for babies ages birth to 17 months and their caregivers. We’ll feature open-ended play materials and lots of books! Siblings welcome.

You and your child will dance, Dance, DANCE! Bubbles, shakers and more! The last part of each class involves free play with library toys and a chance for caregivers to chat. Geared for children ages 5 & under, but older kids are always welcome to join in, too! 

Babies too young to toddle can clap and bounce to the rhythm. Preschoolers are leaders in following cues. Children participate in their own way, in their own time. The only expectation is to have fun!

READ and PLAY together with children 5 & under! Stories, songs, and rhymes for about 20 minutes, followed by playtime and an art project. 

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.

No registration, free of cost, and older siblings are welcome!

BadgerCare Plus is Medicaid health care coverage for Wisconsin residents with low income.

Stop by Room 211 to consult an Americorp volunteer BadgerCare Outreach Specialist with questions about signing up or for information on an existing BadgerCare account.

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. Older and Younger siblings and childcare groups are welcome.

We need your voice to shape the future of the library!  Madison Public Library is developing a three year strategic plan to best meet the needs of the community. Your input is key to creating a cohesive and successful vision for the years ahead. 

Attend a lunchtime virtual community feedback session scheduled for September 20, 2023 @ 12-1:30pm. The listening session will last approximately 90 minutes and will be facilitated by representatives of The Care Plan.

Please register to receive the link for the virtual feedback session via email.

The final strategic plan will be shared with the public in winter 2023. All participants will receive an email with the strategic plan when it is completed.  Learn more or follow along on our Strategic Planning page.

Can't attend our virtual community feedback session?  Take a quick online survey instead to share your insights about how you currently use the library and how we can improve services in the years ahead.

Do you have clothing or other fabric items that need mending? 

Volunteers from the Sewing Machine Project are offering free mending at Hawthorne Neighborhood Library every other Wednesday from noon - 2:00 pm. These helpful sewers mend clothing and can handle many other fabric-related repairs (exception: no zipper repairs).

Mending is done on the spot on a first come, first served basis. There’s no drop off or pick up, we do what we can do in the time allowed.

Drop in anytime between 12:00 - 2:00 pm!

Please join us to play chess at our weekly, drop-in program! All ages and experience levels welcome.

Drop-in knitting. All experience levels welcome. Children under 9 must be accompanied by an adult for duration of program. Yarn and Needles provided for in-library use. For more information, contact Cassandra at charlan@madisonpubliclibrary.org or 608-288-6150. 

Love anime, or want to get into it? Join us Wednesday evenings for Meadowridge Library's anime club!

Boruto is a spin off series of Naruto. We see where the new generation leads and how they tackle the challenges faced in this "modern age". With equal parts nostalgia and fresh wonder. Come and see the newest generation tackle the Chunin exam as threats from the clandestine Ōtsutsuki clan arise. Dive into the mystery that is "Kara".  Join us as we not only watch Boruto, but we have lively debates on the subject, pick the strongest character and even enjoy the flashy fighting game Naruto Ninja Storm 4:  Road to Boruto!!

Presented in partnership with Wisconsin Historical Society Press, the Wisconsin Book Festival presents author Jesus Salas for his book OBREROS UNIDOS: THE ROOTS AND LEGACY OF THE FARMWORKERS MOVEMENT. 

In the 1960s, noted labor leader Jesus Salas energized the farmworkers movement in Wisconsin. His new memoir shares the story of his work, the transnational movement he co-organized, and the long fight for improved working conditions and fairness for migrant workers and their families.
 
Salas recounts his childhood experiences as a migrant laborer, traveling with his family from Texas to Illinois, Wisconsin, and other states. In riveting detail, he describes the brutal working conditions and overcrowded camps experienced by the Mexican-American and Tejano workers who fueled the Midwest’s agriculture industry.

Inspired by the example of César Chávez, Salas and others to led a historic march from Wautoma to Madison in 1966, demanding that Wisconsin lawmakers address rampant violations of Wisconsin’s minimum wage laws and housing codes. To further the fight for fairness and respect, as well as to provide much-needed services to migrant families, Salas teamed with other young labor leaders to cofound Obreros Unidos — “Workers United." The legacy of this movement went well beyond the fields to have lasting impacts on the growth of community organizations and access to education, empowering Chicano and Latino Americans for generations to come.

This event will be held at the Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium, 816 State St., Madison, WI 53706. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Author Boulley is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and in this debut novel plots a young-adult mystery set in the Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Blending high school hockey, teen relationships and contemporary social issues, this many-threads story immerses us in a bi-racial teen girl’s life and decision making.Join us for discussion and perhaps dessert. Newcomers warmly welcomed!

Sing a Black Girl’s Song, is a new posthumous collection of Shange’s unpublished poems, essays, and plays from throughout the life of the seminal Black feminist writer. Join the event at: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/wbf-sing-a-black-girls-song . Before the event begins, you will see a countdown and the event image.

This seminal collection is a window into Shange’s internal life, from her writings as a budding poet and her galvanizing calls to action written during the Black Arts Movement to her verse and prose are infused with humor, sadness, joy, and projections of a better future — exemplifying not only the breadth of Black experience in America, but of the human experience as a whole. Throughout, she references the people, languages, places, music, and groups that influenced and enriched her work. Where the world often forces Black women into isolation due to systematic injustice, Shange, in her undeniably singular voice, firmly rebuked the idea that we are meant to suffer alone, or at all. For every Black woman and girl drowning in feelings of self-doubt, lovelessness, and victimhood, Shange used her prose to provide love and healing.

Please note this event is online only.