Since 2019, Madison Public Library and Madison Reading Project have been working together to impact the literacy landscape in Madison! Prior to 2019, the library facilitated their own program for giving away free books, but after some fateful conversations with staff from Madison Reading Project at community events, it became clear that we could have a greater impact if we joined forces to help get free books to kids.
Once the partnership was formed, we quickly found a number of ways to collaborate. Today, the two organizations work together in the following ways:
Book Giveaways:
Throughout the year, Madison Public Library contributes funds so that Madison Reading Project can purchase books to give away at specific events. This wouldn't be possible without the generous support of Madison Public Library Foundation and the many generous donors who believe that kids should have access to free books they can keep.
Because we share many of the same community partners and attend many of the same community events, we work together to give away more books than either organization could provide alone. Check out our recent projects below to see where we've been giving away books lately!
Home Delivery to Satellite Daycare Facilities:
In January 2021, Madison Public Library piloted a program that would provide Spanish-speaking daycare facilities that were part of Reach Dane's Satellite Family Child Care program with a delivery of books each month. The books are part of our Spanish Art of the Picture Book collection, a special collection featuring beautifully illustrated books created by Spanish-speaking authors and illustrators from around the world. Initially, the books were delivered by Union Cab, but when the contract was up, we decided to tap our existing partners, Madison Reading Project, to take over delivery of these materials in October 2021. We have been able to expand operations to include MMSD's Play and Learn program, a Spanish-language daycare center, a couple of after-school sites and One City Elementary School, so that we're providing books for ~706 kids each month at 39 different classrooms or childcare providers. The monthly deliveries continue, but they now take place on the Big Red Reading Bus! READ THE FULL STORY
Bilingual Maker Kits:
I
n 2020, Madison Reading Project and Madison Public Library paired up to bring Mini Maker Kits to kids across Madison. Libraries were closed at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we were looking for ways to engage with our partners, and since we share so many common partners with Madison Reading Project, we developed a wonderful process for bringing a little maker joy to families from afar. Mini Maker Kits are all inclusive and bilingual, with everything you need to complete a project included in a self-contained envelope. Projects range from making your own monster to playing with paper circuits, creating your own comic, or experimenting with things that fly. Volunteers from the Madison Reading Project help assemble the kits and the Bubbler/Library provide the materials, design and instructions needed to bring them to life. During the pandemic, we were giving away nearly 1,000 Mini Maker Kits per month on the Big Red Reading Bus as part of programs that Madison Reading Project paired with storytimes and books that fit the theme of each kit. As programs moved back in-person and both organizations were able to get back to more regular programming, we have pared back the number of times we distribute Mini Maker Kits per year. However, we still partner to do two big rounds of Mini Maker Kit giveaways each year. Since we began distributing them in 2020, we've distributed more than 10,000! This past winter, we developed a really unique collage maker kit that you can learn more about below.
Baby's First Pages:
Madison Reading Project provides book and resource kits to newborns and their caregivers through a partnership with Dane County hospitals and community organizations. Each kit includes an age appropriate book, reading tips and info that connects families and caregivers with local resources. Madison Public Library has recently started contributing to this bundle of info and goodies by adding information about how to get connected with the library, attend storytimes, get a library card and access resources from home. We also contributed a copy of our Baby Song Books, which include rhymes and songs for babies and toddlers to enjoy with QR codes for parents to scan in order to listen to one of our library staffers singing or performing each piece!
Resource Sharing:
In addition to books, books and more books, we also share information and resources between the two organizations! When you receive a free book or a maker kit from Madison Reading Project, you may also see an application for a library card. When you attend one of our storytimes at the library, you may be told how to get connected with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which is facilitated locally by Madison Reading Project. We love working together to let the local community know how they can get more books into their homes and create the next generation of readers here in Madison!
Recent Projects:
Free Book Fair Program
Madison Public Library helped Madison Reading Project launch a new Free Book Fair program that provided a fun, book browsing experience for scholars at local schools. This program provided over 4,000 books in its pilot year and aims to give kids the excitement of receiving a new book and learning more about how to select books that feel right for them. Madison Public Library donated 6,000 books to Madison Reading Project in June 2023 to enable the launch of this program. Over the summer, Madison Reading Project was able to put on Free Book Fairs at 10 schools, and during the 2023-2024 school year, the goal is to do 25 schools!
Back to School Giveaways
We supported 50 4K classrooms with 25+ diverse classroom library books each, as well as attending the 100 Black Men and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County Back to School events, ultimately supporting over 2,000 children on their way back to school.
Madison Public Library also gave $4,000 courtesy of the Madison Public Library Foundation to support Madison Reading Project's free book fair for RISE Wisconsin earlier this fall. RISE's early childhood initiative is a voluntary home visiting program in Madison/Dane County that provides comprehensive and community-based support for pregnant women and families with children ages 0-4K. At this free book fair, home-visiting educators were able to pick up books that they could bring on their visits and leave with families.
Holiday Giving
As the year draws to an end, we're gearing up for the holidays! Madison Reading Project and Madison Public Library attended the Hmong New Year celebration together on November 4, 2023 to give away 1,861 bilingual books in both Hmong and English. Through the generous gifts of donors to the Madison Public Library Foundation, Madison Public Library was able to provide $5,000 to put toward book giveaways for the holidays. These contributions provide more bilingual books that Madison Reading Project can give away for FREE at the Empty Stocking Club event (December 13 & 14), Santa's Without Chimneys and the Reach Dane Angel Giving Tree.
Collage Quest Maker Kit
The Collage Quest Maker Kit was designed by Bubbler Artist Grace Olson to encourage creativity and storytelling between generations. Creating a collage is a wonderful way to tell stories, share memories, or generate ideas together. This kit can be used to create many different kinds of collage, whether alone or with friends and family this winter, and there's something for every age to enjoy - this isn't just for kids! The kit includes a special collage page full of images to cut out and arrange into a unique composition, as well as a spinner that you can use as an interactive game to guide your art adventure. We've got 3,000 of these kits available in our libraries now (shoutout to our amazing partners at Madison Reading Project for helping us assemble these!), so stop by and pick up yours while supplies last.
