Events Calendar

Growing Voices Music Class is an interactive class for caregivers and their children, birth-5, to play, learn, and bond with music. In our classes we sing, play instruments, dance, and have fun together! 

Enjoy music from 9:30-10:30, stay to play and spend time with other families immediately following. 

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

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

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!

READ and PLAY with your favorite baby! 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.

All are welcome to stop by Thurber Park (3325 Thurber Ave) for weekly Hold & Release Open Studios Sessions with Artist-in-Residence, Jennifer Bastian.

Hold & Release is a two-year artist residency at Thurber Park Artist Studio, an indoor public park space currently occupied by artist Jennifer Bastian.
Jennie's residency is focused on the grief in our world right now. Jennifer shares, "for some it is delayed processing of loss due to the ongoing Covid pandemic and ramp-up back to 'normal,' for others it is due to income inequality or racial inequity in a segregated city, others are impacted by the reality of multiple concurrent genocides around the world. I believe we need space to slow down and process our grief. Art can help us access the emotions our daily lives do not leave room for."

During Open Studios Sessions you can stop in and create amongst other community members. Drawing, collage and fibers materials will be available for mixed media making. Jennie will be available to talk about ongoing projects. This residency is geared towards adults, young people are welcome with adult supervision.

Please note: One or more individuals in this small space are immunocompromised. For that reason, we are requesting all attendees kindly mask before entering. Masks are provided on-site if needed.

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!

Visit the Dream Bus to browse books and other library materials, place or pick up holds, and sign up for a library card.

Learn more at dreambus.org

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.

Please contact Meadowridge Library at 608-288-6160 for more details and information!

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

It's time for LEGO Club! Join us the 2nd Wednesday of each month (Sep 11, Oct 9, Nov 13, Dec 11), for ages 5 to 12. Leave your own LEGOs at home - we've got plenty to share! Sometimes there's a theme, but there's always opportunity to free build.

Visit the Dream Bus to browse books and other library materials, place or pick up holds, and sign up for a library card.

Learn more at dreambus.org

Need help with basic computer or Internet skills? Get assistance with opening an email account, writing a Word document, navigating the internet, keeping your files safe, and more.

Call 608-266-6350 to make a 30-minute appointment.

Computer Assistance is sponsored by the Digital Equity Project.

Join other young people and their caregivers for a relaxing art workshop. Make a bead project with a variety of bead sizes and materials. Pony, seed, charm, polymer, letter & more! Take what you make with you when you leave.

All materials are provided, no registration, and free of cost.

Youth 8 years and younger must bring an adult, or responsible older sibling, with.

Visit the Dream Bus to browse books and other library materials, place or pick up holds, and sign up for a library card.

Learn more at dreambus.org

Visit the Dream Bus to browse books and other library materials, place or pick up holds, and sign up for a library card.

Learn more at dreambus.org

Need help with basic computer or Internet skills? Looking for assistance with using a smart phone or downloading library eBooks and audiobooks? We offer free one-on-one sessions on Wednesdays! Call 608-246-4547 to make an appointment.

Drop in knitting: Learn a new craft or work on that unfinished project with other neighborhood knitters.

Meet artist Henry Obeng at this reception for his new exhibition We Exist. The exhibition is in The Diane Endres Ballweg Gallery on the 3rd floor of Central Madison Public Library. Obeng will give a brief artist talk starting at 7pm.

More Information About The Exhibition:

We Exist is an ethnographic art project that delves into the lives of African immigrants in Wisconsin, particularly in the Madison area. This work captures their shared experiences of navigating life and legal challenges while living in anonymity. Central to this project is the use of dark cotton fabrics, a material that not only represents the African community but also evokes the deep historical ties between African heritage and the cotton industry.

More Information About The Artist:

Henry is a Ghanaian born artist who received a BA in Fine Art from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. Henry’s passion for Hand Papermaking led him to do his graduate work in Design Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Making use of hand papermaking and photographic processes, his graduate work has explored ideas informed by the natural world and his observations and experiences as an international person moving between cultures.

Join Menominee artist Yvette Peguero and learn how to create a beaded drum necklace! Participants will learn why the drum is important to Menominee culture and why it is considered the "heartbeat" of the people. Appropriate for kids ages 5 and older. All supplies provided. 

Registration is required. Registration opens two weeks before the program (10/30/24) at 9:00am. 

About the presenter

Yvette Peguero is an enrolled elder of the Menominee Nation. Before retirement a few years ago, Yvette taught for over 41 years as an Elementary Teacher, Assistant Principal and Principal for the Oneida Nation School System in Oneida, Wisconsin. As a child Yvette knew that one day she would become a teacher and would teach Native children. After moving to Madison, Yvette continues her love of teaching by working as a substitute teacher for the Madison School District, as the Tutor Coordinator for the Title VI Indian Education Program, and by teaching others to bead. Her belief is that it's important to share our knowledge and it's our responsibility to actively do so for the next generation. Sharing these skills and knowledge, while also being a role model for our youth, connects us to our past and future and leaves our legacy for those that will come after us.

Part of the Teejop and Beyond: Celebrating Native Nations series in partnership with Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison and made possible thanks to the Friends of Madison Public Library. Visit madpl.org/teejopandbeyond for more info.

Need help with basic computer or Internet skills? Looking for assistance with using a smart phone or downloading library eBooks and audiobooks? We offer free one-on-one sessions on Wednesdays! Call 608-246-4547 to make an appointment.

Text+Titles = TexTITLES: Conversations Around How Textiles Connect Us

The Textile Arts Center of Madison (TAC) and Pinney Library are pleased to invite you to join a monthly facilitated conversation around how textiles connect us all. Each month, the guided discussion will center on a specific title, article(s), podcast, or other selected media reviewed by participants prior to the gathering. Discussions will center around textile and fiber art with a focus on historical, social, economic, and environmental concerns related to fibers, fabrics, makers/artists, techniques, use, value, and more.  As possible, some copies of book titles selected will be available for checkout through the Madison Public Library; however, in some instances participants will need to procure access to the media on their own.  The first three conversations are scheduled in the Pinney Library Reading Room, featuring the inspiring permanent art installation titled Us, Midwest created by local artist Yeonhee Cheong. Please register for each conversation you wish to attend at the TAC website.

Conversations are from 6-7:30 pm on the 2nd Wednesday evening of the month: 

Oct. 9  On Mending by Ceila Pym (purchase via Pym's website: celiapym.com/on-mending)

Nov. 13 Threads of Life by Clare Hunter (available to reserve and check out from Madison Public Library: LinkCAT)

Dec. 11 Material Intelligence digital magazine, Linen and Paper issues (access free online: https://www.materialintelligencemag.org/)

Space is limited. Please register for each conversation you wish to attend at the TAC website. (https://www.textileartsmadison.org/textitles-1)

Need help with basic computer or Internet skills? Looking for assistance with using a smart phone or downloading library eBooks and audiobooks? We offer free one-on-one sessions on Wednesdays! Call 608-246-4547 to make an appointment.

Need help with basic computer or Internet skills? Looking for assistance with using a smart phone or downloading library eBooks and audiobooks? We offer free one-on-one sessions on Wednesdays! Call 608-246-4547 to make an appointment.