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!

This class is designed for our smallest friends and their caregivers, we encourage age 4 and older children to join us for a more energetic music experience at music & movement at 10:30! 

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

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

Wisconsin Sound Beginnings welcomes children ages 0-3 years old who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and their parents/caregivers to join a story/song hour. During this interactive group time, family members will join their child in learning and playing through accessible songs, stories, and language activities through listening/talking and sign language. There is no cost to attend but registration is required. For questions or more information, contact Lauren Burke from the Wisconsin Sound Beginnings team at BurkeLa01@uww.edu

Registration link: https://cesa1.app.neoncrm.com/event.jsp?event=7364&

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.

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!

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.

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. Using either polymer or air-dry clay create a mini work of art. Please be aware that polymer clay must bake after sculpting. Bake and wait time will be dependent on attendance. There will be the option to take your polymer creation unbaked to finish at home. 

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

School-age children (elementary and middle school) are invited to join us for this kid-led Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Be a part of an adventuring party where you'll use your imagination and creativity to explore a fantasy world in an epic quest. Our Dungeon Master Jared will provide support and help guide campaigns along with our adult D&D experts and our Youth Librarian Ruth.

This weekly session is for beginners.

About D&D: Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game that allows each player to create their own character to play. These characters embark upon imaginary adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master (DM) serves as the game's referee and storyteller, while maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur.

Join local artist Elias Mittelstadt for hands-on art projects!

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.

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.

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

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.

For this District 11 Book Club, Stu Levitan will give an illustrated talk on Madison in the 70s, adapted from his forthcoming book, Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Volume 2, 1932 to 1979. 

Stu Levitan has been a mainstay of Madison media and government since 1975. An award-winning print and broadcast journalist, he has written extensively for local and national programs on radio and television.  A former county supervisor, he is the only person in Madison history to chair all three of the city's primary land use and housing committees. Since 1987, he has also been a labor mediator/arbitrator for the State of Wisconsin.

Following the talk, there will be time for questions and answers with the author. 

Attendees are encouraged to read Levitan's previous volume to prepare for what is sure to be a fascinating exploration into Madison's past. Copies of the 2006 Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Volume 1, 1856–1931 are available at the Ask Desk at Sequoya Library on a first-come, first-served basis.