It’s a busy Friday afternoon at Meadowridge Library on Madison’s Southwest Side, where library staff are accustomed to fielding questions from visitors in many languages: English, Arabic, Somali, Spanish, Chinese.
Emily Kuster, left, with her 8-month-old son Eli, and Shay Johnson, with 5-month-old son Mehkai Blanton, attend a storytime event in the children’s area at Central Library in Downtown Madison. This month Central and Madison Public Library's other eight neighborhood libraries across the city are celebrating MPL's 150th anniversary.
Central Library staff member Kareem Mayouf stocks the library’s shelves with returned books. More than 2.2 million items were checked out from MPL's nine libraries in 2024.
Sonny Thao and his sons Yuepheng, 9, and Shueyee, 6, use the self-checkout kiosk during a visit to Lakeview Library on Madison's North Side. Lakeview will celebrate Madison Public Library's 150th anniversary with a special program on May 31.
Erica Pinigis of Isthmus Dance Collective, left, leads a spring dance workshop at Pinney Library. Taking part in the event is Eden Nelson, 4. The new children's area at Pinney takes up half of the building, completed five years ago, allowing much more programming and a huge increase in visitors, library officials say.
Kathryn Padorr, youth services page, returns books to the shelves at Sequoya Library. Located on Madison's West Side, Sequoya has the highest number of book checkouts of any Madison Public Library. "It's our busiest library," said MPL director Tana Elias.
Mohammed Salau takes advantage of Lakeview Library’s computer resources during a visit to the Madison Public Library location on the city's North Side. Public libraries across Madison handled 140,958 computer reservations in 2024, according to MPL's annual "Year in Review." Wi-Fi sessions topped 3.5 million.
Beth Waldron of Madison, right, checks in with her daughter, Edna, 9, center, and friend, Pearl Liberatore, 8, as they read from books they picked out during a visit to Monroe Street Library. The first Monroe Street site was opened in 1944. The library moved to its current location at 1705 Monroe St. in 1960, according to a fascinating timeline created by Madison Public Library for its 150th anniversary.
Emily Kuster, left, with her 8-month-old son Eli, and Shay Johnson, with 5-month-old son Mehkai Blanton, attend a storytime event in the children’s area at Central Library in Downtown Madison. This month Central and Madison Public Library's other eight neighborhood libraries across the city are celebrating MPL's 150th anniversary.
Central Library staff member Kareem Mayouf stocks the library’s shelves with returned books. More than 2.2 million items were checked out from MPL's nine libraries in 2024.
Sonny Thao and his sons Yuepheng, 9, and Shueyee, 6, use the self-checkout kiosk during a visit to Lakeview Library on Madison's North Side. Lakeview will celebrate Madison Public Library's 150th anniversary with a special program on May 31.
Erica Pinigis of Isthmus Dance Collective, left, leads a spring dance workshop at Pinney Library. Taking part in the event is Eden Nelson, 4. The new children's area at Pinney takes up half of the building, completed five years ago, allowing much more programming and a huge increase in visitors, library officials say.
Kathryn Padorr, youth services page, returns books to the shelves at Sequoya Library. Located on Madison's West Side, Sequoya has the highest number of book checkouts of any Madison Public Library. "It's our busiest library," said MPL director Tana Elias.
Mohammed Salau takes advantage of Lakeview Library’s computer resources during a visit to the Madison Public Library location on the city's North Side. Public libraries across Madison handled 140,958 computer reservations in 2024, according to MPL's annual "Year in Review." Wi-Fi sessions topped 3.5 million.
Beth Waldron of Madison, right, checks in with her daughter, Edna, 9, center, and friend, Pearl Liberatore, 8, as they read from books they picked out during a visit to Monroe Street Library. The first Monroe Street site was opened in 1944. The library moved to its current location at 1705 Monroe St. in 1960, according to a fascinating timeline created by Madison Public Library for its 150th anniversary.
