Have you heard about subscription services like OwlCrate or Litjoy?

For a monthly fee, these services send you a package containing one book and a few treats to go along with it. We are offering a similar service just for tweens ages 9 to 11! Best of all, our service is completely FREE!

Here’s how it works:

If you would like to get one of these boxes, you must sign up online before the 25th of the month. Boxes will be available around the 1st of the next month. Each box will contain one surprise book (selected especially for you based on your input) and a few fun surprises.

We will notify you when your box is ready. Boxes can be picked up at the Madison Library District’s Circulation Desk and checked out with your library card. You will have until the 15th of that month to pick up your book box. If you do not pick your box up, you will forfeit your place in the subscription list and must reapply.

When you’re done with your book, please return it to the Library. It will be due back at the Library three weeks after you check it out. The rest of the box’s contents are yours to keep!

Registration is limited to 18 participants each month, but a waiting list will be kept for those interested in joining the program when room allows. Your registration will be valid for 3 months and then must be resubmitted in order to give those on the waiting list an opportunity to use the service.

If you have some time tell us what you thought about your book and the items in your box!

For Kids ages 6 – 8 & Tweens ages 9 – 11 and their accompanying adult. Come to the library and participate in an activity that’s about science, technology, engineering, or math! Our STEAM Activities take place in the Community Room. 

Head over to our Kids and Tweens STEAM Activity page for video instructions of past activities.

Come enjoy discussions of amazing tween novels, create a craft, and have a treat! All while enjoying the friendship of other girls and their adults. Book club reading copies will be available for checkout from the circulation desk about a month prior to the meeting. There is a limit of one copy per household.

Come enjoy discussions of amazing tween novels, create a craft, and have a treat! All while enjoying the friendship of other boys and their accompanying adults. Book club reading copies will be available for checkout from the circulation desk about a month prior to the meeting. There is a limit of one copy per household.

Unplug and connect at the library's game club! It's the perfect place to hang out, meet new people, and play some awesome games. We'll have chess sets ready for players of all abilities, plus a rotating selection of board games and card games. No experience needed—just a desire to have fun.

Open to everyone ages 9-18.

Madison Library's Year-Long Reading Adventure

For patrons ages 10 to 14.
Read fun new books and audiobooks and win stickers and other great prizes!

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Sign up at the Circulation Desk to get your reading log.

Step 2: Read a book that fits a task listed in one of the Inventory Log sheets. Read another. And another. You can get a sticker for each task.

Step 3: For every Log sheet completed, bring your log in to the Circulation Desk for a small prize and an entry for the grand prize final drawing at the end of the year.

Step 4: Keep reading! If you complete your Artifact Reading Journal, you'll receive a special 2026 Armchair Traveler prize in commemoration of your achievement.

Reading is the perfect way to unearth information, entertainment, and
understanding, and we are ready to dig into some great books!

GET YOUR SPADES READY, HERE WE GO!

To Celebrate National Library Week

Our theme is “Find Your Joy at the Library!"
Create an original diaorama featuring rubber ducks to show us what that theme means to you.

Submitting Entries

• Entries must be based on a published book or depict a scene from a positive experience, program, or item you’ve used from the library such as storytime, book club, Libby, etc.
• Diaoramas must be no larger than 13" deep by 16" wide x 18" tall.
• Diaoramas must be self-contained and able to move as a complete unit.
• Entries must include at least 1 rubber duck.
• Rubber ducks must be under 6" tall.
• Submissions must be brought to the Madison Library District Circulation Desk along with a completed entry form.
• Each participant may submit up to three entries.

Judging

• Entries will be judged in the following age categories:
  • 6-11 years
  • 12-17 years
  • 18+ years
• Judging criteria: creativity, visual appeal, entertainment value, and storytelling quality.
• A panel of impartial judges will evaluate entries.

Winners & Prizes

• Judges will select 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each age category.
• Winners will be announced on April 20, 2026, on MLD's Facebook page and newsletters.
• Prizes will be awarded to all winners.
• Dioramas will be displayed at the library during National Library Week, April 20-25, 2026.

Open to all patrons ages 6 and older (minors must have approval from their legal guardian.)

Submissions will need to be turned in at the Circulation Desk by 7:00 pm on April 15, 2026.

Each submission will need an entry form filled out and turned in with your diorama:

Most Items Located on the West Side of the Building Close to the Circulation Desk

We have a wide variety of materials for all your learning and entertainment needs!
Having a hard time finding something? Ask a librarian!

We provide the following materials:

• FICTION – arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name.
• NONFICTION – true stories and facts
• AUDIOBOOKS – books on CD
• eBOOKS and eAUDIOS – downloadable from the Libby app on your device.
• MAGAZINES
• MUSIC CDs – appropriate for children.
• DVDs & BLU-RAYs – these are located in the front lobby. Children’s materials are on the east side of the displays.
• GRAPHIC NOVELS and COMICS
• KITS – we have several types of kits:
  • DISCOVERY KITS – in the green bags; DKIT IVs are for the tween age, and DKIT Vs have materials for the whole family.
  • AMERICAN GIRL KITS – in the blue plaid bags.  This growing collection will feature all the historical dolls, as well as the Wellie Wishers and Bitty Babies.
  • SPEEDY READER KITS – the entire book series in one bag; in pale blue and grey bags.
  • READ-ALONG KITS – includes a book and an audiobook of the same title so you can follow along with the audio reader.
  • AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE KITS – designed to teach parents and other caregivers how to read to their children who are deaf using American Sign Language and how to use strategies to make book sharing most effective.

Film director Wes Anderson has a distinctive style that many attempt to mimic. A recent book, Accidentally Wes Anderson, shares views of the best efforts by professional photographers. If all those pros are having such a good time making Wes Anderson fakes, we thought it might be fun for our patrons to do so as well.

Take a look at the style hints found in the adult section display case and take a photo that you think is "Accidentally Wes Anderson," and we'll display them during the month of November.

TO ENTER:

Email your photo to our programming team or leave it at the Circulation Desk by November 1.
Please include your name, library card number, and phone number.

The three photos judged to be closest to Anderson's style will receive a copy of the book.

Library Appreciation Week is on its way, and we’ve got some great things planned.

Peeps Diorama Contest!

Depict a scene from a published book, any of our programming events, or any item you've used in the library (such as Libby).

Submit your Peeps diorama by 4:00 pm April 22nd to be considered for a prize.

All ages are welcome to particpate. Any participants under 18 must have approval from their legal guardian.