If you still have a book checked out from when the Madison Public Library first opened, you might have racked up some serious late fees by now.
The library is celebrating its 150th birthday this month, dating back to when the first location opened in 1875. Since then, Madison Public Library has expanded to nine locations (plus a mobile Dream Bus and online), offering all kinds of resources to library card holders.
On the City Cast Madison podcast this Friday, we’ll be joined by library marketing manager Liz Boyd to talk about all the library has planned to celebrate. In the meantime, here’s a look back at the Madison Public Library’s long history.
1875 - The first Madison public library was a collection of 5,000 books housed at City Hall. Only men above the age of 15 could access the library.
1902 - Children’s services, including a storytime, began when what was then called the Madison Free Library hired its first professionally trained librarian Bertha Brown, who converted a workroom into a Children’s Reading Room
1906 – The library moved out of City Hall after a donation from Andrew Carnegie financed a building at the corner of Carroll and Dayton streets. It was occupied, including a school for librarians, until the Central Library was built in 1965.
1911 – The library began partnering with local schools to provide books and staff to Madison high schools. The program expanded to all grades, and the new school library system became a model for schools across the country.
1913 – The Carnegie Foundation again financed Madison’s first neighborhood library, Hawthorne Library at 1249 Williamson St.
1941 – The library became one of the first organizations in the city to celebrate what was then called Negro History Week, inviting Black speakers and created book lists of Black authors of the time.
Madison Public Library is celebrating its sesquicentennial, which is just the sort of word you’d look up in a library! (Madison Public Library)
1953 – The library hit the road with its first Bookmobile, bringing books to parts of the city that couldn’t access library services. If the Bookmobile was popular in a certain location, it was a sign to library officials that they should build a permanent branch there.
1959 – The Madison Free Library was officially renamed the Madison Public Library. Still free, though.
1964 – As the library collection grew, so did demands on librarians checking out books. An automated photo register called a Regiscope helped streamline the check-in and check-out process.
1965 – The new Madison Central Library location on Mifflin Street opened to serve a much larger city population than the little Carnegie location opened in 1906 possibly could. The Central Library also branched out beyond books, offering 5,000 phonographic records that could be listened to by patrons.
1975 – The South Central Library System was created to share resources easily, and now delivers books and other resources easily across Madison and through the seven-county system.
1980 – The A/V revolution continued with the introduction of VHS cassettes that could be checked out.
1985 – The automation movement continued with the introduction of barcodes that could be scanned with a light pen to speed up checkout.
1994 – The old card catalog system’s days were numbered following the introduction of an online version of the catalog.
2011 – The Central Library underwent a major two-year remodel, bookended by the “Bookless” party in 2011 and the “Stacked” grand reopening party in 2013. Artwork created for those events can still be found on display in the library. The new Central Library also included the Bubbler, a makerspace that connected artists and the community.
2013 – The Madison Public Library took over running the Wisconsin Book Festival from Wisconsin Humanities. The popular event includes a four-day celebration in the fall and author and book events year-round.
2020 – The library officially went fine-free, forgiving over $280,000 in late fees. So if you were hanging onto a book from 1875, just return it for no charge.
What’s next? The Imagination Center at Reindahl Park is set to become Madison’s newest library and the first-ever library facility within a Madison park. It has a scheduled opening date in summer 2026.
