My favorite local library! Great natural light, perfect mix of quiet and lively. Wonderful book…read moreselection and really enjoyed the adult summer reading challenge. One of my favorite free spots in Madison and will always go back for more.

So much natural light! This is a really beautiful location that has a pretty wide selection in a…read moresuper inviting space. Light pours in from the glass walls and just makes you want to grab a chair and spend the afternoon reading. The card catalog computer was a bit slow and clunky, but they have some more modern touches like self-checkouts. They also have arcade games upstairs and in the lobby - there were lots of little kiddos playing so we couldn't get a look to see if they were free or quarter machines. A cool feature either way! It was super foggy on our visit so we didn't have a chance to check out the view, but I'm looking forward to coming back!

absolutely beautiful large modern library!! that actually has space for all ages!! they even have a…read morelittle store on the second? floor with very affordable books. it was actually so pretty, id def go here to do work or study

Excellent public library, a great place to find reading, listening material. Friendly helpful…read morelibrarians, there's a printing station if you're staying a downtown hotel for business or a scientific seminar. If you forgot your book at home there's a small but pleasant used bookstore here with a great selection of used classical CDs. Lots of interesting events. Comfortable and peaceful seating. Because democracy requires an informed and literate citizenry I consider this library to be part of the bulwark of American freedom.

This library might smaller than some but the staff there are very helpful. I don't go there enough…read more Every time I've gone to make copies and forgotten how to use the commercial type of printer, they have always been helpful every single time. The price is great too. They have some interesting events too.

I may be biased b/c I loooove libraries. Big libraries, little libraries, all the libraries. This…read morebranch is great. It's small and neighborly but offers plenty of resources. Staff are always helpful. There are several nice spots for sitting and reading - chairs up front and a sunny room in the back. Other fun things you can find here are a seed library in the spring - borrow seeds to plant in your garden! Return them later in the season after re-filling the packet with seeds from your plants. And my favorite thing about this branch - they have a back patio that library patrons can enjoy. The outdoor space offers a brick patio fenced off from the parking lot, surrounded by nice plantings and bird feeders stocked by volunteers. It makes for a great summer spot to read a book outside - in either the sun or shade (it offers both). See, it is a great branch!

One of my favorite libraries, it's got some unique collections, also a great place to get some work…read moredone. As a public library, anyone can have access with a proper I.D. Very helpful research librarians, even the library assistants are friendly and knowledgeable. The music library and references sections are my favorites.

Memorial Library is considered to be the graduate library, but there are usually tons of undergrads…read morestudying there. There are many study rooms to be used with large tables and white boards, which is nice. There are also cubicle desks in the stacks that are great for studying. The music library can be found downstairs and theres a computer lab where you can use the computers or check out a laptop (with your student ID and a second official id) . Overall this place is great for studying, as there are so many different places to study at.

It's totally normal that the first thing I did after moving to Madison and getting off my flight…read morewas to stop by this library and get a library card, right? RIGHT? I didn't have any of the necessary documentation to get a library card (proof of address? I don't even know my address), but the staff here was nice enough to get me through the process anyway (while cracking the best worst geek jokes).

this is definitely one of the coolest things about my neighborhood. everyone who works here is very…read morefriendly and helpful. I use the online linkcat system all the time... they alert you via email when your requests are ready for pickup, and when things are coming due. how convenient is that? if you live in madison and don't have a library card, you're silly.

The librarians here are so kind! I was absolutely lost trying to pick up my books in the self pick…read moreup for the first time and a kind gentleman helped me out. I will return and keep this as my go to library in Madison because of this. I've also used the study rooms and the librarians have been very accommodating when needing to book them.

Love the library! Staff is nice and they host great events throughout the year. Parking is easy…read more They have a drive through book drop for the cold days. The library system is connected to over 30+ branches so you can reserve a book for pickup at this spot.

During the 2013 Savor South Madison Taste Race, I spent quite a bit of time roaming the South Park…read moreStreet corridor and witnessed firsthand the renaissance the area is experiencing. The new Villager Mall, the South Side Clinic for the Access Community Health Center, the phoenix-like rebirth of Taqueria Guadalajara and the expansion of the St Mary's Hospital are all testaments to positive changes taking place in this neighborhood. In my opinion, the best example of the area's metamorphosis is the Goodman South Madison branch of the Madison Public Library system. With numerous meeting rooms, a children's section designed to stimulate interaction, original artwork covering the walls and a boatload of computer terminals, this new building serves as a community center in addition to its library duties. Every time I visit, it's buzzing with activity. I'm a fan of the reading area in the southwest corner of the building. With its fireplace, comfy chairs, a multitude of outlets to plug in your laptop and free wi-fi, it's a great place to drop in and get some work done. It's isolated from the rest of the library, so the activity in other sections of the building does not serve as a distraction to the patrons in this cozy little nook. As Pearl mentioned in her review, the staff members are always über-helpful. The only negative I can see if that the content selection at this branch is less than the Central Library and some of the other branches. However, with the use of LINKCAT, you can access media from 53 libraries that are members of the South Central Library System, so it's not that big of deal. And with more stores opening in the new Villager Mall, parking can be a challenge at times. If you haven't visited this library yet, I strongly encourage you to check it out.

The building is new - what's not to like…read more They have several meeting rooms open to the community. Four stars for service Five stars for selection Five stars for the location (easy in and out) Two stars for the theft deterrent

super gorgeous and nice place to study. Definetly not the most quiet though, not always but…read moresometimes the librarians can be very loud which makes it hard to study if you don't want to use headphones.

The WHS is a beautiful and easy-to-navigate library where you can find old Wisconsin newspapers on…read moremicrofilm that aren't available on the web. The staff is friendly, the materials are very accessible and the equipment is easy to use. The building itself is gorgeous, with vaulted, stained glass ceilings and long, old fashioned wooden desks each with small green lamps. Here's how our visit played out... Growing up as a kid, it was always fun to hear my parents' stories from their childhood in La Crosse, WI. My dad has a couple that he really enjoys recounting: one story is about an epic high school football matchup between his school and my mom's (my dad's team won, which may explain his fondness for the story), and a second story is about a lone gunman who robbed a hotel where my dad worked, my dad subsequently chased into a parking lot, and he got shot at in the chase. You can tell that both of these items of family folklore may be tweeked with a bit of exagerration. My siblings and I always wondered, are my dad's memories completely accurate, or are they big fish stories? Yesterday I convinced my parents to join me on a trip to the Historical Society, where they have a vast collection of past Wisconsin newspapers on microfilm. Tucked away in a back room, you can look up La Crosse Tribune newspapers from the 1960s, organized by month in an old school card catalog or on a new school online database. The library has tons of microfilm machines that are available for open use. You retrieve the microfilm yourself from a shelving system, and you're free to start scanning it on a manual-roller or automatic-digital machine. We quickly found newspaper evidence confirming both of my dad's stories, and his reputation for veracity remains intact. He was very pleased with our findings (I think he may have started doubting his own memory). He also got swept up by all the big headlines on the newspapers' coverpages (Vietnam, Nixon, controversies over interstate construction). The library staff was very friendly and willing to help us along during our search process. The entire visit only took us about an hour, and that's pretty quick, demonstrating how organized they've got things. We tracked down exactly what we needed in a short time amidst an enormous volume of materials and with only a vagueidea of when it all had happened. We were able to make digital, emailed copies of the newspapers for free, and we made some paper printouts of the important pages for 25 cents/page. The Wisconsin Historical Society Library is an excellent resource for the state and a great place to check on family folklore. And here's an idea: You could make a scrapbook gift for a parent, comprised of newspaper clippings that confirm their favorite stories or show big events from their childhood.