Library
About Madison's New Library
It has been five years in the making and now the new Madison Public Library is open to the public! The 25,000 square foot library is located at 142 Plaza Blvd, two doors from the original location.
“We worked with the community, asking them what they wanted in a new library. Our design team did an amazing job at delivering to Madison a plan that incorporates all of the latest standards and technologies,” said Sarah Sledge, branch manager for the Madison Public Library. “This is a library that the community will be proud of.”
The Madison Public Library, which has the second highest circulation within the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HMCPL) system, has served the City of Madison for almost 40 years. Madison is a city that has seen tremendous growth and development over the last 10 years, and with new growth, comes the need for expanded community services. The current library was designed to serve a population of 20,000 people. The new library will now be able to serve the 55,000 (and growing!) people who call Madison home.
“Madison is known for our fantastic school district and highly educated residents. Our new library will support our community’s continued growth, as well as our thirst for learning and education. As Mayor and Council, we are so excited to see this state-of-the-art facility come to fruition and we appreciate the time, efforts and planning that have gone into this project. Our Madison Library will now be sized for success, and a gem within the City of Madison for years to come,” says City of Madison Mayor Paul Finley.
The City of Madison provided the majority of the funding for this $10.2 million project, recognizing that a new library to serve the community was a priority. Along with fundraising efforts spearheaded by the Huntsville Library Foundation and a generous donation from Redstone Federal Credit Union, the new Madison Public Library is now a reality.
“We are so grateful for the City of Madison’s support of this important community resource, as well as all who donated to the campaign. As we continue to grow and develop, we are confident that we will be able to serve the people of Madison with this library for many years to come,” said Sledge. The new library will feature 21st-century amenities including the first bookstore-model layout in the HMCPL system. This concept, steering away from the traditional library organization, will be grouped similar to bookstores by subject and Dewey Decimal number. The new library will also feature creature comforts such as private study rooms, indoor fireplace with quiet reading areas, separate children’s story time room and outdoor seating.
Some of the new technology amenities are a creativity lab, large outdoor movie screen, tween gaming center and an interactive early literacy center. Patrons will also be able to check out laptops at this new location to use within the library. About Huntsville-Madison County Public Library
This is the public’s library. Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HMCPL) is a nonprofit 13- branch system that serves all of Madison County, Ala. For 200 years, the library has been dedicated to enriching the educational, recreational and cultural lives of communities in Madison County through materials, information and programs that foster a lifelong love of learning. In addition to the collection of over 500,000 items, HMCPL also provides outreach services, a BookMobile and BookBike, online services, training, an extensive digital collection, public-use computers, free Wi-fi, meeting spaces and much more. For more information about HMCPL and its services, please visit hmcpl.org.