With a generous gift from Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Huntsville-Madison County Public Library was able to add to our growing workforce development offerings with a subscription to UniversalClass!

UniversalClass offers over 600 online courses - all for free and available to HMCPL card holders. With UniversalClass, you get 24/7 access, feedback from certified instructors, self-paced classes, and Continuing Education Units on select courses. 

Did you know that many of the holds you are patiently waiting for on the Digital Media Zone/OverDrive/Libby can be checked out instantly on Hoopla? Here is a list of some of the top-requested titles on OverDrive, as well as other hot new titles that you can get right now and free up your holds list!

To sign up for Hoopla, all you need is your HMCPL card number, PIN, and a valid email address.

In Alabama, August means back to school! Whether it's pre-K or post-grad, and everything in between, HMCPL has what you need to make it a success. Find resources for:

• Tutoring
• Reading
• Study guides
• College test prep
• Foreign language learning
• Makerspace Studios

All Ages

HMCPL Library Card: Your first step to accessing all that HMCPL has to offer is making sure you have a library card! Get started here.

With adult summer reading, you don't HAVE to read these books, you GET to read them! We guarantee an A+.

Get the quick list here or click on the links below. 

True Story

We know all about the Mercury Seven astronauts, but what about the women they left Earthbound? This enthralling biography of the "Astronaut wives" brings to light the real lives, struggles, and heartache that shadowed the Life magazine covers, White House visits, and star turns. The Astronaut Wives Club should be a part of any reading about America's Space Race.

The American Library Association has named June "Rainbow Book Month," - a month to highlight the authors and books that reflect the lives and experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community. This book list includes not only fiction, but memoirs, essay collections, history of LGBTQIA+ and more- all recommended by our librarians. Click on the cover of each book to access the catalog.

 Nonfiction Collection (Juvenile, Young Adult, and Adult):

Music in Huntsville and North Alabama has always had strong roots and a far-reaching legacy. WC Handy, Mervyn Warren, Rose Maddox, Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Jim Nabors, Spooner Oldham, GMANE, Rick Hall, Brittany Howard, Patterson Hood, Jason Isbell, Dave Anderson, Susanna Phillips, the Oakwood Aeolians. These names and so many more represent just a fraction of the talent that has come out of North Alabama and continues to be a gift to the world.

Supported by the Marguerite Cartwright Hawthorne endowment bequeathed to HMCPL, we are proud to announce the launch of Blast, a platform built specifically for our library to showcase and stream local music.

2020 has been a difficult year in a lot of respects, but if there is something to celebrate, it's the books that came out. Our well-read HMCPL staff has put together a list of their best-loved books published in 2020. As the year draws to a close we hope you can take time to discover some new favorites for yourself.

OverDrive is the platform the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library uses to provide the Digital Media Zone's collection of eBooks and audiobooks for checkout. You typically access these books through dmz.overdrive.com or the Libby or OverDrive apps.

If you use the Libby or Kindle App, please disregard this article.

On October 30, 2020, OverDrive is making necessary security upgrades to protect the privacy of user data. These updates mean certain devices with older operating systems will lose access to the OverDrive app and OverDrive websites. If you see a message about losing access to the digital library after October 30, your device is affected by this change.

Here's our list continued! Hoopla has plenty to choose from whether you like full-on fright, eerie and unsettling, or gently magical, there is definitely something there for you!

October is such a fun month to read or listen to a good spooky story and dream of Halloween. Whether you like full-on fright, eerie and unsettling, or gently magical, Hoopla has something for you!