News

March is Reach Out to Your Neighbor Month and throughout the Huntsville-Madison County Library system we aim to be a steady source of information and resources for our neighboring communities.

At the Downtown Huntsville Library, due to our centralized location and numerous services, we serve a diverse patron base.  Patrons experiencing homelessness utilize our branch’s services often.  Our free public computers, free Wi-Fi, and plentiful reading materials are available to them during their visits to the library. We also offer a free phone in our patron lounge that may be used for short outgoing calls.

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library received a grant from The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). LSTA is the only federal program exclusively for libraries. It is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). With the funds provided by the grant, the Library is providing meaningful opportunities for school-aged children and teens throughout Madison County in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

On Monday, January 7, 2019, Cecil Ashburn Drive will close for critical updates. Here is some handy information from the City of Huntsville on the project:

City's Cecil Ashburn Info Page

Restore our Roads

In case you’ve not figured it out yet, we don’t just do books at the Library.

It was about this time of year in 2010, late fall eight years ago when I started working at the Library. At that time, the LibraryNet was all copper — analog T1 lines (think: old-style phone-grade) from our branches, a MetroEthernet for our Internet connection, and all the cabling within our Downtown Branch’s Computer Room were typically 100 megabit per second (Mbps) Ethernet links. Improving this infrastructure was quickly identified as one of my primary goals to improve service in the Library.

Here’s that story.

Libraries across the country are celebrating National Friends of the Libraries Week, October 21-27, 2018. Our Friends of the Library groups are vital in expanding our resources to better serve the community through fundraising, volunteer and program support and through advocacy. All 12 branches of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library have a Friends group you can join. Here are five reasons why you should join today:

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library welcomed the permanent installation of a community mosaic at the Downtown Huntsville Library on Tuesday, August 28.

"This is one of those wonderful opportunities where we can showcase the talent in our community," said Connie Chow, Downtown's branch manager. "We are honored to be able to display this for all to enjoy."

“Beauty From Brokenness” is a triptych artwork created from glass tiles from the original “Cosmic Christ” mosaic commissioned by Huntsville’s First Baptist Church in the early 1970s. Local artist Stephen Ware was one of three Huntsvillians to assist Texas-based artist Gordon William Smith with the original mosaic installation in the 1970s.

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library proves once again that it is not only serving the needs of the community, but doing so in a technologically-driven environment. The library was recently awarded a $7500 Digital Inclusion Fund Grant by the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville, sponsored by Google Fiber.

The grant funds will be used to create a Workforce Development Lab for those who need digital assistance to secure employment or job advancement. The lab will be located on the second floor of the Downtown Huntsville Library. The Technology Training Center will manage the lab during scheduled times.

The lab will offer the following services:

Rotary Club of Madison to create children’s garden at the Madison Public Library

The Madison Public Library will soon welcome a new addition to its state-of-the-art campus with a children’s learning garden. The Rotary Club of Madison, along with the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library announced plans for what they are describing as “a space for hands-on exploration of science and nature.”