Dungeons and Dragons

Tuesdays, October 6 & 20, at 5:30 pm

Calling all adventurers!

Calling all adventurers! Dive into a world of imagination, strategy, and camaraderie with our new Dungeons & Dragons program for adults. Whether you're a seasoned Dungeon Master or a curious beginner, this is your chance to embark on epic quests, battle fearsome foes, and shape your own story in the world’s greatest tabletop role-playing game.

Led by an experienced Dungeon Master, each session will transport you to fantastical realms where the only limit is your creativity. New to D&D? No problem! We'll provide pre-made characters and guidance to get you started on your journey. Come solo or with friends to forge alliances and make memories that will last a lifetime.

For Adults ages 18+ who are ready to embark on thrilling adventures, solve mysteries, and conquer dungeons.

Adult Makers

Friday, October 16, at 7:00 pm and
Thursday, October 22, at 11:30 am

same program both times - just attend one

For October:

• Cooking the Books: Dolly Edition!

For this month, we'll be sharing our cooking! We have two cookbooks you can choose from: Good Lookin' Cooking by Dolly Parton and Rachel Parton George, and The Unofficial Dollywood Cookbook by Erin K. Browne. Both of these books are located at the Circulation Desk, along with a sign-up sheet so we know which recipe you're going to bring. Choose your recipe, then bring the book back to the Reference Desk in the General Section of the library. We'll make a copy for you. Then bring your cooked recipe to the event.

Leave the kids at home for a night of creativity and grown-up fun. Come join us, make new friends, and express your creativity!

Crafty Corner

Thursday, October 1, at 11:30 am and 6:30 pm

A get-together for crafters and makers!

Bring your crocheting, knitting, cross-stitching, lace-making, tatting, or whatever it is you like to do and spend some time with others who do it too! An informal evening of fun.

Puzzle People

Thursday, october 15, at 11:30 am

A get-together for puzzle fanatics!

Grab a seat at the table and help piece together a puzzle while chatting with fellow puzzlers. This laid-back, drop-in style program for adults ages 18+.

We hope you'll join us!

 Creative Writing Club

wednesdays, October 7 & 21, at 6:00 pm

Share your writing with other storytelling enthusiasts or join to make friends! Join the Creative Writers Club for ages 18+. We will share your favorite piece of writing and talk about why writing is our passion.

Take a Break Book Club

Thursday, october 22, at 6:30 pm

Come join your fellow community members for a lively discussion of both classic works and modern masterpieces.

Unless otherwise noted, a limited number of book club reading copies will be available for checkout from the circulation desk about a month prior to the meeting.

FOR October:

This month, we’ll be reading Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton.

Cry, the Beloved Country, the most famous and important novel in South Africa’s history, was an immediate worldwide bestseller in 1948. Alan Paton’s impassioned novel about a black man’s country under white man’s law is a work of searing beauty.

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or valley. For fear will rob him of all if he gives too much.

Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.

We hope to see you there!

Midday Meet-Up Book Club

Thursday, October 8, at 11:30 am

Come join your fellow community members for a lively discussion of both classic works and modern masterpieces.

Unless otherwise noted, a limited number of book club reading copies will be available for checkout from the circulation desk about a month prior to the meeting.

FOR October:

This month, we’ll be reading The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama XIV and Desmond Tutu.

Two great spiritual masters share their own hard-won wisdom about living with joy even in the face of adversity.

The occasion was a big birthday. And it inspired two close friends to get together in Dharamsala for a talk about something very important to them. The friends were His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The subject was joy. Both winners of the Nobel Prize, both great spiritual masters and moral leaders of our time, they are also known for being among the most infectiously happy people on the planet.

From the beginning the book was envisioned as a three-layer birthday their own stories and teachings about joy, the most recent findings in the science of deep happiness, and the daily practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. Both the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu have been tested by great personal and national adversity, and here they share their personal stories of struggle and renewal. Now that they are both in their eighties, they especially want to spread the core message that to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others.

Most of all, during that landmark week in Dharamsala, they demonstrated by their own exuberance, compassion, and humor how joy can be transformed from a fleeting emotion into an enduring way of life.

We hope to see you there!

Armchair Traveler Challenge

Excavation Field Technician Edition

January 1 through December 30, 2026

Madison Library's Year-Long Reading Adventure

For patrons ages 15 and older.
Read fun new books and audiobooks and win stickers and other great prizes!

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Sign up at the Circulation Desk to get your reading log.

Step 2: Read a book that fits a task listed in one of the Inventory Log sheets. Read another. And another. You can get a sticker for each task.

Step 3: For every Log sheet completed, bring your log in to the Circulation Desk for a small prize and an entry for the grand prize final drawing at the end of the year.

Step 4: Keep reading! If you complete your Artifact Reading Journal, you'll receive a special 2026 Armchair Traveler prize in commemoration of your achievement.

If you finish early, you can obtain an additional reading log and work towards becoming a Dig Director, earning extra prizes and entries into the final drawing!

Reading is the perfect way to unearth information, entertainment, and
understanding, and we are ready to delve into some great books!

GET YOUR SPADES READY, HERE WE GO!

General Collections

For older teens and adults

Most Items Located on the East Side of the Building

We have a wide variety of materials for all you learning and entertainment needs!
Having a hard time finding something? Ask a librarian!

Along with Fiction and Nonfiction we also provide the following materials:

• LARGE PRINT - we have both fiction and nonfiction titles.
• AUDIOBOOKS - books on CD.
• eBOOKS and eAUDIOS - downloadable from the Libby app on your phone or tablet.
• MAGAZINES
• MUSIC CDs - in a wide variety of genres.
• DVDs & BLU-RAYs - these are located in the front lobby.
• SPECIALTY COLLECTIONS:
  • COOKBOOKS
  • BIOGRAPHIES
  • GRAPHIC NOVELS and COMICS
  • FOREIGN LANGUAGE COLLECTION - located next to the Children's materials.
  • IDAHO COLLECTION - materials dedicated to books on Idaho. You’ll find specialty books here on the great gem state, biographies, studies on the flora and fauna, local histories, and books by Idaho authors. Since many of these volumes can’t be replaced, they aren’t available for home use, but we encourage you to explore our great state here in the library.
  • SPECIAL and RARE ITEMS - located in the glass cases. These items do not circulate, but can be read in the library.
  • KITS - we have several types of kits:
    • ADULT EXPLORATION KITS - like having a college course in a red or yellow bag!
    • BOOK CLUB KITS - with several copies of the same book and other education materials; in burgundy bags.
    • SPEEDY READER KITS - the entire book series in one bag; in pale blue and grey bags.