Milwaukee County Federated Library System

Wow, check this out! (Literally)

The Brown Deer Public Library is thrilled to announce that we now have three Harley Davidson Museum membership passes to circulate!

The pass entitles up to 2 adults and children 17 and under:

- Free admission to the museum (all children must be accompanied by an adult - at least 1 adult per every 5 children)
- If additional tickets are needed for your visit, admission can be purchased at 50% off for same-day use only
- 10% off at Harley-Davidson Shop
- 10% off at MOTOR Bar & Restaurant
- 20% off purchase of personal Family Annual Pass when visiting with your Library’s Community Annual Pass

You can check this pass out at our Circulation Desk or at our Drive-Through Window. Passes have a 5 day checkout and cannot be renewed.

Sully and Susanna Watson were originally from Virginia. Sully was able to buy his freedom for $500 (approx. $15,000 today) in 1827. He worked off the debt and became a free man in 1832. VA law required those who purchased their freedom to vacate the state within 1 year following. The Watsons headed North.

After settling for a bit in Ohio, the Watsons moved to Milwaukee in 1850 to join their daughter, Ann Georgianna. She had relocated there after she married businessman William Henry. It took them over a month to make the journey by wagon.

The Watsons purchased a home in Old Juneau Town (222 E Mason St). Their daughter's home was believed to be located at 310 Sycamore (Michigan) and a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Documentation in the 19th century was not great, especially for Black families. The Watsons are an important part of Milwaukee and Black History because of all of the documentation they left behind. We are able to piece together what life would have been like for a Black family pre and post Emancipation.

*Information sourced from mpm.edu

Learn more about early Milwaukee life in section 977.595 at the library.

What’s your favorite opening line?

How about: James and the Giant Library. 📚🍑

It's time to start thinking about taxes! You can pick up all your tax forms at most libraries, and there are a few locations where you can make an appointment to get help filling them out. Follow this link for more information: https://www.mcfls.org/2024-tax-assistance/

UPDATE:
Due to the worsening weather conditions, Milwaukee Public Library's Central Library and all branches will close at noon. Mitchell Street and Atkinson will not open today at all.
Oak Creek Public Library will be closing at noon.
Wauwatosa Public Library will close at noon.
St. Francis Public Library will be closing at 1:00.
West Allis will close at 2:00.

Due to our snow storm today, the following libraries will be closed:
Brown Deer Public Library
Shorewood Public Library
Whitefish Bay Public Library
Greenfield Public Library
Hales Corners Library
Franklin Public Library

As the storm continues, it is possible that other libraries will close early. Please check their social media pages or call before heading out. Stay warm, stay safe!

Remember you can always access our online resources 24/7 no matter what the weather! Read e-books and magazines, stream movies and music, take a class, and more! Learn more here: https://www.mcfls.org/digital-resources/

It's time to vote for the Milwaukee County Teen Book Award! You have until March 1 to add your voice to this year's winner. Learn more at https://mkecountyteenbookaward.tumblr.com, or scan the QR code.

The West Allis Library will be closed today due to the impending bad weather. Please check with your library to be sure they are open, and stay safe on the roads! ❄️🌨❄️

G O A L S

A woman examining giant books in the Prague Castle Archives. Czech Republic, 1940s.

How to get the most out of your library : Pop Culture Happy Hour Your local library is a great source for books. But it can also be a great resource for helping you with your new year's resolution. Perhaps you want to learn a new language, take a cooking class, or research your family's genealogy. Or maybe you just want to save a ton of money. Today, we're presen...

Get a head start on 2024 by taking a free online course through the public library!

The five most popular classes in 2023 were:
1. Start Your Own Small Business
2. Speed Spanish
3. Accounting Fundamentals
4. Discover Sign Language
5. Introduction to Microsoft Excel

What would YOU like to learn this year? Take a 6 week class on a wide variety of topics ranging from starting a small business to improving homeschooling skills to assisting aging parents. Every course is offered each month.

Check out all the course listings here: https://www.mcfls.org/level-up-learning/

Happy New Year!
How many books are you going to read this year? 📚❤

Even though all our libraries are closed on major holidays, remember you can always find wonderful ebooks, audio books, magazines, music and movies using our online resources! Check it out here, and happy holidays!
https://www.mcfls.org/digital-resources/

A very merry Christmas from all your book-loving friends at the Milwaukee County Federated Library System!

Our libraries will have altered schedules over the next couple of weeks, beginning tomorrow, (Friday 12/22). Please check the link below to see your library's hours before heading out over the next few days (Note that all libraries will be closed on Christmas Day and New Years Day): https://www.mcfls.org/holiday/

It's true! Our "library of things" has a huge assortment of unexpected items that you can take home to use! Get ready for your holiday guests with some homemade baked good using borrowed pans. Borrow some puzzles or games to entertain. Get passes to several local attractions for some fun outings while the kids are home from school
You can find out more and see the full list here: https://www.mcfls.org/non-traditional-materials-for-checkout/

Looking for something extra special for holiday gifts? Stop by the North Shore Library to bid on original artwork! All proceeds to toward their Capital Campaign. The auction runs through 1/31/24.

Why not shop for a unique holiday gift while supporting your library? Bid on the work of local artist Jim Krahn during our silent art auction. Happening now adjacent to our Young Adult section.

All proceeds to benefit our Capital Campaign.

Suggested donations based on current market value as determined by the donor.

Paintings are already being sold - hurry to take advantage of this opportunity to support the Library and get a beautiful painting!

The CountyCat mobile app has been updated.

If you have automatic updates turned on, you won't have to do anything. Or, you can manually update by going into the update section of the Apple app store, or google play. Among other things, we have added a new 2 factor authentication to logging in. if you use Libby for electronic resources, you'll see more complete integration.

For info on the new features and more, go to

CountyCat Mobile App The CountyCat Mobile app will soon be on version 2023.1. Look for an update in iOS and Google Play. Patrons new to the app, can use the App store icons at t

Stop by the Oak Creek Public Library to get some great holiday photos in their beautiful winter photo booth! And from Dec 12-18, you can bring your Christmas gifts to their amazing Wrapping Room to get all your wrapping done! Can you even believe all the incredible things your community library offers? Check out their schedules (and even more stuff going on) on their calendar here: https://oakcreeklibrary.org/events/ #/events/

"All you had to do was pull a book from the shelf and open it and suddenly the darkness was not so dark anymore."
—Ray Bradbury
Image: Foyle’s bookshop, London, 1949.

Attention all jigsaw puzzle aficionados! We are happy to announce that our new Puzzle Library is now ready to go! Feel like you want a challenge but are tired of the puzzles you already have? Come in and borrow one of ours! No need to check it out or have a library card. Just come in and borrow one.

Do you have old, complete puzzles that you want someone else to enjoy? You can drop it off there as well.

The puzzle library is located near our adult reference section, just on the shelves to the right of the adult reference desk while you are looking at it. Winter is coming quickly so come on in and grab a puzzle for those cold, snowy days. ☺️

There's still time to order some fun library-loving items from the merch store and get them before Christmas! Find great gifts for all the book lovers in your life. 📚📖
https://www.mcfls.org/store/ #!/

Shhh...! 🤫 It's a silent auction in the library! Celebrate Giving Tuesday by supporting the Friends of the Oak Creek Public Library.

Join us now until December 8 to bid on unique items perfect for the gift-giving season, donated by our community members. Check out all the amazing items available at https://tinyurl.com/4p6bds8v

Proceeds benefit the library for community enrichment. All bids must be made in person during normal library hours.

Find out more by visiting oakcreeklibrary.org/events.

The Hales Corners Library will have a delayed opening today due to heating problems. Please check their website for updates before heading in:

Hales Corners Library – Explore, Learn, Read Due to unexpected boiler issues, the library will be delaying opening until noon. Storytime is cancelled today. Please check this page for additional updates. We apologize for the inconvenience! No Story Time Today (11/28/23) Save the date- Dec. 2! We are hiring! Lego Club 2023 Click on any picture....