Madison Public Library – Sequoya Branch

One reason I chose to live in the Midvale Heights neighborhood 25 years ago is this library. When Sequoya Commons on the corner of Tokay and Midvale was under development, the neighborhood association made its completion contingent upon the expansion and remodel of the Sequoya branch library, which, at the time, was Madison’s busiest branch. Now the library is even better, partly because of the improvements made to the facilities, and partly because Sequoya Commons has brought more activity to that corner of the neighborhood. What I love best about it is how busy it is. There’s always a quiet buzz of life there, and lots of good programs for kids and adults.
The library is clean, well-​lit, comfortable, with plenty of space, both open and private. Helpful staff. Meeting rooms and community rooms available by reservation. Wifi, computers, comfy chairs, wonderful children’s area. Self-​check-​out. You can see photos at the architect’s website here:
Thanks to Sequoya Commons, the library now shares the block (and parking lot) with a coffee shop, an ice cream shoppe, a salon, a restaurant, a toy store, a pet supply store, a bead shop, a gym, and a little grocery store.

Super clean and organized library. However, the staff is just way too rude for my liking. Most of the librarians just frown.

We actually came here as out-​of-​towners during a snow storm… we had a bit of time to kill and my son needed to move! We had to check out of our hotel and in an effort to find a place to go for a little sensory/​movement, I stumbled upon this place!
So glad we did.
I’ll speak only to the kid’s section, but the rest of it was definitely clean and spacious.
The kid section is in the corner… so not disruptive. They can roam freely in the open space and you only have to corral them into the corner! There is a train set table, coloring books, colors, manipulatives, puzzles, and all kids of fun pretend-​play toys. And of course… books!
The parking isn’t so super and the entrance to the driveway nearly too my bumper with it! But overall, this place was the perfect getaway for us and a much-​needed opportunity for my son to stretch his legs before our 2.5 hour drive back to Chicago.

Short but helpful staff. And great new building in a great new shopping center. Lots of self-​checkout and fabulous hours (until 9 on fridays!)

The Sequoya library on Midvale is a brand new building, so it’s really nice. It’s very user friendly – it’s very laptop friendly with lots of outlets and free wireless, and the computers seem new and updated. I noticed that the bathrooms had the first dual flush toilets I’ve ever seen in the US (push handle up for liquids, down for solids). There are lots of self checkout stations to make things move faster, although I admit I abhor library self checkouts because they never seem to work correctly. Nice «teen» area, well designed facilities. Parking lot can be busy. There is also an ice cream shop, coffee shop, children’s toy store, and pet accessory store in the same building. FYI these shops all do seem to close pretty early, the coffee shop certainly doesn’t stay open late like some do.
My only complaint is the book selection is not bad, but not as good as Middleton or Central library branch. Perhaps as they settle into their new space, they will improve book selection.

Clean, quiet, comfortable. Best thing? 9 PM closing on Friday. Grab a DVD after dinner, perfect.