Stay Connected

*Available services include: Wi-Fi, copying & printing, catalog access, item retrieval, library card registration & renewal, 2-hour access to computers, scan station, fax, copier, picking up reserved items (holds) and quick reference assistance. Holds and checkouts available, no browsing the collection.

Milwaukee Public Library is currently at the 4th phase of its path to reopening.

Open Locations*

• Atkinson Branch
• Bay View Branch
• Capitol Branch
• Central Library
• Center Street Branch
• East Branch
• Good Hope Branch
• Martin Luther King Branch
• Mitchell Street Branch
• Tippecanoe Branch
• Villard Square Branch
• Washington Park Branch
• Zablocki Branch - In order to accommodate extremely high early voter turnout, Zablocki Branch will open to the public Friday, Oct. 23-Nov. 2 for curbside service only. Zablocki will be closed on Election Day and will resume in-branch service on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Holds are available for pick up inside the 35th/Oklahoma entrance vestibule or curbside by calling (414) 708-6348. You can reserve items through CountyCat or by calling Ready Reference at (414) 286-3011.

Branch Library Hours
Monday: 1 – 7 PM
Tuesday – Saturday: 10 AM – 4 PM

Central Library Hours
Monday –  Friday: 10 AM – 6 PM
Saturday: 9 AM –  5 PM

Outside Contactless Materials Pickup 

Hours of operation (to call in requests, and pick up materials):

Central Drive-Up
Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 6 PM
Saturday: 8 AM - 5 PM

Ready Reference 
Monday - Friday: 10 AM– 6 PM
Saturday: 9 AM – 5 PM

Bay View, East, Tippecanoe, and Washington Park Branches
Monday: 1 – 7 PM
Tuesday – Saturday: 10 AM – 4 PM

Curbside service is available at the Bay View, East, Tippecanoe, and Washington Park branches and Ready Reference phone, email and chat services are available. 

How to request materials:

Call Ready Reference at 286-3011 for assistance with placing holds or use the request button from CountyCat and CountyCat mobile app to place holds.

There is a limit of 5 items per call, and up to 30 items may be placed on hold.
Place holds for pick up at open and curbside locations throughout Milwaukee County.

How to pick up materials:

No appointment is necessary for curbside pick up at Central Library Drive-Up, Bay View, East, Tippecanoe, or Washington Park Branches.

• You will be notified that your hold is ready by e-mail, text, phone, or mail notification. Ready Reference can assist you to set that preference.
• Pick up the hold within 5 business days at the desired location.
• At the Bay View and Washington Park Branches, patrons must walk up to the south entrance to pick up materials.

• At the Bay View Branch, please call our Branch cell phone at (414) 881-0969 to request staff assistance for curbside accommodations. 

• At the East Branch, please call our Branch cell phone at (414) 640-3656 to request staff assistance for curbside accommodations. Service is located in the driveway, and patrons can either wait by the curbside sign or in their vehicle (without blocking traffic), and staff will bring their items to them.

• At the Tippecanoe Branch, please call our Branch cell phone at (414) 313-7047 to request staff assistance for curbside accommodations. 
• At Central you may pull up or walk up to the Drive-Up window.
• You may also request tax forms by visiting Bay View, East Branch, and Central Drive-Up and requesting available forms. Please call Ready Reference to check on availability.

• Please note that wait times may be longer than usual for interlibrary requests. Deliveries between Milwaukee County libraries are slower than usual due to less frequent deliveries and quarantine of returned materials. Items may display the status IN TRANSIT for up to a week before delivery.

When and where to return materials:

Materials may be returned to any Milwaukee Public Library or MCFLS location. Due dates will vary according to check-out dates and fines will now accrue as normal.

Patrons may renew eligible items online or call Ready Reference to renew.

Items from other MCFLS member libraries may have varied due dates. Checkout receipts will be provided.

Digital Resources

Milwaukee Public Library provides a vast range of online services you can access from anywhere with your library card and PIN. MPL cardholders, including all Milwaukee Public School students, will be able to continue accessing online library resources and information, including eBooks, audiobooks, music, video and online resources, 24/7 on our website. Homework help is available to students through LibraryNOW on their smartphones, tablets and personal computers.

Brainfuse
Are you a student looking for live tutoring help? Need assistance with a wide range of classes from grade school reading to college physics? Connect with a teacher using the Brainfuse database!  It is a unique blend of tutoring, one-to-one homework help, state-aligned skills building, test preparation, and writing assistance for students of all ages, from elementary school to college studies. 

Freegal Music
 **UPDATE!** - each library cardholder may listen to 24 hours of streaming music per day  (until September 30, 2020) through your personal Freegal Music account and download 5 songs per week. Keep all the songs you download and listen to them whenever you want. 40,000 music videos are also available for watching or downloading.

Gale Course
Take a 6-week online 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.

Hoopla
Get ebooks, audiobooks, comics, movies, music, and TV shows through the hoopla app! Four items may be checked out each month - everything is returned automatically.  With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline enjoyment later. hoopla is a service of Midwest Tape, with more content added daily. 

• Introduction to Hoopla for Android
• Introduction to Hoopla for iOs
• View additional helpful Hoopla YouTube and user videos

NewspaperArchive.com
During this time of national social distancing, NewspaperARCHIVE.com is offering free access to libraries for users who cannot physically be in our library buildings. Read historic and everyday news articles as they occurred. These newspapers, from every state in the U. S. and around the world, supply great sources for primary history and genealogy accounts. 

Overdrive Downloadable Media
Enjoy a large selection of e-books, audiobooks, music and video for use with a wide variety of portable devices, PCs and Macs.

• Libby, by OverDrive
  Borrow ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines to read on your phone or tablet using the Libby app by OverDrive. You can even send and read your borrowed ebooks to your Kindle ereader (U.S. only)! It’s free and easy to get started for new users and a streamlined experience for current OverDrive app users. Learn more at overdrive.com/apps/libby/.

RBdigital Magazines
An online service that allows you to download digital copies of popular magazines to your computer, tablet, or mobile device.

Explore our full list of databases, A-Z. All databases can be used from home with the exception of Ancestry Institutional Edition and Foundations in Wisconsin.