100 Things to Explore at MPL
- Try a recipe from the Historic Recipe File.
- Explore our YouTube channel and view virtual programs you may have missed.
- Visit The Bookseller at the Central Library.
- Join one of the many Book Clubs hosted by the library or start your own with a Book Club Kit.
- Watch retro promotional videos from MPL's Own Archives from decades past.
- Learn a new language using one of our Databases (Digital Resources): Mango Languages, Pronunciator, or Transparent Language.
- Check out digital magazines with OverDrive Magazines.
- Browse what others are reading with the Straight Outta the Book Return display at the East Branch.
- Visit our NOW@MPL Blog to read interesting stories and research articles written by staff.
- Walk the Field Work MKE Poetry Path around Central Library and the Milwaukee Public Museum.
- Get Kanopy, a cost-free and ad-free movie, and TV streaming service.
- Stream (or download and keep) free music from Freegal Music.
- Learn about Central Library through the self-guided tour! Scan the QR codes on kiosks stationed throughout the building, or you can find this digital tour on our website.
- Sample the Historic Menu Collection—an assortment of Milwaukee area menus from the early 20th century to the present.
- Explore the green infrastructure at the Tippecanoe Branch including rain gardens, bioswales, solar panels, permeable paving, pollinator, and herb gardens.
- Browse the library's historical Sheet Music Collection online.
- Follow MPL on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
- Develop a new skill using Gale Courses with online classes that range from learning American Sign Language to grant writing.
- Check out a Chromebook from any MPL location (Must be 18 years old or older).
- Cozy up by a fireplace at the East, Good Hope, Mitchell Street, or Villard Square Branches.
- Take a selfie with the Ben Franklin sculpture at the Wisconsin Avenue entrance of the Central Library.
- Research your family genealogy on Ancestry Institutional Edition*.
(*Not available outside of Milwaukee Public Libraries, but some free content from the National Archives is now available remotely.) - View our Wisconsin Concert Poster Digital Collection of performances in the Milwaukee area.
- Look for the architectural plans for your home using the Wisconsin Architectural Archive (WAA).
- View historic maps and atlases in the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room.
- Learn about the history of Milwaukee's city government by viewing the City of Milwaukee Archives.
- Use the Value Line 'Investment Education' tab to learn about stocks and how to diversify your portfolio.
- If you are interested in presenting an adult program at the library, submit an Adult Program Proposal online.
- Build a business plan with our Business Research resources.
- Identify the famous African Americans in the Center Street Branch mural in the vestibule.
- Find and count all of the gargoyles at the Bay View Branch.
- Get to know the Libby - the library reading app to download free ebooks and audiobooks.
- Make an appointment to see unimaginable rarities from the Richard E. & Lucile Krug Rare Books Room at the Central Library.
- Make a Gift to the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation to help support library services in the community.
- Bring the kid in your life to the Good Hope Branch to build a fort out of moveable blocks.
- Ask a Question by calling Ready Reference (414) 286-3011, via text, IM, or email.
- Find a program that interests you, either virtual or in-person, on our Events, Programs & Classes online calendar.
- Read a story on the Three Stairs at the Capitol Branch that lead to the old exit of the building.
- Find the upside-down pillar on the marble Grand Staircase at the Wisconsin Avenue entrance of Central Library going up to the 2nd floor.
- Students can access MPL's full array of online resources 24/7 by visiting librarynow.org - at school, at home, on tablets, phones, laptops, or desktop computers.
- Register online for a new library card!
- Put an item on hold using CountyCat and have it delivered to the branch of your choice.
- Learn about the history of Browser the Library Lion and more on the Kid's web page.
- Use a desktop or sit anywhere in the library with a library laptop.
- See the Spirit of Manitou Guido Brink sculpture at the Tippecanoe Branch.
- Visit the Media Room at Central Library and find a wide selection of items there, including records!
- See what they're saying about MPL on the news and radio by visiting our Library Press Room.
- Explore the East Branch's interior and exterior public art.
- Work with live virtual tutors and specialists using Brainfuse in a variety of subjects for all ages including tutoring and resume help.
- Take advantage of the Mitchell Street Branch's extensive Spanish language selection areas for every age group.
- Connect a friend (or yourself!) with resources available at the Wisconsin Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) for the Blind and print disabled.
- Immerse yourself in the floor-to-ceiling murals of Reynaldo Hernández on three walls of the Children's Area at the Center Street Branch.
- Print, Scan, & Fax at your neighborhood branch!
- Check out the beautiful indoor plants and the outdoor plants in the garden boxes at the Capitol Branch.
- Visit the makerspaces to make crafts and fun memories!
- Find the mice carved into a pillar in the Central Library's Betty Brinn Children's Room.
- Help a friend (or yourself!) prepare for the exam to become a US citizen using ProCitizen U. S. Citizenship Preparation.
- Ponder the meaning of the 400 lb Megaphor statue by Steve Feren in the Washington Park Branch lobby made from more than 160 blown glass objects.
- Explore the Great Lakes Marine Collection of ship files, log books, wreck reports, and more, documenting vessels that sailed the Great Lakes.
- Make a little kid's day by watching the train out the west windows of the Good Hope Branch.
- View the accordion book by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. containing Dr. King’s most noted quotations and adinkra symbols at the Martin Luther King Branch.
- Relax in the Atkinson Branch garden space complete with an outdoor sculpture, flower boxes, and outdoor seating.
- View historic newspapers, including past Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel editions in-person and online.
- Can't find what you want in our catalog? Recommend a Purchase!
- Learn how to patent or trademark your idea.
- On the North facing wall of the Villard Square Branch, find the person reading and follow the birds to find who they are reading to
- Request a Book Bundle of carefully curated books put together with love by a librarian based on an interest or genre of your choice.
- Explore the Historic Photo Archives' large collections of photographs, negatives, and slides of people and places from Milwaukee’s past.
- Walk the Central Library Art Gallery featuring paintings featuring Milwaukee scenes on loan from the Milwaukee Art Museum's permanent collection.
- Stroll over the tile art map of the Bay View area at three different points of the population (1836, 1900, and 1993) in the lobby of the Bay View Branch.
- Download Hoopla on your device to check out available ebooks, audiobooks, music, movies, TV shows, and more immediately!
- Use the African American Genealogy Pathfinder to get started searching for ancestors.
- Are you a Milwaukee teacher? Get a special Teacher Card for fine forgiveness, extended loan periods, and more on MPL-owned items.
- Take the railroad hobbyist in your life to explore the Milwaukee Road Archives collection of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad.
- Find the geocache at the Martin Luther King Branch in a fake book hidden in the African American nonfiction section.
- Enjoy the stained glass windows at the Atkinson Branch.
- Hang out and read in the newly remodeled Zablocki Branch courtyard.
- Check out our Refugee and Immigrant Services for English Language Learners (ELL) including English Conversation Hour and English Reading Hour programming.
- Download (and keep) a book of poetry - or hundreds of other books - with eBook Collection (EBSCO).
- Get a Business Card for corporations, partnerships, government agencies, associations, and non-profits, located in the City of Milwaukee.
- Access this treasure trove of unique, digitized local history collections right in your living room through our MPL Digital Library.
- Pose with the giant book in the Betty Brinn Children's Room entryway full of memorable quotations lit with colorful spotlights.
- Lift up your voice and register to vote at any MPL location.
- Appreciate the poignancy of Wishes in the Wind by David Lenz at Central Library, featuring three Milwaukee children playing on Holton Street.
- Learn about the world's cultural diversity with Country Reports.
- Use PropertyLink(SM) Library Edition to look up real estate information like owners, assessments, tax values, structural features, and sales history of parcels throughout the state.
- Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter to stay up-to-date on upcoming programs and events at MPL!
- View the Wisconsin Writer's Hall of Fame at the Central Library that pays tribute to a spectrum of literary talents--novelists, poets, journalists, playwrights, historians--whose work has been influenced by their life and experiences in Wisconsin.
- Find that dance hall your grandparents met at by researching the history of a Wisconsin business with our Business History resources.
- Pick up your holds from the comfort of your car at the Central Library Drive-Up along the 8th Street side of the library.
- Enjoy a snapshot of Milwaukee from 1976-1981 with these CETA Arts Program Photographs taken by students capturing “The Spirit of Milwaukee”
- Enjoy beautiful window exhibit displays at the Mitchell Street Branch which highlight special themes and events.
- View the Hans Christian Andersen window designed by Marie Herndl (one of the first women to work in stained glass) in the Betty Brinn Children's Room at Central Library
- Look through civil rights activist and America's Black Holocaust Museum founder Dr. James Cameron's historic Pamphlet Collection.
- Use PressReader for access to over 6,000 newspapers and magazines.
- Do you have an ancestor who fought in World War I? Are you interested in military history? View our World War I Military Portraits that includes information and images of thousands of Wisconsin soldiers.
- Peruse the carefully curated, sought-out mystery section of the Zablocki Branch.
- Meet authors and illustrators of youth literature and find diverse books with BookConnections.
- Share your time and generosity through volunteer opportunities at MPL.
- Find the "Keep our Library Open!" protest art by Nicolas Lampert and Paul Kjellard at the Villard Square Branch.