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100 Things to Explore at MPL

  1. Try a recipe from the Historic Recipe File.
  2. Explore our YouTube channel and view virtual programs you may have missed.
  3. Visit The Bookseller at the Central Library.
  4. Join one of the many Book Clubs hosted by the library or start your own with a Book Club Kit.
  5. Watch retro promotional videos from MPL's Own Archives from decades past.
  6. Learn a new language using one of our Databases (Digital Resources): Mango Languages, Pronunciator, or Transparent Language.
  7. Check out digital magazines with OverDrive Magazines.
  8. Browse what others are reading with the Straight Outta the Book Return display at the East Branch.
  9. Visit our NOW@MPL Blog to read interesting stories and research articles written by staff.
  10. Walk the Field Work MKE Poetry Path around Central Library and the Milwaukee Public Museum.
  11. Get Kanopy, a cost-free and ad-free movie, and TV streaming service.
  12. Stream (or download and keep) free music from Freegal Music. 
  13. Ask a librarian for a book recommendation (or visit our recommendation booklists online).
  14. Sign up for text message notifications to keep track of your holds, overdue items, and renewals. Watch a video to learn how!
  15. Explore the green infrastructure at the Tippecanoe Branch including rain gardens, bioswales, solar panels, permeable paving, pollinator, and herb gardens.
  16. Browse the library's historical Sheet Music Collection online.
  17. Follow MPL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
  18. Develop a new skill using Gale Courses with online classes that range from learning American Sign Language to grant writing.
  19. Check out a Chromebook from any MPL location (Must be 18 years old or older).
  20. Cozy up by a fireplace at the East, Good Hope, Mitchell Street, or Villard Square Branches.
  21. Take a selfie with the Ben Franklin sculpture at the Wisconsin Avenue entrance of the Central Library.
  22. 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.)
  23. View our Wisconsin Concert Poster Digital Collection of performances in the Milwaukee area.
  24. Look for the architectural plans for your home using the Wisconsin Architectural Archive (WAA).
  25. View historic maps and atlases in the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room. 
  26. Learn about the history of Milwaukee's city government by viewing the City of Milwaukee Archives.
  27. Use the Value Line 'Investment Education' tab to learn about stocks and how to diversify your portfolio.
  28. If you are interested in presenting an adult program at the library, submit an Adult Program Proposal online. 
  29. Build a business plan with our Business Research resources.
  30. Identify the famous African Americans in the Center Street Branch mural in the vestibule.
  31. Find and count all of the gargoyles at the Bay View Branch.
  32. Get to know the Libby - the library reading app to download free ebooks and audiobooks.
  33. Make an appointment to see unimaginable rarities from the Richard E. & Lucile Krug Rare Books Room at the Central Library. 
  34. Make a Gift to the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation to help support library services in the community. 
  35. Bring the kid in your life to the Good Hope Branch to build a fort out of moveable blocks.
  36. Ask a Question by calling Ready Reference (414) 286-3011, via text, IM, or email.
  37. Find a program that interests you, either virtual or in-person, on our Events, Programs & Classes online calendar. 
  38. Read a story on the Three Stairs at the Capitol Branch that lead to the old exit of the building.
  39. Find the upside-down pillar on the marble Grand Staircase at the Wisconsin Avenue entrance of Central Library going up to the 2nd floor.
  40. 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.
  41. Register online for a new library card! 
  42. Put an item on hold using CountyCat and have it delivered to the branch of your choice.
  43. Learn about the history of Browser the Library Lion and more on the Kid's web page.
  44. Use a desktop or sit anywhere in the library with a library laptop.
  45. See the Spirit of Manitou Guido Brink sculpture at the Tippecanoe Branch.
  46. Visit the Media Room at Central Library and find a wide selection of items there, including records!
  47. See what they're saying about MPL on the news and radio by visiting our Library Press Room.
  48. Explore the East Branch's interior and exterior public art.
  49. Work with live virtual tutors and specialists using Brainfuse in a variety of subjects for all ages including tutoring and resume help.
  50. Take advantage of the Mitchell Street Branch's extensive Spanish language selection areas for every age group.
  51. Connect a friend (or yourself!) with resources available at the Wisconsin Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) for the Blind and print disabled.
  52. Immerse yourself in the floor-to-ceiling murals of Reynaldo Hernández on three walls of the Children's Area at the Center Street Branch.
  53. Print, Scan, & Fax at your neighborhood branch! 
  54. Check out the beautiful indoor plants and the outdoor plants in the garden boxes at the Capitol Branch.
  55. Use Auto Repair Source to find detailed information about your car to help maintain, fix and replace parts
  56. Find the mice carved into a pillar in the Central Library's Betty Brinn Children's Room.
  57. Help a friend (or yourself!) prepare for the exam to become a US citizen using ProCitizen U. S. Citizenship Preparation.
  58. 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.
  59. Explore the Great Lakes Marine Collection of ship files, log books, wreck reports, and more, documenting vessels that sailed the Great Lakes.
  60. Make a little kid's day by watching the train out the west windows of the Good Hope Branch.
  61. 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.
  62. Relax in the Atkinson Branch garden space complete with an outdoor sculpture, flower boxes, and outdoor seating.
  63. View historic newspapers, including past Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel editions in-person and online.
  64. Can't find what you want in our catalog? Recommend a Purchase! 
  65. Learn how to patent or trademark your idea.
  66. 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
  67. Request a Book Bundle of carefully curated books put together with love by a librarian based on an interest or genre of your choice.
  68. Explore the Historic Photo Archives' large collections of photographs, negatives, and slides of people and places from Milwaukee’s past.
  69. Walk the Central Library Art Gallery featuring paintings featuring Milwaukee scenes on loan from the Milwaukee Art Museum's permanent collection.
  70. 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.
  71. Download Hoopla on your device to check out available ebooks, audiobooks, music, movies, TV shows, and more immediately!
  72. Use the African American Genealogy Pathfinder to get started searching for ancestors.
  73. Are you a Milwaukee teacher? Get a special Teacher Card for fine forgiveness, extended loan periods, and more on MPL-owned items.
  74. Take the railroad hobbyist in your life to explore the Milwaukee Road Archives collection of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad.
  75. Find the geocache at the Martin Luther King Branch in a fake book hidden in the African American nonfiction section.
  76. Enjoy the stained glass windows at the Atkinson Branch.
  77. Hang out and read in the newly remodeled Zablocki Branch courtyard.
  78. Check out our Refugee and Immigrant Services for English Language Learners (ELL) including English Conversation Hour and English Reading Hour programming.
  79. Download (and keep) a book of poetry - or hundreds of other books - with eBook Collection (EBSCO).
  80. Get a Business Card for corporations, partnerships, government agencies, associations, and non-profits, located in the City of Milwaukee.
  81. Access this treasure trove of unique, digitized local history collections right in your living room through our MPL Digital Library.
  82. Pose with the giant book in the Betty Brinn Children's Room entryway full of memorable quotations lit with colorful spotlights.
  83. Lift up your voice and register to vote at any MPL location.
  84. Appreciate the poignancy of Wishes in the Wind by David Lenz at Central Library, featuring three Milwaukee children playing on Holton Street.
  85. Learn about the world's cultural diversity with Country Reports.
  86. 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.
  87. Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter to stay up-to-date on upcoming programs and events at MPL!
  88. 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.
  89. Find that dance hall your grandparents met at by researching the history of a Wisconsin business with our Business History resources.
  90. Pick up your holds from the comfort of your car at the Central Library Drive-Up along the 8th Street side of the library.
  91. Enjoy a snapshot of Milwaukee from 1976-1981 with these CETA Arts Program Photographs taken by students capturing “The Spirit of Milwaukee”
  92. Enjoy beautiful window exhibit displays at the Mitchell Street Branch which highlight special themes and events.
  93. 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
  94. Look through civil rights activist and America's Black Holocaust Museum founder Dr. James Cameron's historic Pamphlet Collection.
  95. Use PressReader for access to over 6,000 newspapers and magazines.
  96. 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.  
  97. Peruse the carefully curated, sought-out mystery section of the Zablocki Branch.
  98. Meet authors and illustrators of youth literature and find diverse books with BookConnections.
  99. Watch a book reading with a child using Overdrive Kids Videos.
  100. Find the "Keep our Library Open!" protest art by Nicolas Lampert and Paul Kjellard at the Villard Square Branch.