Lecture Event

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Help us celebrate National Library Week with the true story of Lutie Stearns!

We invite community members of the Monona and Madison area to join us for an afternoon with Michael Johnson, President and CEO of Boys and Girls Club of Dane County to celebrate local Black History. As Michael emphasizes, "Sometimes we focus so much on slavery and the civil rights movement that we forget to share accomplishments achieved by African Americans in our own backyard." Michael will share his documentary, "A History of Black Madison" developed in partnership with Boys and Girls Club of Dane County and Madison365, and will discuss three key figures of Black History in the area.

Many folks know that our modern-day Santa Claus had his start as St. Nicholas, but what happened on the journey to make us think of a "jolly old elf" rather than a pious Christian Bishop? Where, exactly, did Santa Claus come from, and why does his popularity remain so high in modern American popular culture?

This illustrated lecture is well-researched, with details on the journey Bishop Nicholas made to become our current-day Santa Claus. You’ll enjoy recognizing many familiar images and poems in this holiday program.

Put on your zoot suit and follow in the footsteps of America's most infamous gangsters as they turn WI into their personal crime vacation land. Filled with deadly bank robberies, explosive shootouts, brutal murders, and daring kidnappings, this presentation lets the audience discover the grisly locations where the gangster history will never die.

Registration required. Click here to register.

In 2018 Micaela Sullivan-Fowler installed an exhibition called "Staggering Losses: WW1 and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918." Little did she know that the exhibition would be shuttered by another Pandemic, the one we are experiencing in 2020. She will give a short background on the exhibition itself, how the "Spanish Flu" affected our local populations and how the exhibition resonated for those who visited. Micaela will also touch on the similarities and differences between the two Pandemics.

 This event will start out with Outrider’s 7 minute film When the Earth Moves and continue the talk stating why it was done, and how it contextualizes the past, present, and future of environmental action.

Teaching in Polarized Times

The political climate in the United States makes it extremely challenging for schools and universities to fulfill their historic obligation to teach for democracy.  During the session, Dean Diana Hess will argue that despite significant and growing challenges to democratic education in K-12 schools and higher education, it remains a vitally important part of our mission.

This 45-minute live program is an introduction to the crocodilian family. Bruce Shwedick begins his presentation by comparing the skulls of these iconic reptiles and then the audience will meet four live crocodilians from around the globe. A 15-minute question and answer session will follow his presentation.

Women across the state, nation, and world fought for the right to vote. We will discuss the fight and the victory as well as the fact that enfranchisement did not change everything women wanted. Learn about the social, economic, and political climate of the 1920s and 1930s while we explore how women’s everyday lives, clothing, and careers were impacted (or not impacted) by the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Christine Brookes is the Outreach Coordinator at Lake Geneva's Black Point Estate and Gardens, one of Wisconsin's twelve Historic Sites.

Local history buffs Pia Kinney James and Char Braxton pay tribute to their legacies in Madison through a discussion of Madison past, present and future.  James was the first African American woman police officer and Braxton is on staff with the Odyssey Program. Both are from African American families who have lived in Madison for generations.  There will also be a Soul food meal featuring African American food from local African American caterer, Ruthie’s Chili Spot.