Alicia Ashman Branch-Madison Public Library

Every time I come to this location, it is very loud. Parents let their kids run around and make all kinds of distractions. When I was I kid, I was told that you should be quiet when in the library and not disturb others. I raised kids of my own and would have never allowed behavior that I am seeing now.

Great westside library. Smaller than others in Madison and could have larger children’s section with more hands on activities. But friendly staff and usually clean and inviting.
They have a wonderful children program here. The main lady who does most of the classes is awesome, Clarissa I think is her name. I’ve taken my son and children that I have nannied for to the storytime and art classes, very fun and interactive.

What??! I don’t know what happened to this branch from 2010 to 2015 but whatever it was, it wasn’t good. I walked in when they opened. The staff was vague about helping me find a book so I offered to look it up myself on the self serve. The book was listed with holds but none of them active. No one was able to tell me what that meant. They just kept telling me the reference librarian would eventually come out of the back office to help me. Fortunately, one capable employee (kudos to him) helped me look up the book again and told me it was actually on their shelves. I went to find it and… no book. Wasn’t surprised at this point. And the reference librarian (who I remember well from four years ago) seemed like she has been smoking pot or something. Sorry, I don’t mean to make allegations but she was totally checked out. I’m a nationally published author. I know how to find a book, but lend me a hand if I ask for help. Last but not least, the place smelled super musty like they had a flood! Ugh. Not going back. Ever.

This library gets all 5 stars (which I don’t know that I’ve ever handed out to any establishment in the past) for their friendly staff, prompt service, and comfortable atmosphere. Simple as that. For a small library (I moved here from Chicago so I imagine any library would seem small to me…) they seem to have a reasonable mix of genres and the staff does a wonderful job staying on top of «Holds» placed online. I don’t have kids, but this library offers kid friendly movie viewings and there are several other activity postings to be found there as well. I’m happy to have moved to this area of Madison so I can visit this branch often and always get a smile from the staff behind the desk.

I love Ashman. Clean, quiet but not too quiet, and a big selection for being a branch. New holds tend to come in pretty fast, because Ashman often orders new releases (and MPL goes down the holds list in order at wherever the item happens to be — so even if someone from Ashman is 50^th overall, but Ashman orders the only copy, that person will get it first).
I suppose as a former employee I might be a little biased, but of the five or so libraries in the area I’ve been to, it’s my favorite.