Marathon County Public Library

August 23, 2019

We are making good progress at MCPL with several important matters of interest.  The library’s new interior public furnishings are being designed by Engberg Anderson Architects, and we will add more information online for you once they complete those designs. The library’s foundation has agreed to grant substantial funding for the addition of new technology that will be used to enhance our STEM programming as part of this redesign, and we will be customizing our programs to best serve our communities.  We are hopeful that the ongoing roof repairs at MCPL Wausau will be completed during the coming months, but we may need to proceed with caution in order to limit any complications that might...

August 21, 2019

The Friends of the Marathon County Public Library is a dedicated group of volunteers that helps MCPL in numerous ways, including organizing quarterly book sales, purchasing artwork that is made available for checkout and donating money to the library for programming, equipment and more. Any member of the public is welcome to join the Friends and volunteer their time with these endeavors (and more). Or, if you don’t have time to volunteer, you can become a “silent” member by paying the $10 membership fee, which allows you access to the quarterly book sales a full day before the general public! Friends memberships last one full year.  The next Friends of MCPL Book Sale will be November 7-10. For more...

July 27, 2018

From recently published books to vintage classics, puzzles, DVDs, children’s books, and so much more, the Friends of the Marathon County book sale is back once again! Our dedicated group of Friends, who volunteer their time to sift through hundreds if not thousands of items for each new sale, has been working pretty close to feverishly to be ready for their next quarterly sale, which begins on Thursday, August 2, 2018, and continues through Sunday, August 5. If you haven’t stopped by the library’s Wausau Headquarters to check out our sale, what are you waiting for? The August sale marks the third in their newer space in the basement area of the building, which is accessible either through the...

July 5, 2018

The Friends of the Marathon County Public Library are getting ready for their next book sale (August 2-5), but they need your help! The Friends are asking members of the public to donate paper grocery store bags to be used at future book sales. The bags are needed for the $6 bag sale usually held on the final day of each book sale, where folks can purchase as many books as they can fit in one bag for just $6.  The paper grocery story bags can be dropped off at MCPL’s Wausau Headquarters any time the library is open. For more information, call 715-261-7240.

March 14, 2018

There is a lot going on at your library! The Friends of the Library have moved into their new digs in the old bookmobile garage, and their first book sale was a huge success. The Friends made the transition very smoothly, and we look forward to their being able to enjoy the new room for years to come as they raise money to help the library provide its programs.  On another note, the LENA Project will be gearing up in February and March of this year. The library will be hosting and facilitating this important community collaboration designed to help parents of children aged birth to three years old with the critical brain development that centers around language. There are multiple community...

January 24, 2018

The end is in sight for an effort that’s been months in the making — and years in planning — to move the Friends of the Marathon County Public Library into a new space. More than a dozen volunteers who work with the Friends of the Library spent the last several months moving thousands of books, audiobooks, movies, and other materials from the 3rd floor of the Wausau location to its new home on the ground level, located on the west side of the building and facing the river. While moving all of the existing materials, the Friends also still sift through items recently donated to the library to add to the collection. They will celebrate the move and welcome the public into the new space with their first...

November 16, 2017

After spending 1 or 2 days a week with each other for the past 20 years, the dedicated volunteers behind the Friends of the Marathon County Public Library acknowledge they’re more like family than friends. It’s a bond forged as pages flipped and the creative output of generations of writers — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children’s and young adult picture books and literature — passed through their hands. Their curiosity led them to become shepherds on a mountain of words — likely billions of words, all within an arm’s reach — as they’ve methodically worked their hands around covers to keep their charge organized, sifting, weighing each book, and deciding whether someone might want to take an item home...

August 15, 2017

I hope that all of our readers have enjoyed this pleasant, temperate summer season. We have seen a lot of changes at MCPL, and I would like to share some news about more changes you will see in the near future.  To begin, we have been using the new Wausau Community Room on the second floor of our Wausau Headquarters, and the public loves it! There is easy access via stairs or elevator, and the reviews have been very positive. If you have the need for a meeting of your nonprofit group or club, please consider using this meeting room for your next gathering of twenty or more people. Remember that all meetings at the library must be open to the public. Next, I am deeply saddened to announce that our...

April 26, 2017

Earlier this year, we acquired a new Wii U gaming console for in-house use by children and tweens at MCPL Wausau! The Wii U was purchased using funds generously provided by the Friends of the Marathon County Public Library. Not only is this system more up-to-date than the standard Wii console that came before it, but it also allows youngsters to play a wider array of games, including titles for the standard console and ones made specifically for Wii U. Additionally, MCPL offers a wide array of video games for systems like the Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 4, and more for checkout! These games can be requested from any of the nine MCPL locations and can be borrowed for 14 days at a time. For more...

July 9, 2012

Things are changing for the Friends. The takeover of administrative duties formerly performed by library staff has largely been completed thanks to hard-working committee members. We still face decisions regarding how to handle our Wausau book sales because of possible changes to the third floor space. In that regard, several board members and the director made a trip to Janesville and Madison to investigate their book sale facilities. As to book sales, the May sale raised $6,473. There will be no book sale in August, and the November sale is in question due to space issues. We continue to raise significant revenue from our relationship with Giggil, a company that buys our surplus inventory. The Membership...