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| - During the 2013 Savor South Madison Taste Race, I spent quite a bit of time roaming the South Park Street corridor and witnessed firsthand the renaissance the area is experiencing. The new Villager Mall, the South Side Clinic for the Access Community Health Center, the phoenix-like rebirth of Taqueria Guadalajara and the expansion of the St Mary's Hospital are all testaments to positive changes taking place in this neighborhood. In my opinion, the best example of the area's metamorphosis is the Goodman South Madison branch of the Madison Public Library system. With numerous meeting rooms, a children's section designed to stimulate interaction, original artwork covering the walls and a boatload of computer terminals, this new building serves as a community center in addition to its library duties. Every time I visit, it's buzzing with activity.
I'm a fan of the reading area in the southwest corner of the building. With its fireplace, comfy chairs, a multitude of outlets to plug in your laptop and free wi-fi, it's a great place to drop in and get some work done. It's isolated from the rest of the library, so the activity in other sections of the building does not serve as a distraction to the patrons in this cozy little nook.
As Pearl mentioned in her review, the staff members are always über-helpful.
The only negative I can see if that the content selection at this branch is less than the Central Library and some of the other branches. However, with the use of LINKCAT, you can access media from 53 libraries that are members of the South Central Library System, so it's not that big of deal. And with more stores opening in the new Villager Mall, parking can be a challenge at times.
If you haven't visited this library yet, I strongly encourage you to check it out.
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