A new Madison library five years in the making will open to the public on Saturday January 26th.

The new 25,000-square-foot Madison Public Library, 142 Plaza Boulevard, is just two doors down from the original library. From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, the new library will host tours and hold demos of the library equipment, plus have music and story time.

"We worked with the community, asking them what they wanted in a new library. Our design team did an amazing job at delivering to Madison a plan that incorporates all of the latest standards and technologies," said Sarah Sledge, branch manager for the Madison Public Library. "This is a library that the community will be proud of."

The Madison Public Library, which has the second highest circulation within the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system, has served the City of Madison for almost 40 years. The current library was designed to serve a population of 20,000 people. The new library will now be able to serve the 55,000 people who now call Madison home, library officials said.

"As Mayor and Council, we are so excited to see this state-of-the-art facility come to fruition and we appreciate the time, efforts and planning that have gone into this project. Our Madison Library will now be sized for success, and a gem within the City of Madison for years to come," says City of Madison Mayor Paul Finley.

The City of Madison provided the majority of the funding for this $10.2 million project, recognizing that a new library to serve the community was a priority. Fundraising efforts were also spearheaded by the Huntsville Library Foundation along with a generous donation from Redstone Federal Credit Union.

The new library will feature 21st-century amenities including the first bookstore-model layout in the library system. This concept, steering away from the traditional library organization, will be grouped similar to bookstores by subject and Dewey Decimal number. The new library will also feature creature comforts such as private study rooms, indoor fireplace with quiet reading areas, separate children's story time room and outdoor seating.

Some of the new technology amenities are a creativity lab, large outdoor movie screen, tween gaming center and an interactive early literacy center. Patrons will also be able to check out laptops at this new location to use within the library.

Some of the new technology amenities are a creativity lab, large outdoor movie