Featured Events

National Poetry Month Contest Winners 2026Congratulations to this year's winners of the Monroe County Library System's National Poetry month poetry contest!Adult Category The Camel that Broke the Straw's Back By Gerald Rice The world is upside downAnd I absolutely love Being trapped between the edgesMy tongue right-sided with wrong words, Stretched across the narrow spaceWhere you used to love me, Held by a thingWith no arms, That stares outThrough empty sockets With the driest kissesThat ever told me goodbye Dream sweetlyWhile I...

Ellis Youth Maker's Mart 2026Call for Artists and Crafters! Looking for young artists and crafters (Kindergarten - Grade 12) to sell their handmade creations at the Ellis Youth Maker's Mart.Saturday, November 7, 2026 | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Ellis Library & Reference Center | 3700 South Custer Road | Monroe, MI | 734-241-5277Participation Guidelines: Applicants must be students (Kindergarten-Grade 12). Artists and crafters under age 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Applicants must send the following information to...

National Poetry Month Contest 2026The Monroe County Library System is celebrating National Poetry month with a poetry contest! Submit an original poem by turning it in at your local branch, or via email to [email protected]. Please make sure you have your name, age, and contact information on the page with the poem.Submissions Accepted April 1 - April 30, 2026Guidelines: Poems may be rhyming or non-rhyming Poems must be no longer than one typed page Include your name, phone number, age, and email on the entry Submit...

Adult Summer Reading 2025Why let kids have all the fun? This summer, "Adventure Begins at Your Library" with the chance to read and win prizes!Participating branches:Bedford Branch Library Summer Reading for Adults | June 24, 2025 - August 31, 2025 Read this summer and be entered to win prizes, including Kroger gift cards! For every 30 minutes spent reading, color in a bubble on your bookmark. When you fill up your bookmark, drop it off at the Bedford Branch Library to be entered into a weekly drawing for free books! Pick up an...

National Poetry Month Contest Winners 2025Congratulations to this year's winners of the Monroe County Library System's National Poetry month poetry contest!Adult Category March 2020: Hope By Brandy Dixon the little black bird with drops of red on his wings           sits in the ordinary backdrop of a world in the labor pains of spring while everything is still bleak                                                      and brown                                                                           and dirty   flowers—and all...

Ellis Youth Maker's Mart 2025Call for Artists and Crafters! Looking for young artists and crafters (Kindergarten - Grade 12) to display and sell their handmade creations.Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm At the Ellis Library & Reference Center, 3700 South Custer Road, Monroe, MIParticipation Guidelines: Applicants must be students (Kindergarten-Grade 12). Artists and crafters under age 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Applicants must send the following information to [email protected]: Maker’s...

National Poetry Month Contest 2025The Monroe County Library System is celebrating National Poetry month with a poetry contest! Submit an original poem by turning it in at your local branch, or via email to [email protected]. Please make sure you have your name, age, and contact information on the page with the poem.Submissions Accepted April 1, 2025 - April 30, 2025Guidelines: Poems may be rhyming or non-rhyming Poems must be no longer than one typed page Include your name, phone number, age, and email on the entry...

Navarre Branch Reopens in Temporary LocationL.S. Navarre Branch Library Opens in Temporary New Location The Monroe County Library System is pleased to announce the L.S. Navarre Branch Library will reopen at a new temporary location on Monday, February 3, 2025, resuming their previous business hours. “We are so excited to be opening again and welcoming the neighborhood back into the library,” said City Library Manager, Amber Reed. The branch will offer four public computers, room for story time, some programs and a modest-sized...

One Book, One Community Coloring Contest Running March 1 - March 31, 2025 Show off your creativity in our county wide coloring contest! Our coloring sheet was kindly provided by artist Marjorie Sarnat. Please make sure your name, phone number, and email address are on the back of your returned sheet. Winners will be announced by April 11, 2025. Submissions may be displayed online or in the library. Only one entry per person and you may only use the provided coloring sheet. Contest Guidelines Pick up a coloring sheet at any branch of...