Hatch Public Library

Mauston, WI

Hatch Public Library established itself as a landmark for the city of Mauston. The library site is a prime downtown location which faces the intersection of two major highways and slopes downward to a city park and the Lemonweir River.

River Architects collaborated on the original building in 2000, which takes advantage of the sloping site by providing a 14,990-square-foot, single-level library space at the State Street point with an equally-sized space in a walk-out lower level which faces the park.

A clock tower highlights the library as a focal point and a front porch to welcome library patrons while expansive north facing windows to afford views to the park and river from the reading lounge and study areas.

The open plan provides for the one-point supervision and security needs that are necessary in a library of this size. A large multipurpose room can be accessed separately from the library to enable usage during non-library hours of operation. 

In 2024, the Flexible Facilities Program Grant allowed Hatch Public Library to renovate both levels of the existing library.

Updates will activate both levels of the original building for visitor use, inserting an elevator and a main staircase. The unfinished lower level will provide a variety of meeting rooms for small, medium, and large groups, restrooms, and storage rooms. The first floor of the library will add a suite of two meeting rooms and two telehealth rooms.