We don't live in the area, but one of things I love about the northwest suburbs is the extensive consortium of libraries that share material and allow you to use your home library card at member libraries. The Barrington Area Library (BAL) is what you would expect... large, modern, and technologically advanced. The staff is super friendly. The materials are new, updated and vast. The youth play section has a lot of activities for the kids. My youngest daughter likes the puppet show area with costumes. There are plenty of places to sit and camp. My middle daughter had a harp recital here and it was a great space for the event. Lastly, the book return area behind the checkout counter is a fun place for the kids to watch their books getting sorted on the conveyor belt. So much to like! read more

Beautiful clean spacious and wonderful staff Nice quiet place to focus on reading or work read more

Not a great library for old classic books. A few years ago, the shelves were much better. Then they renovated, and threw away absolutely everything worth reading. read more

I recently booked and attended a piano recital at the Barrington Area Library. I was captivated by the harmonious tunes the students played on the Kawaii baby grand piano. The library's hotspot rental service is handy for on-the-go internet needs. I borrow those when going on family camping trips or need extra hotspots when guests come over to the house. The convenience of book drop-off lockers at our gym is a thoughtful touch. For those seeking a quiet space for studying, the library's well-equipped conference room rentals are perfect, providing a conducive environment for focused students. Overall our family loves the Barrington Library! read more

Barrington Area Library - Library entrance - Libraries Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

This library has been going downhill ever since it was renovated and turned into a kids playground and its adult and senior citizen members were disregarded and discarded. LIbrary computers were placed for kid use, not adults. To top everything else they did wrong, their most recent app update is a total disaster making it impossible to log in. And for all this poor service, the Library District collects a portion of my property taxes! Outrageous administration! read more

If you have children this is such a fun library. If you are the type to shake your fist at tiny tykes and shout at them to get off your lawn, perhaps it's not as pleasant of an experience though since you'll be hearing the pitter patter of little feet and not so little decibels of kids simply having fun indoors. The first floor is dedicated to children's books and entertainment. The books here are stacked front facing instead of spine facing which I think does make it a little easier for kids to browse. The playground area in the middle of the children's section is amazing. There's a giant slide, Lego room, Lite Brite wall, pretend grocery store and kitchen just to name a few of the activities. I was a bit surprised to see they also have video games for rent, as well as an area where kids can play said games but I suppose that's the direction kids activities are moving towards these days. The kiddo and her cousin could have easily spent hours here! As for the book selection, I was excited that they had a lot of books from some of my kid's favorite series that they didn't have at our local library. They have a wide range of genres, with a fair amount of representation in cultures and genders. Overall I think this is a great place for your child to learn while enjoying themselves. read more

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Another day of learning at the Barrington Library! I walked the Teaching Garden and along the StoryWalk! Naomi Osaka's new book was interesting and inspiring. It won't disappoint. read more

Barrington Area Library - StoryWalk has come to the Barrington Library! Awesome way to get outside, move and read! It's for all ages! - Libraries Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

My review is based only on the children's department which is fantastic. The librarians are very friendly and welcomed us when we walked in. They have lots of fun, interactive activities for kids to play with while there including a slide, giant light bright, workshop, mini grocery store, duplo station, puppets, puzzles, a giant chalk board, and more! The family restroom is located in the area which is helpful. It's so nice to have such a wonderful library in the area to visit! read more

Fantastic kids area is a lifesaver to get the kids running around during the long Chicago winters. Giant light bright, slide, lego zone, life sized blocks, electronic games and more. read more

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Extremely frustrating & not a relaxing environment - this library has public computers which I needed to use - sounds great - however, the computers are located next to the Children Area, which happens to have a big screen tv that kids are playing & also a play area where total chaos awaits you. Kids running around - this place is more like McDonald Playland, not a well thought out library. The previous good reviews were before the BIG renovation - fireplaces are no longer & the sweet serenity is just a faded memory. Adult section located in 2nd floor. 2 flights of stairs should be for the rambunctious kids, not the adults. I am ASHAMED that my hard earned taxes paid for this ridiculous haphazard layout. When I addressed several librarians. They were unprofessional & truly did not care about my opinion. If you are looking for a kids day out, then this is perfect - if you are looking for a quiet relaxing day at the library, you need to look elsewhere. You would think that this library, situated in upscale Barrington would be first class - sadly, it is not. Heads up - watch for potholes in parking lot. read more

Barrington Area Library - Libraries Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

It's too bad this library doesn't have a drive-thru like the library in my old town, but they do have this machine that allows you to officially return media, but you still have to park and go all the way inside to do so. I also like the self check-out machines; makes everything really quick. I always request DVDs online & it's nice they email you when the item is ready to be picked up & you have six days until they put the item back. They have almost every movie I have searched for. Not sure if there is an option to request new materials, but I'll have to find out. read more

I love this library. The children's area is noisier than libraries were when I was a kid, but they have lots of activities to keep kids engaged. The other area that I love about this place is the Maker Lab. I've used the 3D printers and my wife has made use of the paper and laser cutters fir projects. I've even had my kids make their own design in TinkerCad and print it in the 3D printer. They also have music and video editing software and hardware that can be used in the library. There is so much more than books. They also have great programs. They often have special musical programs, and business programs for adults. If you live in the area sign up for their email news letters to keep up with what's going on there. read more

Absolute joke!! I walked in and I thought there were 4-5 children birthday parties going on at once. I needed to use a computer for a few hours and the only computer lab with a printer is adjacent to the play land. There were kids screaming running and playing tag!!!!!! The librarians sitting at the desk are worthless and don't care how loud it gets. The lab is also where teens come and talk and laugh as loud as they want. I will never come back here and I will tell everybody else the same. read more

Think of the Kohl's children museum but FREE and you've got Barrington Area Library. I am a cardholder of Palatine Library but you can connect your library card to the Barrington Library so you can check out books. They also have a book drop box right off of Algonquin at the Willow Rec Center which is really convenient (they actually even have book pick up there, with use of a pin and box number you can pick up your books which is placed in outdoor lockers). This place is high tech and really great for kids of all ages. I normally only come here for my children so I don't have much to say about the adult area but from what I can see, it's clean and stays pretty quiet. Now back to the children's area. The area has a lego room with lego walls so that you can play legos on a table or build right on the walls. They also have a market with play food, a huge chalkboard wall, a workshop station, 6 ipads full of child appropriate apps, a slide, puppet stage, light up wall (think light brite but a full wall!), blue foam builders, and more. The kids can play here for hours without getting bored! The book selection is really great as well and displayed really nicely so that children can see the book titles and choose books for themselves. Oh I can't forget they also have a music room along with a green room and video game station. I can't say enough great stuff about this library, every friend I have brought to the library fall in love with it and don't realize the amazing things that are in this little hidden gem of a library. This place opened up January of 2014 so everything is still very new and clean. read more

This place is perfect for little ones! There's a huge play area with a slide, light up wall, blocks, play kitchen, iPad station with educational games--keeps kids busy for hours! Not to mention a huge selection of books for young and old. There's also a park within walking distance for warm days if you want to picnic after a morning reading and playing. read more

These reviews are in 2 categories; those who have kids under the age of 5 and want a free day care. And the adults you want to use the library as a library. If you want a free day care were the staff don't care how loud your kid screams come to the Barrington Area Library. As one reviewer put it "Think of the Kohl's children museum but FREE and you've got Barrington Area Library." But if you need to do professional research and your laptop is currently broken, go to the Palatine Library and spare your self the pain. Because the only desktops are located on the 1st floor next to the children zoo, I mean section. You could go to the 2nd floor which is quieter, and check out a laptop. But they may not have any open as they keep 5 in-stock. So in conclusion, adults go to the real library in Palatine and children go to the daycare in Barrington. read more

At first, it looks like a really cool library. However, I find one major flaw: it lacks adequate number tables and desks for quiet studying.

I love libraries almost as much as I love parks, and this library from my old 'hood in IL...... I loved even more than the parks in that area. The Barrington Library was amazing. There were big fireplaces, always burning. And cozy reading rooms with comfy seating facing the fires. I can remember being there on snowy days, looking out at the trees. I just reviewed my local library in LA, where I was thankful today for the A/C, but in Barrington my best memories of the library are in fall & winter. I wish I had a photo of the sculpture garden, and the beautiful exterior of the building. It's a very artsy place. They used to have (and still do) a gallery in the library, where local artists could get shows that ran at least a month. When I was looking up the library's address online, I read that they house 260,000 volumes. Their stock of books was always ample for me. At the time I lived there, I was not using a computer & was still running to the library to look up everything. Wow...the good 'ole days (pre-Google) were a pain in many regards, haha. Barrington Library had/has a homework hotline, where school kids can get help, and answers to any of their questions. I thought that was so cool. Not sure if this is a common service for libraries to offer, but it surely should be. Barrington is a far northwest suburb of Chicago, not that far from the Wisconsin border. It's where I had my art gallery when my son was in middle school. It was on Northwest Hwy. in fact, just up the street from the library. We lived across the road from a nature preserve that had not only an historic round barn, but a lake with an island where egrets nested, a rare sight through binoculars. When the lake froze over in winter, we used it for ice skating. Barrington is a quaint & charming town, with many Victorian houses. There are forest preserves everywhere. This area represents the Midwest at its finest, I think. So it's only fitting there would be a cozy & inviting library with fireplaces. I'm thinking I should review the town of Barrington sometime soon....... read more

I have been going to the Barrington Area Library since the mid 1980s (as a kid,) while the card catalog system was still in play. Although it has of course changed much over the years, it was always a quiet place where people came to work and study. I now feel like I am going to some kind of day care center geared towards entertaining young children with loud videos and computer games, as opposed to instilling in them the value of a quiet place of education and productivity. Allowing pizza, etc. and drinks anywhere in the library makes me feel like I'm in a fast food restaurant. For those who also feel the purpose of a library is a quiet oasis for all to read and reflect, you'll be quite disappointed. I might as well go and read in the local Starbucks....at least you don't find kids running around screaming. There are also a lot fewer books available; much of what we have are now e-books, unfortunately. We might as well say goodbye to print read more

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT!!! seriously don't go here. I grew up in Barrington and have been to this library countless times. The people who work/volunteer here are so RUDE! Don't expect to get helpful answers or kind check outs. read more

This library is wonderful! Both of my children have a good time when they go. They have a lot of activities for little ones to keep them learning and entertained. This is a staple to our days off especially when its cold outside. read more

Great Library, lots of resources and very informative. Librarians are very friendly and helpful. Kids section is a awesome as my children love coming to play learn and also play with the IPADS read more

I love taking my kids to this library!! They did a beautiful job remodeling it and the kids area is super FUN! The staff is very nice, friendly and helpful. read more

Library is wonderful and the staff is very pleasant and helpful. The one thing that I have experienced is damaged DVD's. When this has happened I have brought it to the attention of the staff so they could replace or remove from circulation. Guess it must not be reported. It happened again today. This is the 3rd time this year. I don't know if these DVD's are checked for damage when they are returned, but it might be a good idea to do so. It's a shame that irresponsible members would damage something and then return it. read more

Awesome selection of books, music and DVDs. In the midst of renovation so it's rather frantic, but overall this library rocks.

Use to be a 5 out of 5 but after its update earlier this year 2014 it should almost be a 1 out of 5. A better name would be "Barrington Area Playland with dvd rentals" The library has been converted from a library to a media center. The number of books have been reduced, tech related books have been decreased from thousands to maybe a hundred, now they're online and very inconvenient to use if you like hitting next and having to be connected to wifi then its great but if you like to read offline you can't. The library has been transformed from a great place to work and study to a play-land with screaming and crying kids. Comfortable chairs have been replaced with IKEA like chairs making it uncomfortable to stay for more than a few hours. Kids use to be upstairs away from adults, now kids and adults are right next to each other making it almost impossible to work or study downstairs. Warm fireplaces have been replaced with TV's. There are a few semi private glass rooms, but you have to reserve them online even if your in the library. On occasion librarians will kick you out of a room just because your time is up and not to let someone use your room. Nothing worse than an abrupt warning right in the middle of a conference call when a simple wave through the glass would be sufficient. Or maybe next in line should just wait outside the glass so you can wrap it up. The dvd collection is amazing maybe 4.5 out of 5 great selection of dvd's, blue ray disks, fair selection of audio cd's (but online options). There is a pretty good selection of video games. The only downsides are the $1/day late fines per item. Book late fines are $0.20 per day per item. There are two or 3 stocked media centers which are nice if you can get them and don't get abruptly interrupted at the end of your session. Librarians should be considerate about your recording session. There are parts of the library that are nicer than before but all in all it I'd have to give it 1.5 out of 5 stars read more

I really dislike this library. It is built I guess for kids? The online options are really terrible and I can never find anything good to rent. Please get Hoopla! I wish my old library would just take me back because they did it right and I am disappointed that my tax dollars go here now. read more

Previously was very nice. Renovations make it seem to be more like a day care center. I miss the old library. Schaumburg and Arlington Heights libraries are nicer. Sad loss of what was a nice library. read more

Barrington is nothing if not a good place to raise your kids, and BAPL's latest renovations reflect this quality to the utmost. This library is decidedly geared towards children, and has to be one of the more youth-centric libraries in the area. Parents and their tots will be delighted by a full-fledged playground in the children's section, but patrons of the adjacent "Business Lounge" may begrudge the noise. The second floor is quiet enough, though the selection is somewhat limited. Good thing, then, that the library will order you anything you need from nearby libraries. Thank the lord for inter-library loan. read more

Our whole family really enjoys this library. We homeschool and the librarians are very knowledgeable and always help us find great books. I was annoyed by all of the construction, but now that I see the results, it was worth it! The new children's department is great! I especially love the new drive-thru book return; it sure beats leaving my car and running out on a cold day to return books! read more

Barrington Area Library is a very noisy place. The adult internet area is adjacent to a playground/day care center--literally with screaming children running around. I often leave the library with a headache. There are no doors closing off this childrens area. Additionally, there are about 10 or so small open rooms surrounding the adult internet area where anyone or groups of people can do as they please, loudly talk on their cell phones, often there are teenagers in groups carrying on loudly talking, laughing, etc. I often am subjected to someone in one of these open rooms blabbing at the top of their lungs on their cell phone about the mindless crap happening in their lives, blaa, blaaa, blaaa--really-- this is a sick place.. Whoever was instrumental in laying out the design plan for this library should be fired from their job. I previously emailed the library complaining about the various noise situations and I did not receive a response back- not a suprise. The library staff is not the best either, they really dont want to be bothered with having to spend too much time assisting patrons.. A friend of mine was having trouble using Excel and there was a very nice librarian/assistant who was helping him,--until some older assistant woman did not like the fact that this other assistance was providing my friend with the assistance and then she stepped in and informed my friend that perhaps he should take a Excel class at the local HighSchool or college.- I am embarrassed that my property tax dollars fund such a place. They seem to have quite a big staff of people working at this library, however I really have trouble understanding what they all do.... I periodically go to the Lake Zurich library which is a wonderfully designed, The Lake Zurich library is actually quiet and additionally has multiple closed off quiet zoned rooms for internet usage. If I could transfer my tax dollars to the Lake Zurich Library, I would. Additionally, i have complained to the librarian or assistant in the Internet area that every time i am using the internet, the Internet Explorer browser crashes after a while with a " PWB has stopped working message--restart program", so you will lose everything you were working on if you dont finish before you get this error.---I know they have a "tech" person on staff, but perhaps this problem is beyond their scope. This library needs help. read more

We love coming to this library. When returning books, a receipt is printed out on the returned books. There are kiosks when checking out books. Be sure to check the receipt for unknown items. We were owed four books and the account was locked until the overdue fine was paid. We spent another half an hour looking for the books. They were on the shelf. There's also a drive through for returning books if you don't want to get out of the car. There are activities for children and adults majority of the days in a month. We can reserve books/DVDs and they're ready for pick up. There's inter library loans and we can return the book in this library. How cool is that? read more

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this library!! I have lived in Barrington for 16 years, raised my children here and two years ago started a local business. I began using the library for my family and now I use it for the great business classes and the knowledgeable staff :) read more