I have visited libraries all my 70 years, but this one offers so much more than any I have…read moreencountered. The items that can be borrowed are amazing - more than books, music and films. Need help in transferring your old films to digital- they can help! Their events for all ages are great: Lego gatherings, book clubs, workshops and classes. It's surprisingly high tech and impressive. The library is a real asset to this little town and everyone should visit it and see for themselves!

As mentioned, this is a branch location but possibly one of the nicest branch locations I have…read morevisited. The staff are great with directional support. Though the selections and services are distilled at this venue, you are still able to access all of AAPL materials via this location, since they are connected with one another. They do have a private lot and the facility is tidy.

We were in the middle of packing for a trip in southern Illinois to leave the next day! I wanted a…read morebook to read, but didn't have time to go to the library! In order to save some time I called our library, the Crystal Lake Public Library, to see if they had the book(s) I wanted to take on our trip! A lovely staff member named Katy was so helpful! She found the books and held them so I could pick them up before closing!! I wish all employees could be as patient, helpful and professional as she is!

Crystal Lake's library offers a nice selection of services. Of course they have books, and large…read moresection of both DVDs and CDs (really, I thought it was quite impressive for a small library). They have computers for patron use, lots of chairs scattered about and at least 10 tables in various areas. They also offer free WiFi (awesome), and they have charging station set up in several different areas of the library. They also have a selection of board games for folks to check out as well. I expect the aforementioned services require a library card; I live in the city and just happened to be in town and needed a place to hang out while a friend attended a funeral. But it was a comfortable, quiet place to get some work done and remain undisturbed for several hours.

Ive come here once for the baby play area, Never again! Whilst it states that the area is cleaned…read moreevery day before closing this is simply not true. We came here on a Wednesday morning right after opening and the entire area is filthy. This was definitely not cleaned. I took pictures of the wipes after cleaning one or two objects and its gross. Kids put these toys in their mouths. Y'all have to do better and actually clean the area!

Staff was available to answer questions. Craft items were laid out & ready for assembly. Directions…read morewere easy to follow. Cool self-directed craft that did not disappoint!

This is THE COOLEST library you'll be able to find in the NW suburbs! The children's area is so…read moremuch fun with a spaceship, play kitchen, giant Light Brite, LEGOS and an interactive touch TV screen for the kiddos who are a smidge older. My daughter has a blast every time we are here. So many wonderful children's books to choose from as well, we can play and read here for HOURS.

This library is THE best! It has a great place for your kids to play, learn and connect with books…read more It also had a great place for teenagers and adults to look at books. This is a great place for you to read, study, and learn! This library is very comfortable and it has a wide variety of books to choose from!

Such a fantastic little library! When we came in we were greeted by the 3 librarians at the main…read moredesk. Then we headed down to the children's section which takes up the entire lower level, this is nice because little ones can't easily wander into other areas of the library. They have SOO much for little ones to do we could easily spend a couple hours there without getting bored. I loved that the walls were covered in artwork from the local schools, it made the space that much more cheery. There are very clean bathrooms in the children's area which is helpful so you don't have to trek back to the main restrooms. The only downside is they don't open until 10:00 whereas most other local libraries open at 9:00. Honestly, this is now one of my favorite libraries in the area!

I tired calling over the phone to cancel an order on a DVD I had reserved earlier. But upon calling…read moreI barely even got a few words in before the lady hung up on me. All I even said was hello this is and I want to. Before I got hung up on. Upon calling again they said we don't accept soliciting calls. I wasn't even trying to sell them something in any way shape or form. This is honestly ridiculous how brain dead the people are over here I do not recommend coming to this place and I'll be getting my books from elsewhere from now on.

Excellent location and customer service. Safe parking and handicap accessible. Selection is up to…read moredate and neatly maintained.

This is a wonderful library, very clean and very nice people working there. Up on the second floor,…read moreI went to use the computers for some research. The elevator is a blessing for those of us with knee injuries. I was able to complete my computer work and enjoy the view of some beautiful artwork on the walls, numerous paintings of flowers, very soothing. At the front door sidewalk area of the library there is a bicycle air pump and bicycle repair tools for those poor souls that get a flat tire and need to bike it back home, it's very thoughtful of the library personnel to add this repair station. Overall experience here is Five Stars!

This is a wonderful hidden gem in Dundee. You'd miss it if you weren't looking for it…read more I'm a huge fan of libraries, because my wife worked in one while we were dating, and this one is smaller and simpler, but still a warm environment. You should stop in and take advantage of this library... after all, your taxes are paying for it! :)

Being a cardholder has its rewards. I recently discovered that with my account, I can now access a…read moregood number of training courses through LinkedIn Learning (aka no pay-wall)! This will definitely help with my desire to keep current on technologies needed for my job. I love our library but I sometime get jealous when I visit other libraries and see what technologies and other accoutrements they have that I wish our library had. Unfortunately, the masses of our community can't spare a weekly coffee run for that to happen so we make do with what we have. The staff is always helpful and one usually get you what they need within a few days if the library itself does not carry it. And, like one of the other reviewers mentioned, they always have fun activities planned to encourage both kids and adults to visit the library more often. Keep up the good work!

We don't live in the area, but one of things I love about the northwest suburbs is the extensive…read moreconsortium 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!

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

This review is for the virtual library services. With the pandemic in full swing, I have been…read moredoing more virtual events this year. With most of the places I love going to being in lockdown, there is plenty of time at home to take in these events. McHenry Library partnered with John Gowing, a teacher in England for 32 years, then a London Blue Badge tour guide for 11 years, to present a virtual tour of Westminster Abbey. While most definitely an Englishman, John reside in Huntley, IL, after marrying an American and presents talks on British history, culture and London tourist attractions for local groups. The hour long presentation consisted of John speaking on the history of the Abbey, along with showing photos of the architecture and various tombstones in the Abbey. John was very engaging and had a lot of great antidotes to the tour. Having toured the Abbey three times pre-covid, this was a nice trip down memory lane and definitely easier on the feet. He has his own Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AVeryBritishSubject/?ref=page_internal. Kudos to McHenry library for setting up this event. Tour itself went smoothly and there weren't any technical hiccups. One of my favorite parts of touring the Abbey are the different people buried there and the ten modern martyr statues above the west doorway. The lower part of the towers are 15th century and the tops of the towers were completed in 1745. There were never any statues in this space, although it was obviously intended that they should. The space was empty until 1998 when martyrs of the 20th century were added. The ten statues represent people who have died in circumstances of oppression and persecution: Kolbe from Poland, Manche Masemola from South Africa, Janani Luwum from Uganda, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, Martin Luther King Jr from the USA, Oscar Romero from El Salvador, Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Germany, Esther John from Pakistan, Lucian Tapiedi from Papua New Guinea and Wang Zhiming from China. The Archbishop of Canterbury unveiled the statues in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II in July 1998. Four different sculptors carried out the statues which are carved from French Richemont limestone. After doing this virtual tour, I decided to check out the library to see what other events they had scheduled and ended up getting an e-card. I have not been to a library in years except to possibly vote. It was easy to set up the e-card and I had instant access to their online content. They have the usual e-books and magazines, but I was very happy to see that they also have some selections from Acorn TV. You can "check out" content for 7 days before it is pulled, but can sign up again for an additional 7 days. In addition to Acorn, there is The Great Courses, IndieFlix and Qello (concerts). I have to say that thanks to seeing this event on Yelp, it has connected me to new sources of online entertainment in John and the library. I would say check it out if you are looking for something to do from the comfort of your home that is both entertaining and educational.

Much money, not enough kindness to the homeless who are, according to the Board, not allowed to ask…read morefor money outside of the library. It is a far far better thing to quit acting like that because chapter by chapter Dickens was kind to his people. When they load the tumbril carts at the nursing homes with the dead, it's all absolutely Bubba Ho Tep up in this gear. Smoke Signals Newsletter, O and OUT