If you are in Chicago, you absolutely have to come and check this library out. It is one of the…read moremost gorgeous libraries I have ever been in! My favorite part is the ninth floor with the Harold Washington exhibit and the winter room with a very beautiful green hue to it with skylights! It also has a beautiful view of the city, along with the rest of the library having gorgeous windows on every wall that you can go and see different views of the city! If you're looking for a place to study, there are plenty of little nooks that you can go and set up in and it is overall very peaceful and quiet throughout every floor, except maybe the lobby! It is also a great place if you're walking around the city, there are very clean restrooms and no one minds if you use them respectfully without doing anything else in the library!

The building itself is impressive, both inside and out. It's much more than just a library - the…read morearchitecture is beautiful and there are plenty of quiet spaces to read, study, or simply take a break from the city. The upper floors and atrium are especially worth checking out. One of my favorite parts was wandering through the different levels and seeing how much the library has to offer. It feels welcoming and well-maintained, and it's easy to spend more time there than you originally planned. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that some areas can get fairly busy, and unless you're specifically looking to read or work, there isn't a ton to do beyond admiring the space. Overall: 4 stars. A beautiful public library that's worth visiting for its architecture, peaceful atmosphere, and as a quiet escape in the middle of downtown Chicago.

Stunning architectural details at this library - transports you to Hogwarts but much brighter and…read moreless crowded. Went on a weekday, ample (free) street parking. The library is on the 3rd floor and you just have to go through a few doors and make a left turn. Added bonus? Books in this particular library are free! Left the place a happy camper.

If you want to be transported to Platform 9 and 3/4 and take an adventure to Hogwarts, then you…read morewant to visit Harper Library Reading Room. Ample amount of table space along with reading chairs if you don't need a table. It is generally very quiet. In other words, you will hear your water bottle echo loudly if you accidentally drop it (true story).

Heaven is a place on Earth and it's called the Newberry Library. This place is such a gem and I'm…read morethankful that it exists! My favorite weekend is the Newberry Library used book fair. There are 3 rooms packed to the brim with books, puzzles, games, CDs, maps, and more available for purchase. I picked up three hardback books that were on my list for $8 total. You can't beat that! The staff and volunteers here are phenomenal. So friendly and helpful! The library itself is also stunning with lots of books and even some exhibitions to enjoy. The restrooms are available to visitors and are sparkly clean.

It depends on what you want. If You are an authorized…read moreresearcher you seem welcome. If you are just an ordinary Joe you get access to a small stuffy lounge worse than an airport and the gift shop. I was condescendingly told, 'this is not a lending library.' (you yahoo..). Everyone says its gor but it could be a Hollywood set for what you can see. The Dreyfus museum is so much more welcoming. Newberry is free, but open to the public is very misleading.

One of Curbed's "20 most beautiful libraries in the U.S." (Megan Barber, Mar 2018), this holds the…read moreGuinness World Record for largest public library in the world. So impressive, David Mamet was quoting as saying, "The Chicago Public Library is my alma mater". An impressive layout with free a/c and wifi and a few tables for jigsaw puzzle completion. It's peaceful and peiceful. You can go floor to floor by escalator or elevator: First floor: Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, Multi-Purpose Room, Exhibit Hall, two-story tall central lobby, Popular Library, and YouMedia Space for teens. Floor 2: Thomas Hughes Children's library. Floor 3: public computers, periodicals, and Maker Lab w printers (extra) Floor 4: Business, Science, Tech Floor 5: Govt publications, maps, and a center for people with physical needs. Floor 6: Social Science/History. Floor 7: Literature, Language resources, and some sculptures Floor 8: Visual/Perf Arts and the only free music practice rooms in the area Floor 9: the Winter Garden for events. Floor 10: Ladies Undergarments, Raincoats

Love it! Nice place to read ! Had a lot of choices and genres! Quiet and accessible. Love itread more

Less of a library, more of a community center! This…read morebuilding has such a cool design- it's got a living roof! This building sort of looks like a Chinese lantern. It serves as a place to hang out, to learn something, to be part of the Chinese community. When I came by here, in one of the meeting rooms, surrounded in glass, I caught a Cantonese opera concert, which was a really cool way to spend the afternoon! The entire building is surrounded with floor to ceiling windows- so it's great just looking out the windows on Chinatown. The library doesn't really have so many books on the first floor. They're mostly all up on the second floor, with a large Chinese book selection. The library offers lots of curved spaces- no flat, straight lines, so there are lots of little areas to explore and check out. The main use of the library is sort of as a gathering place, there's three areas that they can seal off to each other and not disturb the quiet of the library. Throughout the library, you'll find colorful pop culture kinda art! Super cool! The exterior of the building is clad in glass, allowing it to be lit within, with a large atrium in the middle. The building has a LEED Platinum certification, so it's ecofriendly! There's not a lot of lights, it seems naturally lit, and cooled. There's lots of Chinese themes going on here, and it's a super modern style of library. It's quite unlike the traditional library, where it's stacks of books- not here! It's airy, and open, with few books. The building was designed by Skidmore Owens and Merril.

This branch has a very modern look. It's Miesian in style, given that it's black iron and glass,…read morebut it's also a curved structure so not a direct homage. This branch is a product of its neighborhood, and there's lots of information to be found about Chinatown and Chinese culture here. There's also materials available in Chinese. When you enter they had a little selfie station, which I thought was cute and something kids might find fun. The children's section is not exactly small, but I haven't been to story time here so I don't know how cramped it might be. We visited and there were toys out so my and my friend's kid played around a bit. They have two story time sessions, one on Thursday and one on Saturday morning, though I think they're geared toward children 3 years old and up so a bit older than our children. The staff we interacted with were nice and helpful. The security guard kind of pointed us to where we needed to be, and the children's librarian welcomed us and invited us to their story times. There's no dedicated parking at this branch. However, the Chinatown parking lot is across the street... no clue how much it costs to park there, and somehow I doubt that CPL has it in their budget to validate parking. There's lots of street parking in Chinatown, and of course the Chinatown/Cermak stop on the Red Line is across the street, too.

This is a beautiful building. You can visit the lobby without a tour but the tour we took from the…read moreFrank Lloyd Wright Trust was excellent. It was more than just seeing the beautiful Rookery Building. It was very interesting to learn about the historical significance of the building and the architects involved with its design. Our tour guide, Jennifer, was excellent and her passion about the topic was clear. The tour is well-worth the time, and you are taken to see the Oriel Staircase and the Burnham Library at the upper levels.

Stunning interior that should not be missed by architecture enthusiasts. Literally breath taken as…read moreI walked into the main lobby which basks in natural light. So much detail everywhere yet beautifully balanced. It's Chicago's oldest high rise, the lobby updated by Frank Lloyd Wright. A private tour will take you up the circular staircase and second lobby level. Hoping to tour on my next visit. There's a small Frank Lloyd Wright gift shop on the ground level. Space is available for private events. I hope those who work here in the businesses never lose appreciation of its beauty. If you're a tourist who visits the nearby Money Museum, stop by The Rookery and prepare to be amazed!

Completely beautiful Completely quiet…read moreYou have to get a guest pass before entering After a while the wifi cuts in and out frequently so you have to keep logging your guest pass code

VERY cool library with ginormous reading room. Even has piped in white music. I seriously wouldn't…read morehave as many excuses for my GPA had I spent more time in spaces like this.

Love this location for the book selection, easy orders, and last but not least... Mary!…read more Mary has been the best leader in book recommendations and leading the book club in LP. Whenever I struggle to decide on a book, she comes in and offers suggestions beyond my scope of titles, and never fails me with excellent reads! The cleaning is unabating, though, with some background noise being a constant nuisance.

The Lincoln Park branch of the Chicago Public Library is wildly inconsistent. Some librarians are…read moregenuinely friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful -- the kind of people who make libraries feel welcoming. Unfortunately, a few others seem completely disinterested in helping patrons at all. One staff member in particular (she is often at the reference desk but sometimes up front) has been consistently rude every time I've interacted with her. The most frustrating example was when I asked for help with an interlibrary loan. Instead of taking two seconds to help me or even explaining the process, she just tossed me a phone number and sent me away. I later discovered the request could easily be done online in basically no time at all -- meaning she absolutely could have helped while I was standing right there. I understand nobody loves their job every single day, but that's not an excuse to mood-tunnel and take it out on random people who are politely asking for assistance. Libraries are public resources, and patrons shouldn't be made to feel like they're inconveniencing staff by asking basic questions. Again, some employees here are excellent. But the rude, dismissive attitude from a particular librarian at the reference desk (she was masked memorial day weekend) really drags the whole branch down.

Love coming here to check out a book every couple of weeks. The librarians are nice and keep to…read morethemselves. Quiet location. Not a huge selection, but that can be good when I'm browsing for a new book. Well organized.

I'd never been to this branch that's nestled in the middle of West Loop. It's one of the newer…read morebranches, as it opened in 2019. I brought my eight-week-old here today for story time with the children's librarian. I liked that this was story and sign time, because it was neat to learn some ASL with my little one. I think that ASL may have been incorporated into the story time because the librarian is hard of hearing or Deaf, and I'm really appreciative that she is teaching us a few signs. I had to leave a bit early because my daughter started to fuss, unfortunately. This story time is super popular (there are back to back sessions) and they actually check folks in when they arrive. This is the only CPL event I've attended (story time or otherwise) that is a weekly recurring series but only opens for registration a single week before the next one--for instance, the September 14 session didn't open for registration until the 7th, rather than folks being able to register for all of them at once. The librarian also provided name tags for everyone which is not something that anyone has done at the other five libraries where we've gone to story time, and I think it's a really nice touch. The one thing I didn't like about the story time was the aforementioned small room--it felt somewhat cramped to me. It was also kind of a bummer that there were few chairs; everyone was sitting on the floor and the only seats were right behind where folks were sitting so they were not available. I'm not the most limber so sitting on the floor for thirty minutes probably would have been difficult for me anyway. This branch is three stories-ish tall. There's the first floor, then a mezzanine-type floor where the children's section is. The entire mezzanine is children's. Then the second floor is where there's meeting room, study rooms, and a big open space in the middle of the floor. To be honest, I wondered if they ever have performances here because it seemed like it could be a nice recital space or something. Perhaps there were larger tables here pre-pandemic? (Regarding the "ish" of the floors, I took the elevator and the woman who checked us in for story time said it was the third floor, but corrected herself when I asked if it was actually the second since there was no third floor button.) There's no parking here. And when I say that I don't just mean they don't have a parking lot (which they don't). I mean there's truly almost no parking around here. I was glad that for once I left early enough that we were several minutes early (I'm terrible with time and it honestly was a miracle we were on time) because I circled the blocks three times to see if a spot would open up on Randolph, Aberdeen, or Washington. None did, so I took somewhat of a risk by parking in the 15 minute blinking light standing zone directly in front of the library, knowing I'd be there more than 15 minutes. I got lucky in that I didn't get a ticket. I didn't sign up for next week's story and sign time because I'm not sure that I"ll be able to go there. Parking aside, my daughter is not a fan of her carseat and the 30 minute drive to this branch is a bit of a chore if she doesn't fall asleep and for a 20-25 minute story session. I wish I lived closer to the West Loop or they had this program at one of the north side branches closer to me.

Loved visiting this beautiful library on the University of Chicago campus…read more The open reading room is enclosed in a glass and metal elliptical dome. The closed book stacks are accessed and retrieved by robotic cranes. So interesting. Are you a fan of the Divergent films? The Mansueto was featured in that film. It housed the Erudite Headquarters in the Divergent series. Amazing. Such a beautiful library. A nice place to study and a nice place to visit.

There are other reviews of the Mansueto reading room at the listing for the Joseph Regenstein…read moreLibrary here on Yelp. But since the University of Chicago considers it a separate library, I'm adding the Mansueto as a new listing. Note however that the Mansueto has only one public entrance, which is by an enclosed corridor from the main lobby of the Regenstein Library. Originally conceived as just an expansion of the Regenstein (the main library of the university), the Mansueto proved to be more than that. Its outer manifestation is the shallow glass dome that rises from the ground to the west of the Regenstein, softening that brutal concrete structure. What no pedestrian or patron sees is the actual "stacks" of this library (with a potential storage space of 3.5 million volumes), that extend down 5 stories below ground level. Only about a third of the Mansueto's potential storage space is currently filled. Filing and retrieval of volumes is done robotically, using 5 massive cranes controlled by a computer system. The 50-ft. tall cranes operate at fierce speeds, bringing a metal bin containing the requested volume up to the reading room desk within 5 minutes. In that subterranean storage are stacks of 24,000 metal bins, whose books and journals are sorted according to size rather than any other classification (like all books at other libraries, each volume has an unique bar code label attached). There in the 60ºF bin racks, kept at 30% humidity, in addition to bound books and journals, are also odd-sized items (archival boxes of papers and dissertations, digitized material on optical discs, and over-sized "elephant" folios). Gaining access to the Mansueto is very restricted; You must register there as a student of the university, a visiting scholar, or a guest of the library. I visited as part of a limited tour group. Link to their site for more information and photos.