If you remember what this look like over 10 years ago and Now. This building got a whole new…read moremakeover! Big, different and different. Yes it still is an ice rink like before. But now it has a library, and safe place for kids. Yes there is a park.

As a long time Evanston resident, I have been to both the original location and now the new and…read moreimproved multi-purpose facility. All the new amenities at current location are awesome: library, walking track, ice rink, gym and community rooms. I went to Robert Crown for their Kwanzaa Celebration, which had food, dancing and vendors. The community event was a success; it was great to see neighbors and friends there. I find the center organized and welcoming. An awesome family friendly community center.

Come for the books, come back for the free fax service er um... well it's much more than that…read more This is a gorgeous library with a friendly staff and a genuine commitment to community-building. The bulletin boards feature truly useful programs and updates.

My husband and I attended a board game meet up at the Des Plaines Public Library. They were using a…read moremeeting room to hold the event. The area was big enough for the group. There were a wide variety of games to choose from and the people were warned and inviting. The library also provided snacks and drinks for the gathering. We had a great time at the event. I highly recommend the Des Plaines Public Library!

Mount Prospect PL continues to knock it out of the park with their programming…read more They have some signature programs, I'd call them, that take place throughout the year apparently, in cooperation with the MPPL Foundation. The first of these that we attended was the Teddy Bear Walk. Apparently this is a program that has been happening for something like 60 years and it's become a family tradition--grandparents are now coming with their children and grandchildren to the event. We were running late this day so we missed the "walk" part of the program--not sure what that entails. But the children are encouraged to bring a teddy bear and there are some great activities: times tickets to visit Santa; craft stations in the children's section; rotating story times; costumes characters outside, in this case a bear and the MPPL mascot, a duck; and a children's music drop-in session. I was so pleased with the event b it I didn't realize it was just one of many. Most recently we went to the Lunar New Year celebration they host. Again, many fun activities, with the craft tables again (making a sparkle dragon and a Lunar New Year sign), a dragon set-up in one of the program rooms for photos, a scavenger hunt, and the pièce de résistance: the lion dancers. This was a timed entry ticket, and we were amongst the first people to arrive at the library for the LNY celebration (score one for putting the start time for this in my calendar 15 minutes earlier than it actually began) so we were able to get in. Whilst waiting for the performance to begin, they gave us little tissue paper rings and said to wait until we were told to use them. To prepare the crowd--particularly the large number of small children--the librarian led us in a a song or two, including a fun call-and-response, and explained a bit about the pillars of Lunar New Year. And at the end, just before the dancers began, she told us to rip open our tissue paper rings to let out the "fireworks" inside. I feel like I must be a child myself because I was gleeful at that myself, though the room did erupt in oooh's and aahhh's so I wasn't alone there. (And you can guarantee I'm going to find and order some of those paper confetti pouches.) The company they hired to do this performance was phenomenal. I have never seen the lion dance in person and I was enchanted. My daughter was fascinated too, and I was actually worried she might be frightened. The performers did most of their dance up near the front but did wander through the audience for a bit, during which a lion stopped in front of my daughter, who promptly plucked an orange from its open mouth. I later learned that means good fortune in the year ahead. I left this event in such high spirits, having had so much fun, I couldn't stop talking about it to friends and took tons of photos. Their events just keep getting better. Never change, Mount Prospect Public Library!

Overall a nice library with kind and helpful staff. Be mindful of where the entrance is before you…read morestart walking (if you drove for the first time like me). I was in the area and needed access to Microsoft office suite and a printer- so incredibly thankful for our public libraries and free resources! At first I was told I could access the computer using my park ridge library card and PIN but I couldn't recall my PIN for the life of me. They provided me with a guest pass that allowed me to use the computer for 1h45m. That's 45 more min than PR guest which is a plus. Color copies cost .25 and B&W .10. I got what I needed and was in and out in less than an hour. Only one less star because as others have stated, it's a really loud library. Babies crying, people whispering, slamming keyboards lol, etc. But it seems the staff works hard to manage it between their work and borderline ridiculous calls- they do it all! Again, very grateful and only first world problem complaints.

The library is beautiful. It was established as a Carnegie library back in the day. They have a…read moreHUGE children's section--honestly, the children's services department puts most of the CPL libraries to shame. When I was here I saw some advertisements for some really cool programs. Children, teens, adults can all find something interesting. There are in person programs as well as hybrid ones, and some of their book clubs meet both in person and virtually, which is pretty great. Interestingly, they don't seem to have a checkout desk--from what I can tell, it's all self checkout. There's a patron services desk when you enter, but that's more for help and information. To the right of patron services is a self checkout and there's also one in the children's services department. There's a large meeting room on the first floor, where various events are held. The children's services section is one we haven't fully explored but they have an all-gender toilet with baby changing station, as well as a calming room. The calming room requires access from one of the librarians. There is a portable baby changing station here (be sure to bring your diaper changing pad since it's fabric, and you know there's a baby who pottied as their diaper was being changed). There's also a sink, which is helpful. And there are some toys and materials that help children to be calm, breathe deep, sit and decompress. It's a great idea. Outside there's a little courtyard with a sculpture and they (sometimes, at least) have some Adirondack-style chairs out to kick back and relax. There's also an area that has some chess tables outside of the library. There doesn't seem to be dedicated parking for the library. Instead, you'll find parking on the street or in the public lot to the west of the library. It's public, free, three hour parking but it's shared with any businesses in the Uptown district. The Park Ridge Metra Station is also directly to the west of the library. In the outside as well as inside there's a sensor where you can wave your hand to hehe the door open, rather than one of the push-button ones. Although it's in general accessible, there are detectors when you enter the library so I'm not sure if someone with a wheelchair or other mobility device would be able to easily enter.

We returned here after a long ~5 year hiatus with my oldest grand-darling. She had another school…read moreday off and we dropped in to putz around a bit in the children's department. It was a perfect place to visit, and she did a little art project that was posted on the wall with contributions from other kids, she played an educational video game, and she picked up a complimentary DIY make a kite kit, which was this month's library promotion for kids. The children's department is still top notch and there is plenty to do here with some free time, and we'll visit again sometime. Along the way, we were very pleased to have a reunion with Mrs. Mary Mason who was manning the children's department desk. I remembered her from her wonderful toddler story-time sessions with this same grand-daughter, and she is now an 18 year veteran. It was a delight to see excellent staff like her stay with this also excellent library and that there was mutual loyalty in this day and age of jumping around. My grand-daughter honestly didn't remember a thing about this place or Mrs. Mary, but who does when they are only 2 years old. Oh well, c'est la vie, but we shall return.

My husband and I went to the Streamwood Village Hall to attend a Village Board of Trustees Meeting…read more At this meeting our friend was sworn in as a Village Trustee. I found the building to be clean, bright, and modern. Our friend was sworn in, then the meeting recessed to celebrate with cake and coffee. Talking with staff and trustees was pleasant as everyone seemed very friendly and excited to do the work of governing. Congratulations to our friend and the Village of Streamwood who is getting an excellent citizen as its newest trustee!

The ladies up front are always polite and welcoming, never had a bad experience coming here.read more

Mrs Debbie is my fav librarian love bring my kids there. So much fun and clean and staff very nice.read more

This is a wonderful library that includes study areas you can book as well as the standard fiction,…read morenonfiction, AV, and new books areas. There's also a quiet reading room on the main floor if you're interested in a more immersive reading experience separate from the cozy chairs and tables in the various aisles. The main star of the show is the children's area downstairs: it's the entire floor, and the librarians do an excellent job of putting out award-winning books, different themed collections, and maintaining the various game stations. Recently, my partner visited, and I asked him to surprise me with a new mystery read. The librarians at the front desk were really helpful in his search, and offered him a selection of nine suspense, thriller, and mystery books to choose from. They really knocked this request out of the park. The ease of self-checkout is also coupled with the vast interlibrary loan program. I'm able to request any book within the system of regional libraries, which makes it so easy to get any book I'm curious about. Great parking lot out back with some street parking out front.

No notes on this place???? Came here for table tennis. They…read moredo have TT and it is upstairs. Although today being a holiday all activities are canceled. Nice older facility with tennis court and a basketball court. They do have activities for everyone.

This is what a neighborhood library should be. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. They say…read more"hi" when you come in. It is family and kid friendly. Prior to COVID, there were games and learning activities for kids. Now, there are kid activities to take home. I order books on a weekly basis, and the books are well organized for easy pick up. Roden is a gem for the neighborhood.

I'd like to visit this branch again sometime to give it another chance. We came here for story…read moretime... but it wasn't actually story time. We were indeed late by about 10 minutes, but when we went into their community room there were a bunch of kids/families doing some crafts or something, but no story taking place. I'm not sure there was a librarian in the room--if there was, I couldn't easily identify them and they didn't bring attention to themselves. We left because we didn't know what the craft or whatever was and there wasn't really space, and I'm not really sure when the story time is actually story time because this was called story time... I'm definitely not opposed to a craft activity, but if there are not stories and it's a craft event I just want to be prepared and be there extra early. The branch is one of the smaller of the branch libraries, though not unusually small--many of the branch libraries are about this size, especially those from around the same era (I think this one was built in the 1960's). It has a nice kids/children's section which takes up a significant portion of the library, and the children's section is located in a great spot since there's a huge, unobstructed window that provides tons of light. A cool piece of branch trivia is that it was named for Carl Roden, a CPL librarian who lived in Norwood Park and started his career at the library as a page in the 19th century! Interestingly given its location, parking at this library is almost nonexistent. There is a lot behind the library, which may have an accessible space since there's a ramp to the entrance from this lot, but there's only about five spaces and two were taken up by library/city vehicles. Your better bet is to use the free parking along Northwest Highway in front of the branch. It's also directly across from the Norwood Park Metra stop, so that's another option.