Horrible experience here. Tons of homeless people and entitled library staff. So many staff for a…read morehuge library but no one wants to help. Many disheveled people loitering and soliciting. Library staff wasn't much better. The staff are very condescending and rude when you ask for help. Thank god I don't pay taxes here or else I'd be pissed.

Very Slow! I tried to use the inter library loan program but waited over a week to get an item…read morefrom another LOCAL library. (still waiting) Since there are no fines you will wait a very long time for an item before its returned. No reasonable options, wait for patron to return it on the no fines system (haha will not happen) or order from interlibrary loan and wait forever!

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.

Their staff is super friendly and helpful, the play spaces are quaint and fun, and their story…read moretimes for kids are creative and enjoyable. Love this library!

Very nice public library with a good collection, excellent librarians, lots of multi media choices…read more Comfortable, clean, attractive layout. Lots of educational and entertaining events. Great parking. Not well served by public transportation though.

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!

A wonderful place to get books and media for reading/ listening/ viewing pleasure or to spend time…read moreby yourselves or with kids in the library itself. The staff is friendly and helpful. The collection of items is wonderful. The library is well-organized and the rooms are well-lit. They have a drive-up window to drop off borrowed books/ media sorting regular business hours or after-hours. I like this library. I should make a point to go here more often.

This place is so cute! And HIGH TECH!…read more We adore libraries, my kiddos are voracious readers, and we feel so happy to be close by. Getting a library card was a nice experience- the librarian was so kind to the kiddos and gave them cards with welcome bags too. They took it very seriously lol. The info librarian helped us get oriented and find my children's fav authors. It's not a huge place but felt spacious and sunlit with beautiful floor to ceiling windows inside. Our fav is the check out machine. It's magic!

Second time visiting the library, and the staff were extremely nice. Also, I love the self-checkout…read moreand return machines! They make the process quicker and smoother. I do wish there were more books, but I was so glad to see the diverse collection that they offer!

Such a cute, cozy little library. Plenty of parking out in front.read more

Went to my local library to research "Pinterest". Ashley at…read morecirculation desk was quick to locate my source material. This place rocks. Highly recommended!

My husband and I went to the Vernon Area Public Library for the Games for Grown-ups program. This…read moreis held once or twice a month, where adults can come in and play board games with other adults. They had a wide variety of games to choose from. We played a game with some other people and had a nice time. The library itself looked nice with lots of other things to do. I highly recommend the Vernon Area Public Library!

What a beautiful new library! Stunning green space surrounding the library. This was my first time…read morevisiting the new location. Many years ago, I was a regular attender of the old location. I was so pleasantly surprised to see such a remarkable upgrade. We met friends here for a playdate and just so happened to come on family bingo day. Our kids had a blast playing. The facility was very clean, the staff was helpful in directing me and very welcoming and overall, we had a great experience.

Beautiful, clean library with tons of parking and lots of great materials to check out. Nice…read moremeeting room spaces. I like the variety of library programs they offer here, too.

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

Needed a new place to study and decided to check out this library. I'm someone who needs to study…read morenext to a window and feel like i'm outside getting fresh air. There are three tables alongside this wall of windows with outlets. This is all I need out of a library, so it gets 5 stars. If you're looking for a place to enjoy the sunshine, choose this library and these tables specifically.

Quite a nice public library located in Libertyville. Total upgrade from before. You can rent their…read moreNintendo Switch and play various games. There's also a vending machine on site as well as a fresh Keurig coffee maker. Very quiet here and very clean and organized. Staff is super friendly and very knowledgeable they also give good recommendations on new books to read. There's even a Teen Zone area and a digital studio workshop area. Pretty cool!