Chicago Public Libraries
Following the devastating Great Chicago Fire of 1871, a book donation scheme
was set up in Great Britain and 8,000 books were given in order to stock a
Chicago Public Libraries system. Even Queen Victoria was involved as were
the poets, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning.
The success of the scheme helped to restore the public lending idea and the
Chicago Public Library opened to the public in 1873, housed in a converted
iron water tank. An office and a Reading Room were added later. During its
first 24 years of operation, the library moved from location to location.
Today, the library network in the city has 79 branches. This is one of the
world’s largest city library networks.
In 1991, a new central library, the Harold Washington Library Center, opened
its doors. This is the heart of the library system and includes the Thomas
Hughes Children’s Library. The fifth floor of the Harold Washington contains
government publications and many maps. It’s more than a lending library and
it offers other amenities to the community, including music practice rooms
on the eighth floor. The Chicago Public Library also hosts a series of
lectures with no admission on diverse subjects, such as Money, Law and
Authors.
The public expects a high standard of service from today’s libraries, using
the latest technology available. The Chicago Public Library has kept up with
the times and several databases can be accessed. For most of these, it’s not
necessary to go to the library as they can be accessed from home remotely or
from other places with a Chicago Public Library card. All the branches in
the city have a free Wi-Fi Internet connection for use by the public.
Neighborhood branches include Sulzer Regional Library in Lincoln Square and
the Albany Park Branch in North Park. The North Park branch is user friendly
for its cosmopolitan population and has several titles in the Spanish and
Korean languages.
The central library website is a great resource for people that want to
download books in digital form to their computers. Titles are available for
all genres and age groups in fiction and non-fiction. Downloading is made
possible with the library card. The selection also includes Audio Books and
music choices from the world of opera and classical music.
Annual awards are presented in different categories for literary achievement
by the Chicago Public Library and are presented at a fundraising dinner.
They include the 21st Century Award, which goes to authors with a connection
to the city and the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, for which Tom Wolfe is the
recipient for 2008.
