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.

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 like to take our children here. Located by a small river…read more I like to sit there to read. :)

All of the staff here is really nice. If they don't have a book, movie or game available, They…read moreoffer to order it for you. I've been able to get any book, movie or game I've requested. Usually relatively quickly. It's always a great experience when I go here. Wonderful library.

One of the best, if not the best library, in the suburbs of Chicago. I've been to many libraries…read more The place is really modern. Everything is clean and well organized. There's even a chimney place in the quiet reading room. And, there's a café and bakery if you feel like snacking. Terrific!

This library gets an "A" for effort. With the COVID shutdown, they take orders over the phone and…read moredeliver the requested books & videos to curbside service. They also have home deliveries to Norridge & Harwood Heights residents. Really good service by the staff.

On my last visit here, I learned about GPL's used book store. Thanks to my two grand-darlings who…read moreare somewhat regular visitors, they told me about it. I never even noticed it before, but it's located right by the main entrance, in a somewhat easy to miss nook (that's my official excuse anyway lol). All of the materials are donated, and they are organized and priced by volunteer staffers. All of the proceeds go to the library. I picked up a fun hard cover book on baseball humor for $4. They also had a March 1/2 price sale going on landscaping, gardening, and cookbooks. One of the grand-darlings picked up a cookbook and I paid $1 for it, and then she gifted it to grandma, duh! They also have music CD's and even some vinyl records and I'll check out the music selections on my next visit. Thumbs up!

While the study rooms are a nice touch, the overall the experience left a bad taste. Far too many…read moreusers of these rooms simply are possessive and rude. Booking a room results in a confirmation email, but when you show up it turns out someone has jumped your reservation demanding the room for themselves and you are bumped to another room without notification. How does this happen? Seems too weird for a software glitch. Instead human intervention is more likely...

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.

While I find generally the person on the first floor front desk to be kind and welcoming and the…read morelibrary to be well lit and quiet, the staff on the 2nd floor is another story. Many times as the other reviewers say, I always find the lady to be cold, and on this particular day quite rude. Reminds me of those children who always had to tattle tale on people, the way she watches and makes sure no one does anything wrong. Goodness, lighten up, it is a public library for goodness sakes. This particular day was on a Thurs. morning in March, so whoever this lady is with the light brown hair and glasses...all I have to say is it is sad. It is a shame when one bad egg can cause people to feel uncomfortable.

I've been a regular at the Northbrook Public Library for 20 years now, and honestly, it's been a…read morejoy to watch this place grow alongside our community. It has evolved from a quiet spot to grab a book into a true hub for creativity and connection. I like that Kate Hall, the director, is always looking for input from the patrons on how to make the library even better. One of the many things I love about NPL is their 'Library of Things.' Over the summer, I used their recording technology to digitize a bunch of old VHS tapes from the comfort of my home. Last night, I participated in a virtual glass fusion workshop. The materials pickup and drop off, and the class itself was all well-coordinated and user-friendly. I thoroughly enjoyed that class as well as others I have taken in the past, such as book-making. Additionally, I love the fact that I can put books on hold, and that either the NPL staff will pull the books for me, or other libraries will send them over to NPL. It's super convenient to then be able to just walk in the door and grab my books off the shelf. I seriously could go on and on about all the things I love here. The Northbrook Public Library is easily the best resource in Northbrook!

In the recent years, the reason of we going to the Northbrook Public Library is to watch movies in…read morethe auditorium. The library has showings of Oscar contender movies every year for card holders for free! My hubby and I saw La La Land and A Star is Born (Lady Ga Ga's version) from there. Other than Oscar contenders, they also have classic and even first-run films! Last Sunday, I heard that the library would be showing the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once on March 15, as I was very curious about this movie, I immediately went on their website to register. It used to be very easy, however, after several unsuccessful trials, I called the library and talked to a friendly lady named Liz. She checked and told me that since I had not used the library card for more than 3 years, it had mysteriously disappeared from their system. She suggested that I went to the library to get a new card with my drivers license. So, I did. It was the first time that I went to the library in years! I had noticed that the long checkout table had been replaced by 4 self-checkout stations, and there were 2 small "front desks" at both sides of the library. The young man, Nolan, at one of the front desks was friendly and polite, and it was a short wait for him to process a new library card to me. My hubby and I went to see the movie on Wednesday, since it had become an Oscar Best Picture winner, it was a full house. The auditorium is on the first floor, it had been renovated in 2015, and has 212 stadium seats. Like the rest of the library, it is always clean and comfortable. Food and drinks (except water) are not allowed inside the auditorium. Since it is not a review of the movie, I would not get into it, but I would highly recommend it! The Northbrook Public Library was a very important part of the growth of our daughter. Since her kindergarten years through her childhood, my husband took her to the Northbrook library to borrow 7 books every Saturday. He read one book to her a day, later she read by herself, that were 365 books a year from the library! I remember that our daughter's Second grade teacher once told us that her English "blossomed", and I believe all those story book reading helped a lot! Before we had Google and the Internet, my hubby used to borrow travel books and local maps of our destinations from the library as well! He couldn't have done his travel planning without the library in those years! I saw exhibitions of artwork inside the lobby, it also brought back memories of my daughter having her artwork exhibited in the library through her school as well. I feel thankful for an excellent public library in our town. Our property tax money has been put to good use!

Needed to get access to a printer to get documents printed and then notarized for a real-estate…read moresale set to close in a couple weeks... great time to have my old HP Printer fail due to ink issues... I really need to upgrade to something that doesnt cost as much as the printer for ink cartridges... JFC... scammers. Anywhoo this library is amazing!!! I thought Schaumburg was the tits... but holy moly this one makes me think Palatine (the town or is it the Township of all Palatine Districts) is very well funded! This place is gorgeous down to the structure and even the bathrooms... fully accessible and top tier with those weird new sinks with water and dryers in one nozzle. Great setup for PCs and printers and study rooms... they even have notary services... only bad thing is I had to go back to Chase because they dont do real estate documents. Helpful and friendly staff and such a lovely ambiance with underground parking available! Love this library...

Serious question: Does this library have books? My wife and I have been patrons of this library for…read moreover a decade and more times than not they don't have a particular book I or my kids are looking for. I don't mean to be snarky but I'm not exaggerating. Just today I searched for copies of "Zone of Interest" and "Night" with no success. It's become a running joke in my house, which is sad as I'm a big fan of the local library.

Who doesn't love a Great American Library! From the friendly front desk associates to somewhat…read morefriendly computer lab techs.. to the wide variety of books and magazines and hey even give free seeds for gardening. They have a large public computer room that's always clean and printers and copier machines! Only thing I can say is that I wish they had a better African American selection and not just for black history month but all months! But whenever I did look for an African American author that i couldn't find they did get it for me.

Cool library! I came here while waiting / had time to spare in the area. Nice vibes and nice…read morewelcoming staff. If I lived in the area, I would definitely be a regular here / rent out books, video games, and movies often. The place looked clean & well maintained as well. This library made me miss living in the suburbs. If you've never been here and are thinking about it, I recommend. Thank you Elk Grove Library, wishing the best!

The Schaumburg Library will always have a special place in my heart. I grew up coming here, both…read morethe old location and the current "new" one, and it has always been a safe, welcoming space for me. It's where I learned to get lost in the wonder of books and the joy of learning. The current library is beautifully designed and thoughtfully organized, with what feels like every book imaginable at your fingertips. Beyond the space itself, the people who work here are truly exceptional - some of the kindest, most caring individuals you could hope to meet. Now that I live in NYC, I love bringing my kids here whenever we visit. It's always my very first stop after landing at the airport. This library isn't just a building--it's a community treasure.

It's quite big! Large area inside for the kids to play. There's usually something on display or an…read moreexhibit as well for the adults. There's tons of parking. Tons of restrooms including family ones. The staff were so kind! We'll be back to check out more!