Mira Serrill-Robins

Review of Chicago Public Library

Four stars because libraries are great in general ...

Four stars because libraries are great in general and this has the goods more than any other CPL as far as I know, and has had something on whatever I was looking for. But yeah, for the experience I definitely prefer some of the smaller branch libraries. This has many times the selection, but it feels...the best word is depressing. The staff are sullen. The area they call main or something, the sort of basics, popular matuerial like DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, some travel, is lit the way I imagine the waiting room in hell is--I thought it was going to run into beetlejuice browsing the popular DVDs. The staff in there are particularly surly and just generally seem resigned to misery. The rest of the library is more nicely lit and less awful, and the furniture is decently nice, and it could actually be a comfortable pace to work, despite the utter and apparently deliberate banishment of natural light [update -- I saw some windows on the north side a few floors up recently!].

My first time here I was taken aback when the security guard sidestepped into my path as I left the third floor, where the circulation desk is, apparently wanting to make sure I'd checked out the book I was carrying. That's fine, I'm opposed to library pilfering, but there could have been a sign or something so it didn't seem so menacing. And isn't that what those sensors are for?

The building is this beautiful red brick and it seemed like it should have nice big windows everywhere, but it doesn't. Anyway, the collection is better than any other CPL, but this is a place for infrequent visits or reference material; anything in circulation one really wants can be holded to a branch library. There's bike parking around, and the el practically runs through the library, it's so close.