Chicago Public Library Visitors in 2024

By: Dazalyn Moreno

Libraries used to be the hub for information and a place for a community to learn and connect with one another. With the rise of AI and the use of the internet, libraries are becoming less and less popular as information is now the most easily accessible it has ever been right at one’s fingertips. Although to some, library visitation is brushed aside, it can be said that library visitation is vital to not only keep them up and running but it can help many members of the community in closing the academic gap and digital divide. The City of Chicago recently released its current data on visitors per month at each of its public libraries.

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As seen on the chart, Harold Washington Library is the most visited library in the city, possibly due to its extravagant architecture, specifically its winter garden on its 9th floor. While Harold Washington has many visitors, other libraries, such as Galewood-Mont Clare, which closed permanently, Brainer, Gauge Park, and Sherman Park libraries, are some of the least visited out of all public libraries in the city, while there is no definitive answer as to why they are the least visited; it may have something to do with lack of funding and where they are located in, all being the south side of Chicago, as the city of Chicago’s southside tends to be overlooked. Although that is the case now in recent years, former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced new and updated libraries being added in Chicago’s south and west sides.

In 2023, the Chicago Public Library Foundation raised over 6.2 million dollars, with the hope that this continues to be the case for 2024; there can be anticipation that there will be more visitors at Public libraries around the city of Chicago.