
In 1874, circulation services began with 13,000 out of 17,533 available for lending. Poole was mainly concerned during his tenure on building the circulation. On October 24, 1873, William Frederick Poole was elected the first head librarian by the library's board of directors. A two-story office building was soon built around it to hold city offices, and a third floor reading room was built for the library. The water tank was 58 feet (18 m) in diameter, 21 feet (6.4 m) high and with a 30-foot (9.1 m) foundation. In the rebuilding section of the city, on January 1, 1873, the Chicago Public Library officially opened its doors in an abandoned iron water tank at LaSalle and Adams Streets. In April 1872, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance establishing the Chicago Public Library. The meeting led to the Illinois Library Act of 1872, which allowed Illinois cities to establish tax-supported libraries. In Chicago, town leaders petitioned Mayor Joseph Medill to hold a meeting and establish the library. Private donors included Queen Victoria, Benjamin Disraeli, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, John Stuart Mill, John Ruskin, and Matthew Arnold. " Īfter circulating requests for donations throughout English society, the project donated 8,000 books.
#CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FREE#
Burgess wrote on Decemin The Daily News that "I propose that England should present a Free Library to Chicago, to remain there as a mark of sympathy now, and a keepsake and a token of true brotherly kindness forever. The Chicago Public Library was created directly from the ashes of the great Chicago Fire.

Burgess, with the aid of Thomas Hughes, drew up what would be called the "English Book Donation," which proposed that England should provide a free library to the burnt-out city. In the aftermath of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, Londoner A.H. This former water tower was the site of the original public library, exterior view Unlike many public libraries, CPL uses the Library of Congress cataloging classification system rather than Dewey Decimal. The library is the second largest public library system in the Midwest, after the Detroit Public Library. The Chicago Public Library is the second largest library system in Chicago by volumes held (the largest is the University of Chicago Library). The American Library Association reports that the library holds 5,721,334 volumes, making it the ninth largest public library in the United States by volumes held, and the 30th largest academic or public library in the United States by volumes held. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, two regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the city's 77 Community Areas. The Chicago Public Library ( CPL) is the public library system that serves the City of Chicago in the U.S.

Harold Washington Library – Chicago's Central Public Library
