Chicago Public Library

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Chicago Public Library put on a series of 25 lectures and panel discussions devoted to the history and development of theater in Chicago. The programs were held jointly by the Lake View Branch of Chicago Public Library and the CPL/Cultural Center, and made possible in part through grants from the Illinois Humanities Council and Illinois Arts Council.

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Documents the activities held to celebrate the Library’s 125th year of operation.

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These recordings show some of the public programs Chicago Public Library has offered between 1995 and 2011. There is a wide variety of authors in this collection, from bestselling authors to local, emerging talent. In addition to fiction writers, the collection features poets, journalists, actors, chefs, scientists and scholars, and programs include author talks, panel discussions, dramatic readings and poetry recitals.

Abstract This collection comprises the specifications Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge created for contractors to bid on for the construction of the Main Library for the Chicago Public Library, now known as the Chicago Cultural Center. The specifications show the exact standards contractors were held to when building the new central library, as well as the materials to be used. Many bids have original checks for deposits attached to them and some have additional information about the bidding company...

Abstract The Early CPL Papers series of the Chicago Public Library Archives document the foundation of Chicago Public Library immediately after the 1871 fire. The series includes detailed information regarding the legislative process which gave authority to the city to raise taxes to maintain a public library; extremely detailed information regarding the first collections; shipping information and costs of exporting donations from Great Britain to the United States; lists of who donated what; and...

Abstract The Harold Washington Library Center Design Build Records document the process by which the design for Chicago Public Library’s new Central Library was chosen. On July 29, 1987, Mayor Washington and the City Council authorized a design/build competition and approved a bond issue to finance the project. Under the competition rules, architects and builders teamed up to design the new Central Library within the set price of $144 million. Norman Ross, Chairman of the Citizen Jury, announced the...

Abstract Leland B. Elder Jr. worked as part of the Chicago Public Library’s Public Information Office (PIO) for over thirty years (1984-2016). His responsibilities included editing and writing for the various incarnations of the library’s newsletters, marketing, press releases and promoting library programs and services. His papers detail the growth and development of the PIO and the Marketing Department of the Chicago Public Library showing the evolution of the ethnic heritage committees and the...

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As part of the CETA/Neighborhood Arts Program in Chicago, David Gremp was the artist-in-residence assigned to the Chicago Public Library. His photographs document the neighborhoods surrounding 13 library branch locations including Austin, Chatham, Chinatown, Garfield Park, Hyde Park, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Little Village, Lower Westside, Pullman, Scottsdale, Uptown, and Washington Heights.

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In November 1986, Chicago Public Library hosted a series of 15 lectures and panel discussions in which Chicago playwrights discussed their work, presented performance excerpts and answered audience questions.

Abstract The Woodlawn neighborhood is 8 miles south of the Loop. The neighborhood runs roughly from 60th Street south to 67th Street and from the Lake west to King Drive and in places to South Chicago Avenue. The area was annexed into Chicago in 1889. Woodlawn is number 42 of the 77 official communities that make up Chicago.Includes correspondence, biographical essays, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, advertisements, announcements, historical essays, printed materials, church...