Austin-Irving Branch, Chicago Public Library

My son attends the simple stitches crochet club. He loves it. The ladies are doing wonderfull job preparing materials for projects. We also borrow books at this location sometimes and staff is always welcoming and helpful. The whole place is very clean and organized. It's a great place to come with kids and teach them different way to spend time and love the books too. Photo of last project displayed below. So fun!

I find that this library is a perfect place to go. The staff have always been friendly and helpful. There is a good selection of books when you need a something good to read. Lately, I have been attending the crochet events. The librarians, who run these events, are exceptional and always have a positive attitude. They provide suggestions for projects to crochet, supplies for crocheting (when needed) and instructions for how to do the project. I am hooked!

After deciding I needed to pick up a new hobby, I attended the bi-weekly crochet group at the Austin Irving Library in January of 2024. I had never crocheted before and had no idea where to even begin. Going into my first class I knew nothing, but I left with a ball of yarn and a crochet hook (and some hopes and dreams), both supplied to me by the teachers of the class. I have been back to every meeting since. The Instructors, Lee, Blanca, and Lori, are incredible! They welcome everyone into to the group with kindness and no judgement on your skillset or abilities. The projects that are prepared for attendees are very thorough and come included with everything needed to complete it. While being lead through the class by the instructors, everyone is also encouraged to socialize and help out others that are present. The community of people who regularly attend are incredibly positive and welcoming! In the past few months I have learned more than I ever thought I could. This group has made such a positive effect on my life, and I highly recommend it to anyone in the area looking to learn a new skill while fostering community!

As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I greatly appreciate the entirety of the Austin-Irving Park Library. I both enjoy coming here on my own to either read, crochet, etc, but most importantly I love bringing my 1 year old daughter with me. They have an amazing selection of children’s books. I especially love that there are not just books in English, but also Spanish and Polish too. Every time I visit the library, the children’s area, and also the rest of the building in general, is incredibly clean and organized. I can confidently let my daughter explore in the children’s area with no concerns.

Whenever I enter I get a “hello” and when I leave I get a “goodbye," or a "have a nice day." Even though the interactions are just small gestures, they really do make me feel welcomed and like I can reach out to any of the workers if I need assistance with something. The staff are so warm and kind. Very knowledgeable too!

The Austin-Irving Park Library is a staple to the Portage Park neighborhood and I am so so grateful to be able to use the resources provided here!

The staff has always been friendly and personable. I'm a new parent and I feel like this library is one where I would like my daughter to go for a safe space.

My experience at they library has been wonderful help me a lot with my crocheting brought closer to my daughter and they are very clean come visit us they have things for children to do also give try.

Excellent service at the front desk with assisting me to fax and set up a library card.

Small parking lot, but if you go down the one way street there is a lot of side street parking. This library is awesome. It is quiet, clean, and offers a variety of books.
There are 15 tables with 4 chairs upstairs that you are able to work on or read. Honestly what more can you expect from a library?

Love the adult reading room upstairs, quiet, easy to work here. Outlets available for your laptop. Clean restrooms on first level and has an elevator for easy travel. The only downside is the small parking lot. If full, I have found street parking easily on the closest side street.

Amazing staff at this location! One of the employees named Paul went out of his way to help me create my cover letter for job interviews. I really felt recognized and relieved by his non judgemental demeanor. Some people just do their job and others stand out for making a difference. 5 stars for this interactive and helpful staff!

One of the best libraries in the city. Always clean and organized. The staff is very welcoming and helpful. The quiet reading room upstairs is what you need for study, and you can always book the cozy room downstairs for group studies

I really like this library , first of all it's convenient for me and the staff is extremely courteous and very helpful. I was doing a retraining course for the Chigo Board of Elections and timed out yesterday Monday and I explained to the staff member what I was doing and he advance me the necessary more time I needed to complete my assessment portion of the test. This showed that he was a caring individual as he told me he realized how valuable our services are , now. For that I was very grateful to him for. We need more staff members who are willing to go the "extra mile" to help someone out when they need it. For that I thank him and the entire staff at the Irving / Austin branch.

Very quiet, No annoying visitors, nice area, clean library, this is how a library should be. Quiet, enjoyable and clean. Been to many other branches around Chicago and this is by far better than most. Come to this library if you don't want to deal with loud disrespectful visitors and you want a quiet peaceful library experience.

Kind and helpful staff, great selection, great seating, feel, and architecture.

Library is awesome the staff is very friendly and helpful 🙂🙂 very clean great programs 😊😊😊😊

They offer so many activities for the summer. Very clean and organized

Nice library with parking.

Very nice library and theres 2 floors as well.

Love the people there!

I have a very good background with the staff I've been going there for years and they grown to love me and so have I and their always in a good mood and up-beat.

Nice staff. Reading room upstairs is nice and quite. Parking availble