Illinois State Library Talking Book & Braille Service

I'm a bit of a geek so I have to visit libraries when I go to different areas to get a feel of them. The library was renamed the Gwendolyn Brooks building. Great place to do research and in a great area. Right in the heart of downtown Springfield, you're within walking distance to the State Archives, the State Museum as well the Capital. This place is good for doing research on government documents regarding Illinois as well as some historical items. I was able to look through a book detailing Illinois history that was written in 1901!

Excellent resources available. Staff is very informative and helpful.

Talking books are a blessing I can enjoy books once again thank you

An amazing museum. Great place for families!

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Was there for honoring 2021 Illinois Police Officers killed in the line of duty

There is an excellent kids play abd discovery area.

Officially the Gwendolyn Brooks Illinois State Library, it is located adjacent to the Illinois State Capitol. The library does have security and a magnetometer which meant that I had to go back to the van to leave something there as it set off the machine (No, it was not my firearm. Illinois is already dumb about those so I did not have it.)

Inside, I managed to find a study carrel on the second floor that was reasonably comfortable. It is a HUGE open space so you're not going to be doing anything that makes any noise. And the power outlets are few and far between so you're not going to be able to charge up electronics very well. As libraries go, this one was a disappointment.

Ms. Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1950, was named the United States Poet Laureate for 1985 to 1986 and was the first African American woman inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1976. She was raised in Chicago Illinois and lived there most of her life.

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