Power Our Library.
Empower Every
Chicagoan.
Our 2024 Report
“If you can see a thing, you can be a thing. And in a lot of cases, your first chance to see that thing is at a Library.”
– Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, urban historian and 2022 Library Foundation Awards honoree
Expand Access. Advance Literacy. Strengthen Communities.
“If you can see a thing, you can be a thing. And in a lot of cases, your first chance to see that thing is at a Library.”
– Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, urban historian and 2022 Library Foundation Awards honoree
In 2024, Chicago Public Library was awarded Chicago Reader’s Best City Institution, an honor chosen by Chicagoans themselves.
What makes our Library so valued and beloved across the city?
At the Library, a student struggling to keep up in school gains confidence. A teen lights up when they discover a passion for podcasting. An adult masters technologies they thought they were too old to learn. A family new to our city visits their home branch over the weekend for essential information and connection.
Our 81 branches are community hubs that welcome everyone to learn—with no fees, no barriers, just possibilities.
By supporting the Library Foundation, you turn daily moments of learning and discovery into meaningful, lifelong impact. Our donors allow CPL to develop and expand programs and resources across Chicago to reach communities that need them most. Thank you for being a part of this vital work.
Read on and learn what your support made possible.
In 2019
Close The Academic Opportunity Gap
“Without Teacher in the Library, I feel like I’d be lost, and my son wouldn’t thrive in the way he does at school.”
– Parent
Too many of our city’s students don’t have the extra support they need to thrive in school. Thanks to donors, our Library can offer programs that advance students’ literacy, improve confidence in school, keep young people reading and learning over the summer, and much more.
The 81 Club
The 81 Club outreach initiative makes it easier than ever for Pre-K-12 students to gain access to their Library—and Chicago’s youth are signing up for Library cards at unprecedented rates as a result. Before the 81 Club, 1 in 4 young people were locked out of their Library accounts due to accumulated fines. In the first two years of the 81 Club, more students have signed up for Library cards than in the previous 18 years combined! But we’re not finished yet. With the 81 Club, we aim to make sure that every student in Chicago is an active and engaged user of their Library.
Early Learning
Research shows that entering kindergarten ready to learn helps children achieve for their entire lives, but only 26% of Chicago’s children start school equipped with the skills they need to succeed. With a branch in every neighborhood and Library staff visiting hundreds of community organizations, churches, and daycares annually, our Library is positioned to help our littlest learners get off to a good start. In 2024, donors supported more than 200,000 young children and their family members on the path to success.
ScienceConnections
Fostering early excitement in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) shapes children's future interest in these subjects. Donors helped nearly 9,000 kids learn about science, technology, math, and more in and out of our branches! Destination Discovery Storytimes bring Chicago’s youngest explorers to cultural gems like the Field Museum and Lincoln Park Zoo. Grab & Go Kits offer hands-on STEAM fun at home, while Discovery Packs provide books, experiments, and activities for learning on the go. And 94% of participants in the Library’s annual STEAM-Powered Saturday event left feeling excited to keep pursuing STEAM subjects on their own.
Summer @ CPL
There’s nothing like summer learning at the public library! For more than 20 years, this cornerstone program has helped children sustain and build on their academic gains during the summer through high-quality programming available across the city. Summer 2024’s musical theme of “Find Your Rhythm” engaged more than 40,000 registered participants, and over 100,000 children and their family members participated in summer programs at their local branches. What’s more, 91% of parents agreed that their child read and learned more over the summer because of Summer @ CPL.
Teacher in the Library
Teacher in the Library brings in accredited educators, many of whom live or work near the branches they serve, to provide free homework and reading support to K-12 students in their communities. In the 2023-24 school year, our Teachers provided more than 30,000 individualized tutoring sessions. Students overwhelmingly report higher homework completion rates and more confidence in school after participating in Teacher in the Library – and it’s not just kids who benefit! Two-thirds of parents and caregivers also receive help from Teachers in the Library, empowering them to continue supporting their children at home.
YOUmedia
Our Library is an essential third space for teens to learn and explore their interests outside of an academic environment. Thanks to donor investment, our Library is home to unique learning environments where teens can pursue artistic interests, experiment with technology, build confidence, and most importantly, be themselves. YOUmedia recorded more than 39,000 visits to its 30 teens-only Library spaces in 2024, and 6,645 teens learned about college and workforce opportunities through the popular Design Your Life workshop series, built leadership skills through paid internships and teen-led events like Gamers Universe, and showcased their creativity through programs like the Teen Winter Art Challenge and Radical Fit fashion.
Activate Connection
& Creativity For All
“Because of the Community Connections Fund, our librarians provided programs that brought joy and merriment to hundreds of patrons of all ages. We were able to design and conduct activities that encourage exploration, nurture learning, and connect community residents in a spirit of fun.”
– Branch Manager, Archer Heights
Chicago is home to world-class arts and culture, but barriers like cost and distance mean we don’t all have the chance to engage in creative explorations. Our donors help enrich Chicago with diverse voices and perspectives by bringing cultural and creative programming into all 81 neighborhood Library branches–from community movie nights and exhibits built from the Library’s archival collections to coding and craft workshops and discussions with renowned authors.
Community Connections Fund
What do free concerts, gardening workshops, local author events, pumpkin-carving contests, and family foam parties have in common? They were all made possible by the new Community Connections Fund, which allows donors to directly support neighborhood branch librarians and staff in connecting their communities. In 2024, 52 branches received $1,000 mini-grants to conduct programs, activities, and outreach opportunities tailored for their neighborhoods!
Maker Lab
With free maker spaces available at locations across the city, adult Chicagoans can experiment with technologies like 3D printers and laser cutters, explore entrepreneurship opportunities, and connect with others who have similar interests. Donor support also enabled the Library to host two Makers-in-Residence in 2024 featuring local designers and craftspeople. Overall, donors supported 4,225 Chicagoans to explore sewing, coding, 3D design software, and more through 600 free programs offered at the Library last year.
Community Cinema
With the average price of movie tickets and streaming services on the rise, and more people feeling more disconnected than ever, our Community Cinema experience ensures that everyone gets to experience the power of film. This program brings free screenings of popular and classic films to the public year-round at Library branches and is one of the most well-attended donor-funded programs, with an estimated 14,250 Chicagoans of all ages attending 2,500 free screenings in 2024 alone.
Special Collections
Thanks to donors, our Library can preserve and present even more of Chicago’s rich history and amplify underrepresented voices through projects drawn from its vast special collections archives. A 2024 highlight was Pilsen Days, featuring Japanese photographer Akito Tsuda’s photos of 1990s Pilsen, which captured the neighborhood’s working-class and Mexican-American heritage and community voices—all now part of the permanent collections. Librarians and archivists also continued efforts to make the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection—the Midwest’s largest African American history and literature collection—more accessible through multi-year catalyst support from the Mellon Foundation and Getty Foundation.
One Book, One Chicago
Every year, tens of thousands take part in a citywide book club, exploring bold themes like climate change, architecture, technology, and book bans. In 2024, more than 75,000 Chicagoans engaged with Gabrielle Zevin’s deeply moving novel Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow through 164 free programs, including the Library’s first-ever Silent Reading Soiree! To cap off the season, on November 14 Zevin was interviewed in front of a packed house at Harold Washington Library by author Donna Seaman.
Bridging the Digital Divide
“‘I’m not tech savvy,’ ‘I’m computer illiterate,’ ‘I don’t know a thing about computers,’ are the most common phrases I hear when talking to patrons, and I always reply, ‘You’ve come to the right place.’ The relief on their faces when I’ve helped them, and they’ve learned how to do something on the computer never gets old. As a CyberNavigator, I love that I am able to share what I know with people.”
– Calvin, CyberNavigator at Greater Grand Crossing Branch
With 15% of Chicago households lacking a home internet connection, our 81-branch Library is indispensable for Chicagoans looking to engage with our digital world. From opening an email account, applying for jobs online, accessing health resources, identifying misinformation, and more, donors ensure that our Library is a go-to spot for unlocking online resources and learning digital skills, with customized, accessible resources that meet learners where they are.
CyberNavigators
Digital literacy is more crucial than ever. Through one-on-one coaching and assistance, our CyberNavigators helped nearly 27,000 Chicagoans build their confidence around topics such as using a web browser, finding health information on the internet, and applying for jobs online. In fact, participants submitted more than 3,300 online job applications last year thanks to the CyberNavigator program!
Chicago DigitalLearn
“Use a computer to do almost anything!” greets users of the Chicago DigitalLearn program, which helps anyone, anywhere, build skills and confidence online. Customized for Chicagoans, the platform currently offers nearly 40 beginner-friendly and bilingual video modules that guide individuals through topics ranging from identifying online scams to applying for jobs online to using an iPhone. Last year, 5,200 lessons were completed on the platform– that’s more than double the number completed in 2023, and shows the demand for this critical, donor-powered resource.
Cell-Ed
Public libraries like ours are committed to supporting learning at any age. Available 24/7 via smartphone app or text messaging, Cell-Ed is a new low-barrier adult continued learning resource hosted by our Library. The platform supports adult users, particularly those with lower levels of formal education, in literacy, numeracy, and other essential skills. Cell-Ed is especially popular among those learning English as another language, with lessons focused on using English in common scenarios like the workplace or the doctor’s office.
Professional Skill-Building
There is an urgent need for increased skill-building and ongoing educational opportunities to support our workforce. However, many Chicagoans face barriers due to cost or lack of employer support for continuing education. In 2021, donors invested in a three-year pilot with LinkedIn Learning, making this premier online learning platform available for free to all Library cardholders. As a result, an average of 350 Chicagoans per month receive essential career and professional support via the platform—and it has now been operationalized as one of the Library’s ongoing online offerings!
Events
Night in the Stacks
Does our Library make you feel like dancing? Well, you can with the Library Foundation Associate Board’s annual Night in the Stacks event! This “party with a purpose” in Harold Washington Library’s Winter Garden brought in $120,000 in 2024.
Get Carded Series
In 2024, our Associate Board hosted two special events to raise awareness and support for our Library. Together with our partners at Pilot Project Brewing and Replay Lincoln Park, 175 attendees joined us at Books and Brews and Trivia Night to learn more about the Library and Library Foundation.
Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards
In 2024, we honored novelist Cristina Henríquez, Chicago’s own Grammy-award-winning Chance the Rapper, and prolific writer Ann Patchett. Thanks to our generous supporters, the Awards raised more than $1.4M for the full scope of our partnership with the Library. A free recorded broadcast of event highlights also reached 18,000 Library lovers (and counting!) from around the world.
Honoring the Legacy of Cindy Pritzker, Chicago Public Library Foundation Founder (1923-2025)
Cindy Pritzker’s visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to lifelong learning have left an indelible mark on our city. As the founder of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, Cindy played an instrumental role in transforming our Library into a world-class institution, ensuring that all Chicagoans have access to the resources they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
Her fearless approach, her ability to bring people together around bold ideas, and her deep dedication to expanding access to opportunities for all have inspired our donors to follow in her footsteps.
Today, as we work to carry forward Cindy’s legacy, we are filled with a profound sense of gratitude for her many contributions and share that gratitude with every donor who helps to ensure that Chicagoans continue to have access to life-changing resources at our Library.
