Indian Prairie Public Library

I visit Indian Prairie Public Library more than any other library. The Darien library is conveniently located in the west-​southwest suburban area of Chicago. It is constantly bustling with activity. From the time it opens its doors until the time last call for checking out materials is announced, this library with its professional staff is engaged in making the community welcome. After the remodeling and moving of the computer section to the main floor and maintaining meeting rooms and the children’s section on the second floor, the logistics of the library are very accommodating and comfortable for patrons.
If there are any negatives as a patron of this library, it would have to be the size of the crowd that continually utilizes this facility — which, no doubt, is actually a testament to how great the place really is.

Ok, well, I love this library. I really do. We’re in here all the time. I finally adjusted to their system of a library network. and the selection is huge. You can get almost anything.
But…it takes them days to check things in. And then because they took their time, sometimes they try to charge you a fine. NOT OK. I don’t want to pay. Fortunately they usually waive it. But right now, I can’t do anything on my account (place holds, put in renewals) because they are trying to charge me a fine for items I returned ON TIME.
It’s frustrating.

A typical suburban library. very big with sections for stuff everywhere. The cvhildrens area is upstairs and most of the seating foir labtop folks are on the sides. They have many books and people moving around. Not really agood place to study. This library serves many communities so maybe that is why it feels mkre like great America.

Indian Prairie Public Library serves Darien, Willowbrook, and Burr Ridge. Its beginnings were humble. In the mid-1990’s, I remember visiting the small storefront location. It was only one room. Some of the books were even piled on tables, instead of shelved. The library has come a long way.
Indian Prairie Public Library is now a large, freestanding building at the corner of Plainfield and Clarendon Hills Road. A few years ago, the library was remodeled to include a digital floor map, café, and open study area. In this review, I will highlight the library’s best features.
The first great characteristic is the parking lot. Indian Prairie Public Library is not located in a downtown area, so it has a spacious lot. There are no time restrictions on parking, unlike the horrendous Downers Grove Public Library lot (if you can even find a parking spot there).
When you enter the library, you will see the digital floor plan. It reminds me of what you often find at malls. It indicates where all the various materials are located. To the left, you will find the circulation area and the café. The café is where the rough sort room used to be. I like that it is far from the adult services department. The rough sort room is now an open space on the first floor, near the computers.
As you turn right, you enter the adult services department. In the middle, guests can find all the new materials. The first floor contains nonfiction to the right; fiction and audiovisual materials to the left. There are also at least two self-​checkout machines on the first floor. To the far right, you will find the quiet study area. There are signs throughout informing people to turn off their cellphones. The unfortunate fact is many people don’t. In fact, a good many people will talk as loud as possible on their cellphones here. Ornery librarians are needed to enforce the cellphone ban. That, or cut the cellphone connection.
Regarding quality and quantity of materials, I rank Indian Prairie highly. Adult fiction and nonfiction sections are well-​stocked. In addition, the library has a lot of interesting movies and nonfiction documentaries. The children’s section, located on the second floor, also contains diverse selections. Teachers will benefit from the vast collection of educational videos upstairs.

I love books. I like reading them, looking at them, smelling them and touching them. I read books I buy, books I borrow and books on my Kindle. One of my favorite quotations is Thomas Jefferson’s, «I cannot live without books.»
I also like talking book with other book people. We know instinctively who we are and gravitate together like migrating birds who some how know the way to fly.
Last night I was lucky enough to discuss «The Paris Wife» with a group of like minded bookies at this library. There are plenty of opportunities left to be a nerd like me, I mean, do Big Read Activities.
Just click there!
This is a gorgeous library, visually appealing with all kinds of activities going on. I love seeing tax dollars at work on something as cool as a library.
Hey, let’s go read.

Remodel job is nice and we LOVE the kids section. This is my library. The people are helpful but I wouldn’t say overly conversational. There are more events than I can ask for and staying informed is easy with their newsletters and website.
What I would like to see improve: plenty of meeting space seems dark the majority of the time I am there. I would rather this become work area for business purposes… and hope this area of the building has cell phone reception. Lack of cell signal is actually a good thing for the majority of the time I am in a library but I have found myself working from them often lately and having signal where I am working would be helpful.
Finally, the best thing I ever saw at a library was in Aurora they have reserve boxes. They were like post office boxes that they would put your reservations in, you got a code to access them and could pick up your reservation 24 hours a day.
Those two things would be awesome. Finally, a nod to the always friendly children’s desk team, they make my son’s day and he is thus overly interested in the reading programs they offer.

I have to say that this is an incredibly beautiful library with a very diverse and huge selection of current reading materials, Cd’s, and DVDs. If you are looking for a book you will most likely find it here, but with this being said I feel that sometimes when libraries are this immense they tend to have a big box store/​cold feeling to them.
This library is akin to the now defunct Borders with its glossy furnishings and cozy snack nook. I have never felt that books and food mix very well (which points to why many books often can be found with stains of Cheetos or coffee spills).
As a whole most of the staff is quite helpful (especially the reference desk). My only complaint was that once I had a rude encounter with someone that worked in the Youth Services Department. I had asked if she could look up a particular subject and she acted like I had just asked her to sell her first born child! I didn’t know it was such a bother to ask a library employee to perform one of their only functions: to help the public find the information they are searching for!
Otherwise, this library is amazing! It serves its purpose to the public by providing a plethora of up-​to-​date periodicals and media which makes it a pleasure to walk into whenever I am in the area.

NEW PHOTOS OF REMODEL!
Great library, very fortunate to have (in my opinion) one of the top 5 libraries in Du Page County!
Staff is lender focused and very approachable. IPL is always updating and adding new books to its collection. I would say DG and Elmhurst libraries are in this same class. Visit other libraries in the area and you’ll appreciate this library much more!