Following the devastating Great Chicago Fire of 1871, a book donation scheme was set up in Great Britain and 8,000 books were given in order to stock a Chicago Public Libraries system. Even Queen Victoria was involved as were the poets, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning.

The success of the scheme helped to restore the public lending idea and the Chicago Public Library opened to the public in 1873, housed in a converted iron water tank. An office and a Reading Room were added later. During its first 24 years of operation, the library moved from location to location. Today, the library network in the city has 79 branches. This is one of the world's largest city library networks.

In 1991, a new central library, the Harold Washington Library Center, opened its doors. This is the heart of the library system and includes the Thomas Hughes Children's Library. The fifth floor of the Harold Washington contains government publications and many maps. It's more than a lending library and it offers other amenities to the community, including music practice rooms on the eighth floor. The Chicago Public Library also hosts a series of lectures with no admission on diverse subjects, such as Money, Law and Authors.

The public expects a high standard of service from today's libraries, using the latest technology available. The Chicago Public Library has kept up with the times and several databases can be accessed. For most of these, it's not necessary to go to the library as they can be accessed from home remotely or from other places with a Chicago Public Library card. All the branches in the city have a free Wi-Fi Internet connection for use by the public. Neighborhood branches include Sulzer Regional Library in Lincoln Square and the Albany Park Branch in North Park. The North Park branch is user friendly for its cosmopolitan population and has several titles in the Spanish and Korean languages.

The central library website is a great resource for people that want to download books in digital form to their computers. Titles are available for all genres and age groups in fiction and non-fiction. Downloading is made possible with the library card. The selection also includes Audio Books and music choices from the world of opera and classical music.

Annual awards are presented in different categories for literary achievement by the Chicago Public Library and are presented at a fundraising dinner. They include the 21st Century Award, which goes to authors with a connection to the city and the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, for which Tom Wolfe is the recipient for 2008.