Library Tours

LIBRARY TOURS

Library tours will be offered during the Annual Meeting to showcase a variety of Chicago area libraries. All tours require the use of either public transportation or busing – attendees will be responsible for all fees. The registration fees for the Newberry Library and the University of Chicago/D’Angelo Law Library tours are non-refundable.  Photo IDs are required for all tours. Advance registration is required for all tours by June 20 and is on a first-come/first-serve basis. Due to limited availability, please sign up for only one tour. Tours are subject to cancellation if there is insufficient registration. Library Tour registration will be available on the AALL Annual Meeting registration form.

Each tour will be met with a tour guide from the Local Arrangements Committee. All registrants are encouraged to wear sun protection and carry a bottle of water.

Cook County Library
Newberry Library
University of Chicago, Mansueto Library and D’Angelo Law Library
Harold Washington Library Center/Chicago Public Library

Cook County Law Library (Registration Full)
50 W. Washington St. Room 2900
Chicago, IL 60602
Saturday, July 16
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Limited to 24 people

Located on the 29th floor of the Richard J. Daley Center, the Cook County Law Library sports perhaps the single best lake view of any library in the city, law or otherwise.  This tour will begin 30 minutes before the library opens.  A government ID and passage through security will be required to enter the building.

A library tour guide will meet registrants at the main entrance in the Hyatt Regency’s East Tower lobby at 11:20 a.m., departing at 11:30 a.m. to walk to the library.  The library is 0.7 miles from the Hyatt, a 14-minute walk. Other public transportation options will be provided prior to the event.

Newberry Library
60 West Walton Street
Chicago, IL 60610
Saturday, July 16
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Limited to 24 people
$4 per person

A world-renowned independent research library in Chicago, the Newberry offers readers an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, maps, music, manuscripts, and other printed material spanning six centuries. Open to the public, it is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge, especially in the humanities. The Newberry acquires and preserves a broad array of special collections research materials relating to the civilizations of Europe and the Americas. Its staff provides award-winning service and supports a rich array of programmatic opportunities.

A library tour guide will meet registrants at the main entrance in the Hyatt Regency’s East Tower lobby at 12:35 p.m. to depart at 12:45 p.m. for the 1.2-mile (24-minute) walk to the library.  Other public transportation options will be provided prior to the event.

University of Chicago (Registration Full)

Joe and Rika Mansueto Library
1100 E. 57th St.
Chicago, IL 60637
Monday, July 18
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

D’Angelo Law Library
1121 E. 60th St.
Chicago, IL 60637

Limited to 24 people
$18.50 bus transportation fee

Located in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, the University of Chicago features a campus so beautiful and steeped in history that it would be a shame to linger in a single building.  Tour participants will be treated to a double feature of history and modernity, as we highlight the D’Angelo Law Library and the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library.

On the historical side, the D’Angelo Law Library is the centerpiece of the Law School’s Laird Bell Quadrangle, a group of buildings designed and built in the late 1950s.  D’Angelo Law Library serves as an example of the proud tradition and history that have combined to establish the University of Chicago as one of the nation’s premier institutes of higher education.

On the other end of the spectrum, Mansueto Library more closely resembles a space ship than a library.  A stunning glass-domed reading room sits atop high-density stacks, where materials are retrieved by an automated storage and retrieval system (Read: robot.  It’s a robot library).  Completed in 2011, Mansueto Library has won a number of prizes for its innovative function and design.

A library tour guide will meet registrants at the main entrance in the Hyatt Regency’s East Tower lobby at 12:15 p.m.  The bus will depart at 12:30 p.m. for the University of Chicago.  The tour, including a scenic walk across the University’s campus, will begin at 1:00 p.m. and the bus will depart campus for the Hyatt Regency at 3:00 p.m., to return around 3:30 p.m.

Harold Washington Library Center/Chicago Public Library (Registration Full)
400 S. State St.
Chicago, IL 60605
Tuesday, July 19
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Limited to 24 people

Harold Washington Library Center is the central library for the Chicago Public Library System.  Located in the Loop, the building’s iconic red brick exterior and green metal roof combine to produce one of the most recognizable facades in all of Chicago.  In addition to an overview of HWLC’s impressive print collection, the tour will highlight the library’s innovative Maker Lab, where patrons can utilize 3D printers, and laser and vinyl cutters, and take guests through the stunning, glass-covered Winter Garden.

A library tour guide will meet registrants at the main entrance in the Hyatt Regency’s East Tower lobby at 1:05 p.m. to depart at 1:15 p.m. to walk 1.1 miles to the library (22-minute walk).  Other public transportation options will be provided prior to the event.