About the Library Main Page

The library’s collections and friendly staff are at your service. Your library card gives you access to thousands of materials including books, periodicals, music, movies, and online research databases. Internet access is available at our seated terminals, or you may bring your laptop and enjoy free unlimited wifi. We hope that you will make the library your home away from home. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Help us make this website more accessible…
We are trying to make this website as accessible as possible for all of our visitors. If you have any problems accessing information on this website please let us know by sending an email to reference(@)riverforestlibrary.org, or by calling us at 708-366-5205 x 316. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Click here to view our new Strategic Plan (Microsoft Word version)

Click here to view our new Strategic Plan (Plain text version)

Library Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 9:00 a.m-5:00 p.m.
Sunday (Sept-May): 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Closed Sundays Memorial Day through Labor Day

The River Forest Public Library will be closed each year for the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. We will be open on all other holidays.

Library Location
The River Forest Public Library is located at 735 Lathrop Avenue in River Forest, Illinois. View a map of our location by clicking here. Need driving directions? Click here.

Other Local Libraries
View a list of nearby libraries and their contact information here.

Library Publications

Access the online versions of the library e-newsletter and the library newsletter the BookPlate here.

Contact Us

View a list of the library’s current Staff and Board contact information here.

Loan Rules and Account Information

Click here for Loan Rules and Account Information, including information on applying for a new Library card, creating a PIN or paying fines online.

Library Services

Interlibrary Loan information
The River Forest Library is a member of SWAN, which is a group of 80 libraries that agree to share materials with other member libraries. With your library card, you have access to hundreds of thousands of titles via interlibrary loan and reciprocal borrowing among participating libraries. You may ask a librarian to request items for you, or you may place holds and requests yourself by logging into your account on the SWAN catalog website.
If the item you are looking for is not available via the SWAN catalog, please ask a librarian. We may still be able to find the item for you and place an out-of-system interlibrary loan at your request.

Photocopying in the Library
The River Forest Library has two photocopy machines for patron use, one on the first floor in the Children’s Room and one on the second floor near the microfilm machine. Photocopies cost $.10/page for black and white ink, and $.50/page for color ink.

Fax Services and Typewriter
The library provides a self-service fax machine at the second floor Reference desk. The charge for faxing is $1.50 for the first page and $1.00 for any additional pages. You can pay with a credit card or by paying cash at the Reference desk for a fax card. We are unable to receive faxes for our patrons.

We have a typewriter for patron use, located on the second floor. Patrons should bring their own paper for typing.

Voting and Notary Services
The River Forest Library is not currently a polling place. If you are looking for your polling place for an election, you may visit www.voterinfonet.com, type in your address, and you will be directed to your specific polling location.

We occasionally offer voter registration, hosted by the League of Women Voters. Click here to find information about registering to vote.

The River Forest Public Library does not provide notary service at this time.

Meeting Room Use and Foyer displays
The Barbara Hall Meeting Room on the first floor is available for rental. To view the Meeting Room Policy or print an application, please Visit the Meeting Room Policy and Application page. Please inquire at the Circulation desk for more information. You may call the Circulation desk at 708-366-5205 x 304.

The River Forest Library welcomes local patrons to use our foyer as a display for artwork. Please contact Hadley Ford for more information at 708-366-5205, x 319.

Homebound Delivery Services
The library will provide delivery services for homebound River Forest residents. Please call our Head of Circulation, Samantha Cresswell, at 708-366-5205 x 306 for requests or more information.

Available For Purchase at the Library
The River Forest Library does not sell stamps. We do offer flash drives for sale at the 2nd floor Reference desk, for the use of saving information when patrons are working on our public access computers. Flash drives are $7.00.

The Friends of the River Forest Public Library also offer book bags, local history books, and notecards for sale. Please inquire at the first floor Circulation desk if you are interested in purchasing one of these items.

Museum Pass Information
The River Forest Public Library is a participant in the Macy’s Museum Adventure Pass program. The Museum Adventure Pass grants free or reduced admission, or other discounts to 18 Chicago area museums and attractions, including the Brookfield Zoo. River Forest Library Adult cardholders (age 14 and up) in good standing (non-expired cards with less than $5.00 in fines) may check out one pass per family, for up to three attractions at a time. The Library will have 4 passes to each of the 18 attractions, and the passes are first come, first serve. The passes are valid for 7 days once they are checked out. Patrons must come to the library in person to check out the pass. Please visit the second floor Reference desk to check out the Museum Adventure Passes, or visit the Macy’s Museum Adventure Pass website at www.museumadventure.org for more information, including the list of all participating locations.

Book Sale and Book Donations
The River Forest Library welcomes material and monetary donations. Please feel free to donate small amounts of books and other materials to us; if your donation consists of more than 5 items, please call and inquire if we currently have the space for a sizable donation. If an item fills a need in our collection, we will add it to our holdings. Other materials will be made available for sale or donated to other libraries on a case by case basis. We also accept donations for the Dr. Edwin & Mary Liebner River Forest Public Library Endowment Fund and for ASK @ the River Forest Public Library, our after school program. Your support helps us grow and thrive. Thank you for your commitment to the River Forest Library.

The Friends of the River Forest Public Library sponsor a book sale, held during the month of June. The next sale will occur on June 24-26, 2011. Other local libraries may have book sales occurring more regularly throughout the year.

Test Proctoring
The River Forest Public Library offers test proctoring to the public. Please contact Blaise Dierks, Head of Adult Services, at 708-366-5205 x 318 to request an appointment.

Computer Use
Free unlimited wifi is available throughout the building. Seated Internet workstations are available for children on the first floor, and for adults on the second floor. River Forest Library cardholders may use the Internet computers for 2 hours a day (limited to 1 hour if others are waiting). You may print from the Internet computers for $.10/page for black and white ink, or $.50/page for color ink, by adding money to your library card. If you have questions or need assistance, please ask and a staff member will help you get started.

Short term (15 minute) terminals are also available for non-River Forest cardholders- 1 terminal on the first floor and 1 terminal on the second floor. If you would like to use Microsoft Office Word, Publisher, PowerPoint, or Excel, or access the River Forest library subscription databases, we have 1 terminal available on the second floor for these purposes. This computer is open to the public and does not have a time limit.