Chicago Public Library Archives

Breathless, CPL Foundation Awards, Fortune at the Hideout

by Micco Caporale and Salem Collo-Julin October 19, 2022October 19, 2022

Pioneering French-Swiss film director, writer, and critic Jean-Luc Godard passed away in September, and the Gene Siskel Film Center swiftly put together Au Revoir, Godard, a presentation of three Godard-directed favorites from his 60s work. Tonight’s feature, 1960’s À bout de souffle (which literally translates from French as “out of breath”) is more commonly known […]

The 2022 Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards celebrate bold stories, bold voices, and our bold library

What happens when award-winning playwright Tony Kushner, Top Chef Rick Bayless, and TikTok sensation Shermann “Dilla” Thomas walk into a room? Join us on October 19, 6:00 pm CST to find out. The Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards are back! This year we’ve put the spotlight on storytelling and the powerful ways that stories can […]

Agenda

Livestreaming class, pasta, Tsai Ming-liang, and meditation

by Micco Caporale and Salem Collo-Julin October 2, 2022October 2, 2022

Teens 14-18 years old looking to break into the streaming eco-system can get livestream certified through the Chicago Public Library’s YOUmedia program at Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State) today. Using YOUmedia’s livestreaming area, you can learn how to use the open source streaming software OBS to run your own channel (Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, […]

Man seated on floor in aisle of library, reading a book

Lit Feature

Let’s get lit

by Salem Collo-Julin January 19, 2022January 18, 2022

Here are some book-related, word-inspired, and otherwise literary Chicago events to help kick off 2022. Each event is open to the public, but registration or tickets might be required (and you’ll want to support the writers by buying their books!). Wed 1/19, 6:30 PM: City Lit Books co-presents its regular Poetry Salon in an online […]

Harold Washington Library Center as seen from North Clark Street

Arts & Culture

Archiving the city’s past

by Max Grinnell December 9, 2021December 10, 2021

Cities change. As Chicago is a city and most certainly not exempt from this immutable law, I can tell you that Chicago will change in some fashion by the time you finish reading this piece. By the time you finish this sentence a family might have packed up their belongings in Chatham to relocate to […]

Arts & Culture

Is this library politics?

by Zach Mortice April 27, 2021August 18, 2021

A new building filled with social service and education amenities at Altgeld Gardens is a test case for the limits of design and architecture.

Music

Emerging rapper the Third angles for a place in Chicago’s hip-hop pantheon with The Director’s Cut

by Leor Galil January 27, 2021August 18, 2021

The past decade of Chicago hip-hop would be entirely different without Young Chicago Authors and the Harold Washington Library’s YouMedia lab. Both have served as creative hubs for local teens, and their storied weekly open mikes—YouMedia’s Lyricist Loft and YCA’s WordPlay—have given many beloved Chicago rappers their starts. In the 2020s, a new generation of […]