Editing Chicago Public Library (section)

{{short description|Public library system in Chicago, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox library
| library_name = Chicago Public Library
| image = Chicago Library Downtown.png
| caption = [[Harold Washington Library]] – Chicago's Central Public Library
| library_logo = [[File:Chicago Public Library Logo.PNG|frameless|upright=.65]]<br />The library seal contains the Y-shaped [[Chicago municipal device]]<ref>{{cite web| title= The Chicago Municipal Device (Y-Shaped Figure) |publisher=Chicago Public Library |url=http://old.chipublib.org/cplbooksmovies/cplarchive/symbols/munidevice.php |access-date=December 8, 2014| url-status=dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150131062711/http://old.chipublib.org/cplbooksmovies/cplarchive/symbols/munidevice.php |archive-date=January 31, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=The Municipal Device |publisher=Forgotten Chicago |last=Kaplan |first=Jacob |url=http://forgottenchicago.com/features/chicago-signs/the-municipal-device/ |access-date=June 13, 2014 |date=December 10, 2008}}</ref>
| location = Chicago, Illinois, United States
| coordinates =
| mapframe          = 
| established = {{Start date and age|1873}}
| num_branches = 81
| collection_size = 5,721,334 [[Volume (bibliography)|volumes]] (July 2010, ALA data)
| annual_circulation = 10 million
| pop_served = 2.8&nbsp;million
| budget = $106 million
| director = Chris Brown<ref>{{Citation  |url=https://cplfoundation.org/meet-the-chief-librarian-chris-brown/ |title=Meet the Chief Librarian: Chris Brown |date=May 17, 2021 |work=Chicago Public Library Foundation |access-date=2021-10-11 |language=en-US}}</ref>
| num_employees = 958<ref>{{Citation 
|url=https://www.chipublib.org/facts-and-figures/ |title=Facts and Figures |date=September 27, 2021 |work=Chicago Public Library |access-date=2021-10-11 |language=en-US}}</ref>
| website = [http://www.chipublib.org/ chipublib.org]
}}
The '''Chicago Public Library''' ('''CPL''') is the [[public library]] system that serves the [[Chicago|City of Chicago]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Illinois]]. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the city's [[Community areas of Chicago|77 Community Areas]].<ref>"[http://www.chipublib.org/dir_documents/ar_2010.pdf Annual Report for 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324085336/http://www.chipublib.org/dir_documents/ar_2010.pdf |date=2012-03-24 }}," Chicago Public Library.</ref> CPL was founded in 1872, in the wake of the [[Great Chicago Fire]].

The [[American Library Association]] reports that the library holds 5,721,334 [[Volume (bibliography)|volumes]], making it the ninth largest public library in the United States by volumes held, and the 30th largest academic or public library in the [[United States]] by volumes held. The Chicago Public Library is the second largest library system in Chicago by volumes held (the largest is the [[University of Chicago Library]]). The library is the second largest public library system in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], after the [[Detroit Public Library]].<ref>"[http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet22.cfm The Nation's Largest Libraries: A Listing By Volumes Held]" (July 2012), American Library Association.</ref> Unlike many public libraries, CPL uses the [[Library of Congress Classification|Library of Congress cataloging classification system]] rather than [[Dewey Decimal]].