Chicago Public Library

<p>The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the <a href="/facts/Public_library/VDjIpJS8">public library</a> system that serves the <a href="/facts/Chicago/yPMokrXH">City of Chicago</a> in the <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">U.S. state</a> of <a href="/facts/Illinois/MuPb1Ctn">Illinois</a>. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the city's <a href="/facts/Community_areas_of_Chicago/4fLrLMyj">77 Community Areas</a>. CPL was founded in 1872, in the wake of the <a href="/facts/Great_Chicago_Fire/qhfpf4LX">Great Chicago Fire</a>.
</p><p>The <a href="/facts/American_Library_Association/3jVtqULk">American Library Association</a> reports that the library holds 5,721,334 <a href="/facts/Volume_(bibliography)/C1fP1ATl">volumes</a>, making it the ninth largest public library in the United States by volumes held, and the 30th largest academic or public library in the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> by volumes held. The Chicago Public Library is the second largest library system in Chicago by volumes held (the largest is the <a href="/facts/University_of_Chicago_Library/5St328A4">University of Chicago Library</a>). The library is the second largest public library system in the <a href="/facts/Midwestern_United_States/VanHjkw2">Midwest</a>, after the <a href="/facts/Detroit_Public_Library/XM64FztE">Detroit Public Library</a>. Unlike many public libraries, CPL uses the <a href="/facts/Library_of_Congress_Classification/lQ61tkz3">Library of Congress cataloging classification system</a> rather than <a href="/facts/Dewey_Decimal/BsT2QEP2">Dewey Decimal</a>.
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Chicago Public Library open-in-new

Chicago Public Library