Waukegan Public Library

Waukegan Public Library We support our community by connecting everyone to information, materials, and experiences that foster a love of reading, learning, and exploration.📚💡🔍

The Waukegan Public Library is passionate about providing opportunities for Waukegan residents to learn, grow, and achieve their goals. We believe that education – the classroom kind, and the ‘school of life’ kind – are equally valuable. Most importantly, we believe that lifelong learning is essential to happier, healthier living. The Waukegan Public Library sees itself as instrumental in the fight against low literacy and joblessness, because the Library is in a unique position of being able to offer instructional assistance to adults. To that end, the Library is committed to developing programs like our GED preparation, English language learning, and life skills courses. The Library offers similar programming for children, to enrich and supplement the literacy education they receive at school, with a view towards improving overall educational achievement, increasing the high school graduation rate, and nurturing a lifelong love of learning. Our 2015 renovation completely transformed our main floor into a learning-focused library ready to meet the needs of our patrons. We’ve increased our classroom space, enabling us to enroll more residents in our classes. We’ve created spaces for collaboration and for quiet study. This new configuration supports our award-winning Literacy Suite downstairs, where we will continue to hold adult tutoring and group classes. Computer workstations provide ready access to the internet and to essential software, and we are happy to report that the Friends of the Waukegan Public Library have been able to reopen their book sale. The main floor renovation also features a small café space, encouraging patrons to view the library as a space to come together, as well as to work. The award-winning Early Learning Center in our children’s department is currently themed around fairy tales. In addition to themed programming, we’re excited to offer ‘Once Upon a Fairy Tale,’ our summer reading program which encourages children to read and interact with our immersive, dual-language exhibit. The library maintains a secondary location at the Hinkston Park Field House, where residents can browse for books and pick up requested items.

Join us in celebrating the Friends with this all ages event featuring a live Oompah band, Die Musikmeisters. Crafts and ...
09/28/2026

Join us in celebrating the Friends with this all ages event featuring a live Oompah band, Die Musikmeisters. Crafts and light refreshments will be available.

📆: Sunday, October 11, 2:30-4pm

Stop by the Main Floor and guess the banned book just by its shredded pages as a way to celebrate the freedom to read du...
09/25/2026

Stop by the Main Floor and guess the banned book just by its shredded pages as a way to celebrate the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, a national campaign to raise awareness about censorship nationwide. Guess correctly and be entered in a prize drawing.
Learn more about B*W at https://bannedbooksweek.org/

📆: Sunday, October 4-Saturday, October 10

Sample sweet treats from around the world and vote for your favorite! International Candy Taste Test is for grades K-5.📆...
09/24/2026

Sample sweet treats from around the world and vote for your favorite! International Candy Taste Test is for grades K-5.

📆: Saturday, October 10, 2:30-3:30pm

Learn the basics of saving seeds including practical tips for collecting, storing, and preserving seeds for future plant...
09/23/2026

Learn the basics of saving seeds including practical tips for collecting, storing, and preserving seeds for future planting and how this simple practice can help you grow a more sustainable garden. Presented by the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners.

📆: Thursday, October 8, 5-6pm

Calling all vendors! We are seeking local artists and artisans for our Kris Kringle Artist and Artisan Market at Waukega...
09/22/2026

Calling all vendors! We are seeking local artists and artisans for our Kris Kringle Artist and Artisan Market at Waukegan Public Library on Saturday, November 28, from 5-8pm. Showcase your work to the community in a festive holiday setting. Interested? Fill out an application found here: https://www.waukeganpl.org/events/kris-kringle-artist-and-artisan-market

Spread the word and join us for this exciting event!

Read a book together and bring it to life with themed crafts and games! Big & Little Book Club is for grades K-2 with an...
09/21/2026

Read a book together and bring it to life with themed crafts and games! Big & Little Book Club is for grades K-2 with an adult. To register call 847-623-2041 or visit https://events.waukeganpl.org/event/17046786

📆: Thursday, October 8, 5:30-6:30pm

Create a hand-painted glowing bottle with Valentina’s easy techniques. Bring a clean label-free bottle and let your crea...
09/18/2026

Create a hand-painted glowing bottle with Valentina’s easy techniques. Bring a clean label-free bottle and let your creativity shine! This bilingual program is for adults. To register call 847-623-2041 or visit https://events.waukeganpl.org/event/17117740

📆: Tuesday, October 6, 6-7:30pm

Share your gently used holiday decor items and get some new things for your stash. Drop off decor items on 10/2, 10/3, a...
09/16/2026

Share your gently used holiday decor items and get some new things for your stash. Drop off decor items on 10/2, 10/3, and 10/4, then shop the available items from 3-4pm on Sunday 10/4. Donations will NOT be accepted before 10/2.

📆: Sunday, October 4, 3-4pm

Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from Tuesday, September 15, through Thursday, October 15, 2026. Celebrate the herita...
09/15/2026

Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from Tuesday, September 15, through Thursday, October 15, 2026. Celebrate the heritage, history, traditions, and cultural diversity of Hispanic Americans and explore their incredible impact on the United States for generations. We had so much fun celebrating with our community at the Fiestas Patrias Parade this past weekend! WPL staff handed out more than 1,000 bilingual books to children along the parade route.

The celebration continues at the library with fun and engaging programs, book displays, and more opportunities to explore Hispanic heritage and culture. Come visit the library, check out our book displays, and join us for an upcoming program. Visit the Waukegan Public Library Events Calendar to see what’s coming up.

https://events.waukeganpl.org/events?v=grid&d=2026-09-15

This beginner-level class introduces students to the basics of American Sign Language. Participants will learn the ASL a...
09/14/2026

This beginner-level class introduces students to the basics of American Sign Language. Participants will learn the ASL alphabet, numbers, common phrases, and simple conversational skills. This program is for adults. To register, call 847-623-2041 or visit our website.

📆: Thursdays, October 1-October 29, 6-7:30pm

Address

128 N County Street
Waukegan, IL
60085

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 8pm
Tuesday 10am - 8pm
Wednesday 10am - 8pm
Thursday 10am - 8pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 1pm - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+18476232041

Website

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