The campus, sprawling across historic Jackson Park, houses basketball courts, gardens, a branch of the Chicago Public Library and an eight-story museum. The multi-use space is in sharp contrast with traditional presidential libraries.

WTTW News got a sneak peek of the Obama Presidential Center: Here’s what visitors can expect from the museum and the broader campus.

Mayda Alexandra del Valle will serve a two-year term and receive $70,000 to commission new works and create public programming. As Chicago’s second poet laureate, del Valle will serve as an ambassador for the city’s literary and creative communities.

The addition of the library locations brings the total number of drop-off options to 33.

The One Book, One Chicago program brings together residents to read the same book, with book clubs and other related programming held across Chicago Public Library locations citywide.

“Libraries are so much more than books,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. “They offer things like job searching and training courses, literacy support, de facto child care for working parents, language instruction, and most of all, welcoming and inclusive public spaces for the community.”

Tommy Orange’s novel, “There There,” has been chosen as the latest selection for the Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago program. The book, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, tells the story of Native American life, not as it existed centuries ago, but as it does now.

“There are extremists in this country, right-wing extremists, who want to disrupt our form of democracy and our life,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said. 

Author Tommy Orange will take part in a discussion of his debut novel on Nov. 15 at Harold Washington Library Center. 

“The summer months are the perfect time to reinforce skills learned during the previous year and prepare them with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the classroom and in life," Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said in a statement. 

Adam Avizius, 37, was arrested on a single charge of aggravated battery stemming from a shooting incident outside the library Tuesday evening.

Every Tuesday afternoon at the Thurgood Marshall Branch of the Chicago Public Library, retiree Jerry Bowen signs “hello” to the sign language class he’s taught remotely for three years.

The grant from the Mellon Foundation will allow CPL to digitize and archive materials related to the city’s Black history, including items dating from the 1800s to the present day.

Public libraries can be a safe haven for those struggling with homelessness. That’s the story of a local barber who benefited from the library’s resources to turn his life around. From living in the streets to becoming a licensed barber, Samuel Brown is now on a mission to pay it forward.

The only library in Back of the Yards shares a space with a local high school. Some residents have advocated for a new freestanding library, securing $15 million in state funding to build it. But a new proposal would incorporate the library into a public housing project.

In recent years, Chicago Public Library has reached major milestones — becoming one of the first big city libraries to eliminate late fees and allowing more than 100,000 formerly blocked accounts to start anew.