SECTION 1
The Digital Library is open 24/7 and ways to contact your Librarians
SECTION 2
Resources to help with staying home and dealing with hardship due to COVID-19
SECTION 3
Details about the temporary closure of the Library building and the status of materials and services
Contact your Librarians
Your librarians are available to answer your questions. You can reach them by phone and online.
Live Chat
Librarians are available Monday–Saturday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm. The live chat portal is in the lower right corner of your screen. Start your live chat session by sending a reply or clicking the envelope icon or "We Are Here."
Contact Form
Submit a message on our Contact page
Send a message to reference@lakeforestlibrary.org
Phone
Call 847.810.4610 and leave a voicemail
Upcoming Virtual Events
Board Games from a Safe Distance with Emmy (Virtual Event)
Storytime with Lorie (Virtual Event)
RBdigital with Felicia (Virtual Event)
In addition to checking out our curated list of Free Virtual Activities, consider following the Library on Twitter. We're retweeting a lot of great resources!
Lake Forest Mayor message, April 1, 2020
Lake Forest Mayor message, March 26, 2020
Building Temporarily Closed
As a precaution, Lake Forest Library has canceled all on-site programs and temporarily closed the building to public access in support of COVID-19 prevention.
As we all have discovered, the situation is changing rapidly. Please check back on our website or social media pages for the latest information.
This change is a proactive, precautionary measure and is not due to any known COVID-19 exposure. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to support social distancing as recommended by the CDC.
See all updates about the Library's response to COVID-19.
Status of Services and Resources
| ⬤ | Digital resources including eBooks, streaming movies, and most databases are available for access from home to all Lake Forest residents with a library card. Request a temporary virtual library card. |
| ⬤ | Reference and Readers Advisory services are available. You can contact your librarians by live chat, phone, and email. |
| ⬤ | Virtual Programs including live storytimes are available on the Library's Facebook and Instagram pages. |
| ⬤ | Library Wi-Fi is available from outside the building or nearby parking spots, but the signal strength varies. When near the Library building, connect to "Public." |
| ⬤ | Library building is closed to public access. |
| ⬤ | Public computers and physical library materials are unavailable while the building is closed. |
| ⬤ | Holds and Interlibrary Loans are currently unavailable. |
| ⬤ | DVD2GO machine is currently unavailable. |
| ⬤ | Book donations to the Friends are not currently being accepted. Please do not leave any items at the back dock. |
FAQs while the building is closed
When are my items due?
All due dates have been extended until after the library building reopens. Please keep all library materials until further notice.
Can I pick up items?
Not at this time.
Can I return items?
Not at this time.
Can I place holds?
You can still place holds, but they will not be processed until the library building reopens.
When will holds become available?
All existing holds currently in the system are suspended until further notice. At this time, we do not know when holds will be activated.
What if my library card expires?
Library staff has proactively pushed back library card expiration dates. If your library card is not working, please contact us via the channels listed on this page.
Where can I get info on library digital resources?
Please visit our Download and Stream page, the Databases page, and follow us on social media, where we share the latest offerings.
What is the staff up to?
Library staff is working from home. They may be placing orders (especially of digital materials), setting up new eResources and databases for you to use, sharing community and library information on social media, participating in webinars and online training, planning and running virtual programs, and answering your reference and reader's advisory questions.
Where can I find reliable info on COVID‑19?
Please see the resources listed on our COVID‑19 page.
Where can I find info on financial hardship resources?
Please see the resources listed on our Resources to Help You Recover from Financial Hardship resulting from COVID‑19 page.