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Using the Library - Frequently Asked Questions

How do I contact the Circulation Department?

If you have a question about your library account or you would like to renew your library materials, please call us at 217-367-4057. If you call when the Library is open, you will always speak with one of our helpful circulation clerks and never a recorded message.

If you don’t need immediate assistance you may also email the Circulation Department at circulation@urbanafreelibrary.org.

May I use my out-of-town library card if I don't live in Urbana?

The Urbana Free Library honors the cards of all public libraries in Illinois. This includes cards issued by nearby libraries like the Champaign, Danville, St. Joseph, Rantoul, Mahomet, Monticello, and Tolono public libraries. Every year, thousands of people who live outside Urbana visit The Urbana Free Library.

If you move to east-central Illinois either permanently or to attend school, you will need to get a card from the library in the community in which you live, but all cards from all area libraries are always welcome at The Urbana Free Library.

Why do you charge for parking?

Because The Urbana Free Library is located in a busy business district with huge numbers of office workers, the City of Urbana uses meters to prevent parking lots from being filled by office workers by 8:00 a.m.

Meters around the library protect parking for library users, helping to assure that you can find a place to park when you visit the library and still benefit from the librarys location close to shopping, restaurants, and offices.

Meters around the library are enforced only during peak office worker hours, from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Evening and weekend parking in metered spaces is always totally free.

In addition to parking at the library, you can park in the Busey Bank parking lot after 4:00 p.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Why is it called The Urbana Free Library?

The Urbana Free Library is one of the first public libraries founded in the state of Illinois and the oldest public library in east central Illinois. When the library began, the vast majority of libraries were operated by private organizations. Use was limited to those people who purchased paid memberships.

To emphasize the fact that they were now open without charge to local citizens, the first tax-supported public libraries tended to call themselves free libraries. Many still do. For example, Baltimore's public library is the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Philadelphia's public library is simply The Free Library.

The first major public library in the United States was the Boston Public Library, which opened in 1854, just 20 years before The Urbana Free Library.

The Urbana Free Library has kept its historic name not only to recognize its very long history but also to stress its commitment to free use of the librarys services.

How did The Urbana Free Library attain national ranking?

The Urbana Free Library has consistently been ranked in the top 1 or 2 percent of public libraries nationally, and in the top 1 percent of public libraries in Illinois. Among other things, rankings are based on collection strength, heavy use, and efficiency of operations.

Rankings appear in American Libraries magazine, the official journal of the American Library Association.