BEN: Welcome to the far Northwest side! Oriole Park is one of 5 small neighborhoods in the Community Area of Norwood Park (which has its own library branch – stay tuned!), and is home to many city employees and first responders. Small, well-defined neighborhoods are common on the North Side, and the hand-drawn map in the library’s lobby tells this story visually – apparently, many residents rarely cross these pencil lines.
SAM: After grabbing a few books, we were very lucky to meet Lyndy, who was working the adult reference desk. She told us about the library’s role in welcoming immigrants from Poland and Afghanistan, reflected in the branch’s Polish and Arabic-language collections. Though this branch is off the beaten path, embedded in a city park and next door to a school, and doesn’t get much foot traffic, Lyndy shared about the library’s efforts to facilitate community-building through events and activities for all ages.
BEN: Lyndy, who would walk away with first prize in any Lisa Ann Walter / Melissa Schemmenti impersonation contest, is a 43-year CPL veteran who has worked at least one day in 50+ libraries. Her fondness for serving and connecting with local patron regulars, especially seniors, was obvious in her passionate description of weekly movie showings, ESL programs, musical jam nights in partnership with the Old Town School of Folk Music, and the knitting club we witnessed in one of the library’s large meeting rooms. “Libraries are way more than just books,” she said – and this branch lives out their intent of being a neighborhood cultural center in big ways.
Beyond books, Lyndy is also caretaker of the library’s many potted plants, many of which were near their demise when donated by patrons and subsequently revived by her expert care.
NATHAN: The library is one of the buildings that has the most ADA accessibility. They have a huge parking lot with a lot of spaces for people that need to park close to the building. They also have ramps.
SAM: Lyndy introduced us to Melissa, the branch manager, who happens to be good friends with Jeremy, the branch manager at Daley, our home branch in Bridgeport. Melissa gave us a warm welcome and drew our attention to the artwork in the central atrium (commissioned from a local artist and featuring passenger jets mirroring flight paths in and out of nearby O’Hare) and their very punny book carts (#librarianhumor). On a cold and gloomy day, it was a ray of sunshine to meet Melissa and Lyndy!
DANIEL: The Oriole Park Branch is served by a few transit options. First, the CTA Blue Line, at Harlem Station (on the O’Hare Branch), is 0.7 miles from the library. There, access the CTA bus routes 88 and 90, and Pace routes 209 and 423. The Norwood Park Metra Station serves the Metra Union Pacific NorthWest Line, and is 1.7 miles from the station. If you don’t mind going a little farther, the Jefferson Park Transportation Center, 3.2 miles from the library, serves CTA Bus routes 56, 68, 81, 81W, 85, 85A, 88, 91, and 92, and Pace routes 225, 226, 270, and Metra’s UP-NW Line. The station also serves Pace’s BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), the Pulse Milwaukee Line.
Thinking ahead for the future, a free circulator like in Rosemont, operated by Pace, could improve transportation around the area. Also, the Harlem Blue Line station could benefit from some minor upgrades. But anyway, time for the review!
CTA Bus: 😐
CTA Train: ✅
Metra: ✅
Pace: ✅
Parking: ✅
Overall: 4.5/5! Good Job, Oriole Park!
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