River Forest Public Library, Reference

Reference Services

Our staff of friendly, professional librarians are here to meet your information needs. You may contact us:

In Person: Visit the Adult Services Desk on the 2nd Floor when the library is open
By Telephone: Call the Adult Services Desk at 708-366-5205 x 316.
Via Email: reference(@)riverforestlibrary.org This service is available to River Forest Public Library cardholders and anyone with questions pertaining to River Forest. Questions will be answered within 48 hours.

24/7 Reference:

You may reach a reference librarian at any time from our website by logging into ASK AWAY, an online chat reference service. Please note: Librarians from all over the United States monitor this service; if your question is specific to the River Forest Library (ex: Do you have this book on the shelf?), you may be better served by calling or emailing us directly.

Online Databases:

In addition to the print resources available in the library, River Forest cardholders have access to the library's collection of subscription reference databases. Have your River Forest library card ready; you will need your card number to login.

Interlibrary Loan and Photocopying:
Click here for our Interlibrary Loan and Photocopy Guidelines. (PDF file)

Microfilm/Obituary Service:

We have online access to the full text of the local paper, Forest Leaves, going back to October, 1995.

We also have microfilm for the Oak Leaves, a local Pioneer Press newspaper, from 1903-1909, 1921, and 1940-1941; and bound versions of the Oak Leaves from 1910-1919 and 1926-1939.

Our collection of the Forest Leaves (the current Pioneer Press paper) on microfilm begins with 1941 and continues to present editions. If you are looking for a particular article or an obituary, we can help! You are welcome to come in and use the microfilm without an appointment. You can read, print, and even save documents to a disk with our new PDF software.

Out of town? If you know the date an article or obit appeared, we can easily email you a PDF version, usually within a 48 hour turnaround. If you are not sure, staff will look through one month's worth of papers. Unfortunately, as the microfilm is not electronically searchable, we must limit our searching to one month's worth of film. Please call the Adult Reference Desk for more details!

Yearbooks:
Did you know that the library has a collection of Oak Park River Forest High School yearbooks? Click here for a complete list of our holdings.

Area Libraries:
Click here for an alphabetical list of public and university libraries near River Forest. Includes contact information and web address for each library.

DATABASES | PROGRAMS | BOOKS AND MEDIA | BOOK LINKS | BOOK GROUPS

Last revised:03/03/08

River Forest Public Library

Illinois Library Projects

Reference Services