The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the municipal public library system of the City of Chicago in Illinois, United States. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branch libraries distributed throughout the city's 77 community areas. The Chicago Public Library system was founded in 1872, in the wake of the Great Chicago Fire.
The American Library Association reports that the library holds 5,721,334 volumes, making it the ninth largest public library in the United States by volumes held, and the 30th largest academic or public library in the United States by volumes held. The Chicago Public Library is the second largest library system in Chicago by volumes held (the largest is the University of Chicago Library). The library is the second largest public library system in the Midwest, after the Detroit Public Library. Unlike many public libraries, CPL uses the Library of Congress cataloging classification system rather than the Dewey Decimal classification.