TEXT US! New Service Provides Quick and Easy Answers for Inquiring Customers

847-665-1491

Is the library open today? Can you place a hold on this book for me? What time is tonight’s author program?

Got questions? The library’s Info Services team is ready with answers- by telephone, live chat and now even by text!

“It’s just like text messaging a friend,” says Jackie Moreno, Info Services Supervisor. “In an age where our phones are always at our fingertips, the new texting service is really easy and convenient since you don’t have to be on a computer to communicate and the conversation goes to your own personal messages.”

Introduced fall 2022, the new text service is available during regular library hours at 847-665-1491. Customers can send text messages and links (the service cannot receive photos), and library staff in our Call Center will respond.

“Texting provides another level of accessibility to customers with different needs,” said Jolie Duncan, Info Services Manager. “Whenever the library is open, staff are available and ready to answer.”

Staff are also available to assist via live chat, a service that has been ongoing and is available through the library’s website at ahml.info. Live chat is available 24/7 thanks to a consortium of public libraries that provide after-hours, round-the-clock coverage for each other. Customers can also add photographs to a website chat session along with their written messages and links.

“The majority of questions center around placing holds, moving hold pick-up locations and customer account related questions,” said Moreno. “We also receive a wide range of topics by chat and text including conference room reservations, program registrations, eMaterials and research related questions.”

How to Contact the Library

Call us: 847-392-0100

Text us: 847-665-1491

Chat with us: Interactive chat service available at ahml.info. Just look for the red box that says “Chat with Us.”

Send a question online: Form available at ahml.info/form/contact.

Residents also often turn to the library for information on events happening on a grander scale outside the library as evidenced by a huge spike in inquiries about how to obtain solar eclipse sunglasses in the summer of 2017 and in the early days of the pandemic when library staff fielded more than 3,800 chats from March to June 2020.

“Whatever the topic, text, chat, call us,” says Moreno. “The library is here to communicate, and we are here to help.”