All About Library Crawl

What is Library Crawl?

Library Crawl is an interlibrary event put on by the Illinois Heartland Library System’s (IHLS) participating libraries. The crawl means traveling from library to library to experience other libraries in our area than your home library. As you travel between libraries, you can check out books, movies, and other items and also explore the surrounding town to get familiar with the different cultures of cities, villages, and small towns across Southern & Central Illinois. Originally, Bethalto Public Library started the first crawl in 2019 to encourage patrons to learn about everything you can do with your library card.

How to Participate

Pick up your library passport

Ask for a Library Crawl Passport your local library.

Plan your route

Where do you want to explore and visit?

Check out the 2022 Illinois Library Crawl Google Map by searching in the app. The List of Participating Libraries can be found on our website homepage.

Get your passport stamped

Each location you travel to will have a stamp for your passport. Take a look around the libraries, talk to librarians, and think about what your favorite thing about the library is.

Check out Local Eateries & Attractions

Explore new cities and towns’ local restaurants and attractions.

A helpful Eateries & Attractions Guide can also be found online.

Win Prizes!

Little Surprises

Some libraries offer little gifts for visiting their library

CPLD Grand Prize

CPLD offers a $50 Amazon Gift Card Drawing Entry for Crawlers who visit 5 libraries or more!

Silent Auction

Place your bids at CPLD on themed baskets put together by the Library Friends Group! Winners will be announced November 1st.

Share Your Love of Libraries

Travel solo or bring a friend, but as you explore libraries you will also meet other library friends, book lovers, and friendly librarians across the state. Together share your love of libraries and books and share your photos online with the tag #IHLSLibraryCrawl2022 so all your friends can see how cool you are visiting so many libraries!

Visit the Homepage of our website for more information

A note: Be mindful of library hours and check their websites before you go. Not all libraries are open at the same time. Many will also be closed on Indigenous Peoples Day (Monday, October 11th).