Champaign Public Library Restores Friday Evening Hours 

Photo by Barry Rustin Photography

WE ARE THRILLED to be welcoming back Friday evening hours to the library. Beginning July 11, the Champaign Public Library will now be open until 9 pm on Fridays. As a part of our strategic plan, we aim to ensure our community recognizes us as a welcoming space for all. In assessing our operating hours, community members provided feedback that extending hours would meet the needs of many families in the community looking for more family-friendly activities in the evenings. 

In 2017, the library was able to restore partial operating hours that had previously been cut in 2015 due to budgetary constraints. The hours of 6–9 pm are the last of those hours to be restored. We are grateful to be able to offer these hours to our community once more. 

With the restoration of Friday evening hours, new library programming will be offered on Friday evenings. From 6–8 pm, adults can join us for our new series called “Unbooked”. This will include rotating activities of Trivia, Puzzles, Card Games, Bingo, and quarterly live music. Families with children can attend “Unbooked Kids” for drop-in crafts and activities from 6–8 pm.  

The Studio will be open on both Thursday and Friday evenings from 5–8 pm. On Friday evenings in The Studio, library staff will have beginner-friendly crafts to create at your own pace. 

Updated  June 24, 2025