Did you know that our Illinois Room can double as a quiet space?
Yes, it is full of older materials that are difficult to replace (at best) & this is why we ask that no food or drink be brought into the Illinois Room. And yes, there are people who come into the Illinois Room to do research - local history, genealogy, use of the computers to use any number of our research databases. The Great River Genealogical Society has helped with research from here, as have library staff. This is a great location to do local history & genealogy research from!
Additionally, the Adams County Bicentennial Commission has used the Quincy Public Library as a meeting space - both for the commission but also for a variety of its committees. In this use, the Bicentennial Commission's entities have met in the large meeting room, the small conference room, & in the Illinois Room. (The large meeting room & the small conference room tend to be more conducive for meetings but the Illinois Room is available for use, should you need a quiet & out of the way type of spot for a meeting. Just note, audio-visual equipment is not available in the Illinois Room & you will not be able to bring snacks.)
We have had several people come through the Illinois Room for quick meetings with community service providers from the Quincy area. In addition to being a quiet space, there is not much foot traffic. Basically, the people that are coming through the Illinois Room are people interested in doing research & generally keep to themselves, unless they need help from library staff, or they are people using the tables for a quieter study space. So, minimal disruptions. There are also tables in the Illinois Room, you can sit & meet with whatever service provider & they can take notes. (However, if you are in need of a higher level of privacy, we do have study rooms available for reservation, complete with wifi & tables.)
At any given point during the course of the day, the Illinois Room is open to students. Students come through for study sessions, to work on projects, & for tutoring sessions. As stated earlier, it is a quiet room with minimal distractions & is a great place to focus. (Unless you are a history nerd, in which case it has all of the distractions.) There is also wifi available in the Illinois Room, to help with whatever studying or research you are doing. But if you are an easily distracted history nerd or are generally worried about disruption, the Quincy Public Library does have study rooms available for reservation.
None of this is to say that the library as a whole is off limits. Quite the opposite. Library patrons are more than welcome to use any public space within the Quincy Public Library. We have computers available in the reference area. Chairs & tables are available throughout the library, including in the library lobby for use in a variety of ways. (However, if you do eat at any of the tables in the teen area or in reference, we do ask that you be respectful & keep messes to a minimum.) However, if you choose to use the Illinois Room for any of the reasons listed above, you are welcome to keep food & drink in your bag or ask to have it held at the Reference Desk.