Experience the Newberry by taking a public tour or by making a group visit.
Public Tours - Group Visits to the Reading Rooms
Exhibit Tours - Teacher Programs - Renaissance Consortium Visits
Free public tours of the Library are offered Thursdays at 3:00 pm and Saturdays at 10:30 am. Visitors of all ages are welcome. Reservations for groups are required and may be scheduled through the Library's Office of Events. Please call (312) 255–3595 for more information.
The Newberry can accommodate small outside group visits for tours and orientations of the Library, including research in the Reading Rooms, subject to availability. Newberry programs and classes, which get first priority, are especially active in January, February, July, September, and October. As a result, there are fewer group visit slots available during these months. Staff limitations and space constraints are other factors that may not permit the Newberry to accommodate a particular group visit. All tour/group members must be at least 16 years old or a junior in high school. For more information, please visit these pages:
Group Visits to the Reading Rooms - Group Visits for Genealogists
Admission to all exhibits at the Newberry Library is free and open to the public. Visitors of all ages are welcome. To schedule an Exhibit tour, please call the Public Programs office at (312) 255-3700. To learn about the current Newberry exhibit, please visit the Exhibits page:
The Newberry's Spotlight Exhibit Series introduces visitors to the Newberry's collections with small displays that explore a wide range of humanities topics through rare books, original manuscripts, maps, and archival materials. The Spotlight Exhibit Series marks historic anniversaries, civic occasions, commemorative months, public programs at the Library, or recent additions to the Library's collections. Displays change throughout the year. For more information, please visit the Spotlight Exhibit Series page:
The Newberry Library offers professional development programs for Chicago-area teachers. Our content-based seminars bring distinguished scholars to the Library to share their work with participating teachers, and introduce teachers to the research possibilities in the Newberry's collections. For more information, please visit the Teacher Programs page:
Professional Development Programs for Teachers
The Center for Renaissance Studies serves a consortium of 47 member universities. Faculty at those universities who would like to bring classes to the Newberry should contact the Center’s Assistant Director, Karen Christianson (christiansonk [at] newberry.org) to find out more about what kinds of group visits may be accommodated. Staff limitations and space constraints are factors that may not permit the Newberry to accommodate a particular group visit.