For kids at Altgeld, who are already so isolated from the rest of the city, not having a library is a big deal. The resources your community provides shows you what your community hopes you will value and participate in. At Altgeld, there’s little for kids to participate in except wrongdoing.

– Megan Cottrell on Altgeld Gardens, “a community with a liquor story, but no library.” The library branch for the housing project in far-flung Riverdale shut down in March and hasn’t reopened.