Only open since August, the new library is a nexus for Chinatown. Another woman, her hair cropped short, bends her head over a thick textbook and inks notes onto a yellow pad.
A man wears the hood up on his navy North Face jacket as he reads a Chinese language newspaper.
In the periodicals corner, where the Chicago Tribune is shelved alongside China Daily, a young woman with long black hair and glasses watches a Chinese game show on a Dell computer, her headphones muting an animated host. Looking north, there is the illusion that the looming Willis Tower is close enough to touch. Out the slim vertical windows, subway trains rush by on elevated tracks. But on a Tuesday morning in January, it’s bright and warm in the new branch library in Chicago’s Chinatown. It is the kind of cold that burns the skin. Become a free or sustaining member to read unlimited articles, webinars and ebooks. This is your first of three free stories this month.