Esther A. Barlow Digital Collection

CPL's Digital Collections document life in Chicago through archival images, documents and artifacts.

Chicago Public Library staff, Lake View Branch, circa 1950

Story hour in Welles Park, Hild Regional Library, circa 1930

Esther Barlow at the circulation desk, Lake View Branch, 1951

Barlow, Esther and Buddy Flaskerud, 1913

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About

Esther Barlow was a children’s librarian in neighborhood branches of Chicago Public Library from 1927 until 1976.

Included in this collection are photographs of the Barlow family and images of Esther Barlow at work at the Hild Regional Library and Lake View Branch Library. Photographs showcase Barlow with her colleagues and her work with children.

The Esther A. Barlow Collection is housed in the Northside Neighborhood History Collection at Sulzer Regional Library.

Questions or concerns about rights and access to this digital collection? See our Copyright and Takedown Policy.

Acknowledgment of Harmful Materials

Chicago Public Library collects images, documents and other archival materials from different communities and time periods to preserve and make available the cultural and historical record. As historical objects, some of these materials contain harmful or disturbing content. CPL presents these artifacts as an unfiltered social record and does not endorse the views expressed therein.