[2] In addition to its main location in downtown Waukegan, the library operates a branch in Hinkston Park, on the city's northwest side.

[7] The limestone building currently occupied by the Waukegan Public Library, located at the corner of County and Clayton streets, was opened for business on December 27, 1965.

[7][9] In 2008, based on analysis of the need for literacy exposure among Waukegan kindergarten students, the library opened a 2,000-square-foot Early Learning Center in the children's department.

As of 2005, the Waukegan Public Library held 224,390 books and serial volumes, or 2.55 for every person in its service area.

[6] Among the initiatives that the library embarked upon based on the feedback from the community ambassadors was the Conversational ESL Program, which in its first year graduated 255 students, most of whom went on to receive GEDs.

[6] In 2015, the library underwent a remodel of its main floor in order to meet the needs of its patrons by creating spaces for collaboration and quiet study and increasing the number of classrooms.

The workstations, found just around the corner from the study rooms and opposite the Friends’ Book Sale, provide comfortable seating for five, with flatscreens enabling patrons to link up their laptops and collaborate.

Past and present recipients of the Ray Bradbury Creative Contest Awards include Margaret Young, Dexter Fabi, Tara V. Purtell, Jennifer Tidemann, Timothy McGlen, and Kimberly Horta.