Brooklyn Public Library – Park Slope Library

I visited this library since I moved into a new neighborhood and decided to pick up my books that I put on hold here. I really like the design of the building from the outside and also inside. I didn’t get to explore the building much besides the held books area, but it felt very crammed. I also really didn’t like how a lot of baby carriages were blocking the 2 doorways. Please don’t leave the carriages inside, instead leave them outside or at least fold them first.

Incredibly loud because of unruly children and their incredibly disrespectful, entitled parents. No water fountain whatsoever (which is ridiculous), the only available two bathrooms are almost always out of order, the WiFi is complete garbage and the staff are exceptionally unhelpful and inept. It’s a disgrace that one of Andrew Carnegie’s flagship library branches has become outdated and more or less irrelevant to the neighborhood.

I think that the public libraries should and be better. Today, if you know where (And how) to search, you can find anything you need from your smartphone or your laptop. I prefer the library from time to time, there is something about it that makes me feel like I am now in a researching mood. Last week I decided to check the public library of Park Slope. They are far behind, and they better do something about it. The Wi-​Fi is slow, and the feeling is of something out dated. The book selection is OK, but they must adapt to the options on 2016. Like the book selection, and better than the WI-​FI, they are a OK.

When I took my kids to the library, there was no such thing as undisciplined children running, screaming, throwing books on the floor and not being told by the librarian to stop. The library was once a quiet place. There was respect for the people reading and taking care of their business. This park slope library is not shown any respect by the over privilege parents and children that use it.

I only come to the library to pick up books I reserved online — doesn’t seem like a great place to sit and read or discover new books as the space is mostly taken up by computers and the children’s section. Therefore as a pickup/​dropoff kiosk, I’d say this location works ok — I wish it was open on Sunday and had a slot to return books when the branch is closed — I end up driving to Sunset Park’s branch to drop off books in their slot.

This library is great because there are plenty of places to plug in your laptop or cellphone. The tables are great with outlets. It is beautifully designed.

I’ve come here quite a bit to rule out the one off bad experience but at this point I’m not sure why I signed the petition to continue financing public libraries in this city. This place is annoying to say the least. The WiFi is slow, there’s no drinking water in the building (not a joke NO WATER FOUNTAIN) and the bathrooms are almost always out of order. In addition, the book collection is laughable — seriously you cannot find a single thing of interest across a many a topics. To add salt to injury, the reading/​study section shares space with the loud and obnoxious daycare center they operate — those people should pay for this facility not us.
How do they expect to stay relevant in this century? How do they expect us to keep on paying taxes to keep them alive?

I love love love libraries. This one is in a stunning building with some amazing glass stained windows. Just beautiful. they also have an upstairs gallery with some seating and some news papers. One thing really bothers me with this place … browsing the bookshelves in the main adult section is nearly impossible. they cramped in so many desks and computer, that there is barely any space to look through the shelves. I always have the feeling people feel like I’m looking over their shoulder when I stand close to their chairs to look at the books. Very uncomfortable.

Most unhelpful staff and/​or policies.
I checked the online status of my library materials and saw that there was a book still listed under my Checked Out items that I had already returned. I called up my branch, Park Slope, and spoke to a man who told me that I would have to come into the branch so they could put a search on the book. When I asked him why I couldn’t do this over the phone he said ‘because of records.’ When i asked him what that meant he said ‘They had to be sure that I was really the same person.‘
If this is really the library’s policy that would mean BPL has to think that someone: 1) stole my library card, 2) stole my password, 3) logged into my account, 4) knew that I had actually returned an item that was still showing up on my account, and 5) decided to call up the branch to request a search for that item out of the goodness of their heart.
I am a frequent library user, both of NYPL and BPL. NYPL does not have this policy, you can request a search over the phone. Why does BPL? It makes no sense. They need to train their staff better, instead of having them reiterate «because of records.»

It’s a library. Libraries are awesome. It reminds me of a small, home town library.
I just got a card so I could check out books online but the guy at the desk was super helpful and informative. I like it when people are passionate about their jobs!
Glad this finally re-​opened. It was closed for awhile.

the manager’s sole responsibilty is attending to the privacy screens on the computer… The fact that the guy sitting next to u addicted to heroine is in a nod with his face on the computer is not going to sway there attention.
they have some computers and the building is beautifully renovated, but there’s no maintenance whatsoever… no soap/​cleanliness/​tp ever… Its gross… the same shit on
the wall has been there for 3 weeks plus. it’s gross mismanaged and mngmt is … plus she looks like she should be at an art studio. she is not dresed for work.
Answer from all queries regarding the library, i dont manage that, I dont know why «THEY» did that… U know, those other people. trolls, elves, misfits or the like.

Helpful employees and picking up loans has never been a problem.
Saturdays are a little crazy with the PSMs and strollers but since it’s a small collection, browsing won’t take long anyway.
I wish they had longer hours; I’ve often tried to stop on my way home from work on days they’re open until 8, they’re shooing people out the door at 7:30.
Stay open until 9 at least once a week and install an after hours book drop!

This library re-​opened 4 months after I moved to Park Slope and its great! A beautiful space with a decent selection of books and space for both library computer use and large tables to work on with outlets underneath. It’s super easy to put books on hold and check them out when I get there. I wish they had a book drop-​off outside like other branches, but at least they’re open late twice a week so I can get there after work.

UPDATE: the renovation is taking longer so now we can expect for Fall of 2012 wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. The central branch is not that far. Pacific is nearby but closed until later this month after some renovations.

The book selection is not great but I go to interesting talks here sometimes in the basement called Dweck Center. The library itself is Art Deco style.

if you were to ask my religion, i would tell you that i’m a lapsed bibliophile. that said, this pretty little library, is one of my favorite places of worship.
it has history.
we have history.
it all started, albeit a long long time ago, innocently enough. i was a fiscally unsound mother with two young bookworms and the days of summer were upon us. the oldest unlucky, briana m. had an unusual desire to check out books written in chinese. there were no pictures in said books and none of the unluckys could read in chinese. thus we embarked on a grand journey. we traveled the world through folk tales and mythology. because we enjoyed reading and were book gluttons, we invariably checked out enormous quantities of books and unfortunately some were swallowed up by dusty corners and odd places.
this is why we remain persona non grata at this wonderful, fabulous reading establishment.

On Tu and Th, it doesn’t open til 1. There is one desk near an outlet. It’s kind of fun to sit there actually, because it’s this little table that is big enough for a laptop and a bit of paper, but nothing else.