Hennepin County Library – Southdale Library

It is a strange little library in that you have to walk up a couple flights of stairs to get to the library itself. The first floor you walk up to has a station to return or check out books, along with some parts of the library including a place to sit and read the newspaper, and children’s play areas. The second floor is where most of the books seem to be and also where you are allowed to use computers or study. There is a quiet room but I did not use it.
I didn’t use the resources (books, DVDs, etc.) they had available there but the librarians here are very nice. The facility seems well maintained, there is a lot of space, and has a welcoming vibe. I do have to say that people do answer phones and have tutoring sessions there so if you’re looking for a super quiet place, like a traditional library, you’d best visit the quiet room. They have free wifi, although Macs sometimes have trouble connecting. They do have technicians around sometimes that can help fix that problem though. My problem was that I never noticed the additional window that popped up to get my permission — once I accepted that, online I went!

There are too many stairs. And they are steep. And there was what appeared to be a homeless man in the second floor bathroom washing something. I left before finding out what… definitely wasn’t his hands. Man this area has gone downhill. I’ll continue to
though for some reason half the libraries are closed Mondays.

I’m hoping this is still the case, but when I lived in Edina and the library was still where the monstrous new courthouse/​police station now stands, there was a yearly sale where you paid five dorrah and got to fill up a grocery bag with books. Absolutely wonderful. Also possible that most libraries do this, but it kept me reading then and it gave me full bookshelves as I crossed over into adulthood. Now, of course, this sort of place has been made obsolete by an addiction to technology and ridiculous inventions like the Kindle (which I have), but even still, yay 5 dorrah book sale.

Only went to one story time here so can’t speak authoritatively, but the event failed to wow us. I appreciate though that they have a separate room for story time.

I love this library. The staff are so friendly and helpful. Disclaimer: back when I first started college, I worked here for 2 years. Things have changed since I’ve worked there. The drive up book return is computerized and they have self-​check out so there’s pretty much never a line.
It seems like their collection has gotten smaller. I’m not sure if this is true, it just appears that way to me. However, it doesn’t matter much because this library is part of the Hennepin County system so you can go on-​line, reserve whatever you want and they’ll e-​mail you when it’s ready for pickup at the library location of your choice. They even send you e-​mail reminders 3 days before your materials are due. The library has an extensive cd/​dvd collection, too, although the more popular dvds are almost always checked out so you have to reserve those.
There’s a new feature I haven’t used yet — e-​book borrowing. You have to download software to use it.
There are nice reading areas spread throughout the first floor where the fiction and children’s materials are located. For the kids, there are computer kiosks where they can play games on kid-​friendly websites like
. There’s no sign up — kids can just sit down and play, but they have sign ups asking that people limit time to 30 minutes if other children are waiting to use the computer. On the second floor, you’ll find the reference and non-​fiction materials. There are a few private study rooms and desk kiosks scattered around. Overall, the library has a welcoming atmosphere. I love the service it provides.

You might miss it because it doesn’t look like a typical library. The interior has 2 levels to the actual library. (Court house and offices are attached) The staff are helpful and the place is much more accessible than downtown. I love searching the on-​line catalog and reserving books, they are always on the hold shelf for me within a week or so. Clean, quite, convenient and not crowded. Note: They also have a drive up book return!