Queens Borough Public Library – Elmhurst

Worst and loudest library that I’ve ever been in! The staff talks and laughs like they are having a lunch out with friends whom they haven’t seen for a long time. They are very insensitive to to the people trying to concentrate and study!!! I tried to give them a look showing that that I couldn’t concentrate on what I’m reading because of their loud voices and the other library goers but nothing happened. They talked even louder! There’s only 1 table for adults and 2 tables to children. I understand that this is just a temporary library but a library is a library. The staff is supposed to respect the library goers by maintaining a quiet place to study.

I love love love this temporary library. Sure, the actual library was supposed to be built last year, but I’ll ignore that for now.
This place gets the best books. I’m serious. The Astronaut Wives Club had just come out and Elmhurst had it. Neil Patrick Harris’s Autobiography? Had it. Emily Griffin’s The One and Only? Had it. When new books come out, surprisingly Elmhurst gets them first. It freaks me out.
There are 3 self-​check out machines inside — and you can pay your fees at 2. The request section is in the back left corner, which gives you the perfect amount of space to look for your book. I haven’t been lucky with the magazines, though — usually the most recent ones are already borrowed.
I really wanted to give this place 5 stars but I unfortunately had to take one off because of the staff. 99% of the time I love going to this library, but every so often someone is just rude to me for no reason.
One time I finished scanning my books at the self-​check out machine, and as I was leaving, a staff member looked up at me and asked, «Did you scan your books?»
I replied, «Yes, I did just at this machine.»
She asked, «Are you sure?» After I assured her that I did check out my books properly (it was probably my 3^rd visit there so I was a pro at those machines), she commented, «Okay, fine, but if you leave here and set the alarm off, it’s going to be your fault.»
What?
And when I left, the alarm didn’t go off.
I’m just trying to help the public library system — because I love it — but it honestly would not hurt if the staff was friendlier. But there are younger students inside the library who help you find books and they are really nice!

How is this place still being built?! It was supposed to be completed 2013 which was already a long amount of time for a building to be finished. It looks nowhere close to being done and it’s over a year from when it was supposed to be done. I’ve almost lived in the neighborhood for three years and I’ve never been to the library since it’s been under construction the entire time.

The queens Public Library System is a pretty good place to get all your reading needs without paying a fortune for new books. Their DVD selection is pretty good and you can always have them tell you which branch you can find a particular Book or Movie. Now that blockbuster and renting movies is not really available anymore, unless you are signed up with Netflix, there is no other way to see Movies. Especially for Free. Yes this is great. Go back and rediscover your public Library.

tiny library, small selection of books, not much in the way of «new releases». but it’s in walking distance and the staff is friendly!
now get me my Tina Fey!!! :)
(and p. s. regarding the other reviews mentioning the creepy old men sitting outside: they aren’t kidding nor exaggerating. a few weeks ago, while waiting for the library to open, a man across from me began touching himself, licking his lips and making inappropriate gestures and noises towards me. even with me clearly letting him know that his actions were not ok, he continued. i had to leave. they really need to rethink that area. perhaps tables and chairs for readers and families.)

It is good that you could print out 20 pages per day for free. It is a great location just 2 minutes walk from Grand Ave subway station. However, it is very noisy sometime and people are jam and «fighting» for the newspaper…:S other than that, no complain. Be aware there is only one restroom and sometimes there is a line for it.

Like Yue said there is not a big selection here. BUT by going to the Queens Library website, I can request almost any book I want and pick it up at the Elmhurst branch. I find it convenient that they are on the shelf with the first three letters of your last name, you don’t have to deal with anyone, just go and grab your books. I can also renew my books online too. My biggest complaint about this place is the damn strollers. This is a small library and gargantuan strollers are parked everywhere and rolling into patrons feet. There is no room as it is, stroller parking should be outside, there is ample room! A lot of the librarians here are bitter, but I don’t care as I am getting great books for free. There are a few nice ones, though. Just make sure you stand properly in line and have your card ready or prepared to be schooled. They are now closed on Sundays, which is a bummer. Overall, they have topics on everything and are in a great location. My daughter and I went to a magic show in the basement here once, we wanted to check out some of the library’s other offerings. It couldn’t have been more unfunny. Oh well, I guess you get what you (don’t) pay for.

The library is small and doesn’t have that many variety of books. They usually ask you to go to Flushing library or Jamaica library for books they don’t have. They have a large collection of Chinese books on the mezzanine floor but no Japanese or Koreans. The staffs are nice and helpful when you have questions. They have many different events throughout the years for everyone.

The last time I used my public library card was when I was 17 (a book report of sorts). Beforehand, I didn’t realize that you could be entertained with a library.
My recent revisit unearthed quite a few treasures…
— All the (car, food, tech, fashion) magazines that you can read, without the hassle of subscriptions, lifetime credit car charges, or recycling
— What’s for dinner?: you’ll find your answer with an array of cookbooks here
— Dvd rentals., this comes in handy when I don’t feel like pirating movies online
— Cute nerdy girls?, hmm. :-o

Well, as you all may know, all Queens libraries are now closed on Sundays. Since my last review, I have changed my outlook towards this library. I have since requested many books from other libraries to be picked up at the Elmhurst branch. Every time, the reference desk librarian, a different person than the one I mentioned in my previous review, would tell me to get the requested book off the shelf myself. The books are labeled with a piece of paper with the first three letters of my last name followed by the last four digits of my library card.
When I check materials out, the librarians at checkout seem more nicer than I think. Perhaps, their hard exteriors had me fooled because once I speak to them, they turn friendly. Still, I better keep my guard up just in case.
Sometimes, I wish as I walk past the library, that instead of having a garden outside, they would put more chairs and tables so people can sit outside, breath the fresh air, and read and relax. Ah. Otherwise, having flowers and trees there aren’t doing much anyway since they aren’t being tended enough to be as pretty as the Queens botanical garden.

This branch deserves three stars. It is not the best looking library, and it is small. It’s uncomfortable to sit in because it’s always too crowded with people reading newspapers. I usually just go to pick up books I request, but I have occasionally browsed their collection.
The biography section is horrible, mostly popular topics that aren’t well written; in the fiction section I found Darkmans (Barker) and something by Dave Eggers so I guess it wasn’t so bad. There’s a massive children’s section in the back, which I haven’t checked out. The Spanish section was pitiful, mostly translations of English to Spanish. The rest of sections are small but occasionally have one or two good finds per section. They have a surprising graphic novel section, where I found Will Eisner’s New York and Matt Groening’s Will and Abe, and a decent dvd section.
The service is decent, some of the staff are nice, some aren’t.

omgosh, this was the first American Library i’ve ever been to back 15 years ago. Lots of good memories at this place. Okay, This place is pretty spacious when their children section takes up 50 percent of the entire library. It’s not a peaceful library since children and the staff constantly makes noise. The adult section doesnt really have much selections; the foreign language section is a joke and it’s only good for foreign adults. Also, I believe that they have a English class down in their basement so check it out if you cant read my review.
Well, come if you live in the area or if you really want to, it’s not impressive and there arent much selections in books, if you want a good quality library, might I recommend the Flushing Library. Otherwise, this place is average.

One of the best library dvd selections out there plus a good amount of 7-​day rental documentaries. Small space though. No place to plug in laptops and getting on a computer via a sign-​up sheet is a complete calamity. There are a lot of people reading newspapers, and it’s a nice community feeling there. More personal contact here than other libraries, but that’s a taxpayer-​expensive thing that can only be attributed to not upgrading their resources. Although, it probably costs millions to put in 4 checkout computers to make the process more streamlined, reminds me of the differences in executing a man and keeping him in prison for a lifetime due to legal fees (an expensive system which makes what’s right arbitrary because cost is the ultimate decider).
Out front, there are either kids playing or senile, old people yelling at each other. It’s kind of endearing, but at length it gets annoying. The food cart people on the street corner gives some home-​like street food — if only my home had parents who were chinese and good cooks.

I moved to Queens *cringe* from Manhattan last summer. It’s been a year, but when people ask me where I live, I still lie and tell them I live in Manhattan. I see it like this: if I come to terms with it, then it can only be the beginning of something truly bad.
But the first thing I located in my new abode was the local library. I’m a hardcore abuser of the NYPL system, but I have to admit, the Queens library branches are slowly winning me over. The primary reason is that the hours are quite nice – they open most days at 10AM and also on SUNDAYS!
The Elmhurst Branch is small but has a great collection of Chinese and Spanish films, and in general, a sufficient collection of new releases. Their fiction/​non-​fiction is lacking. And the service is questionable. On most days, they’re nice. Sometimes, they just want to be total bitches and will glare/​yell at you for vague things. Maybe it’s just me.
Bottom line: this is an okay library. Satisfactory at best, but not the best place to study since they don’t have many chairs and tables, and the ones they do have are uncomfortable and crowded. But, there are benches outside of the library… where stalkers sit and watch your every move. I shit you not. This one time, I was just sitting there, reading something, and this shady looking guy came up to me, and gave me a sleazy look. I left without wanting to appear alarmed. But he followed me and I had to duck into the deli to get rid of him.
The other thing about the Queens library system is, you can’t put holds on videos, which really just tickles my nipples in an unpleasant way. Being a film addict, I depend on the library for my weekly fix. Also, an overdue video is $ 3/​day as opposed to $ 1/​day in Manhattan. You can take out a film and renew it twice (for a total of nine days), but because the initial due date – within three days – is so short, you end up, like me, logging into your account and realizing that you owe something like $ 21 for a dvd you forgot all about and never bothered to watch anyway.