Rating des Ortes: 4 Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA
This is a fabulous library. The existing collection is enormous, eclectic and constantly growing. The staff is knowledgeable, polite and helpful. They know their own resources well, and are also expert at using and recommending outside sources. My quibble: sometimes it’s hard to find a quiet space there. I recognize that libraries have become more social places as they’ve expanded services to their communities, and I’m all for that. Still, there are times when concentration is a necessity, and at UDPL the designated«quiet» room is small, cramped, somewhat uncomfortable and has the LOUDEST door in all creation. Since the room houses the current periodicals section, it gets plenty of foot traffic and that door slams shut an awful lot. To make things worse, it opens into the children’s section, which is often the noisiest part of the library. Yes, I’m a cranky old man. Still: I love this library. Wouldn’t be without it. Visit sometime, and while you’re their say a kind word to Molly behind the front desk. She puts up with a lot of sh*t.