Hoboken Public Library

If you are buying ebooks from Amazon you’re missing out – I’ve been able to borrow so many ebooks since our library is part of BCCLS. The selection of old-​fashioned regular books has also greatly improved. Wish the website was better; it’s outdated and hard to navigate.

Great library, just don’t be an idiot (like me) and return things late, and pay the fines. Instead, return things on time and give donations to the library!
Pros:
Great selection
Nice people working there
You can pretty much order any media, they will get it
You can renew online or over the phone easily
They have keychain cards, awesome
Great kids section, and it is a great old school building
Tip:
They are super serious about identity protection, so don’t bother calling without your library card number!
Cons:
$ 1/​day fine for a DVD is steep, again, don’t be an idiot like me and renew or return
The DVDs are sometimes beat up, and skip in the most important scene of the Harry Potter final movie :)

Don’t let the ‘librarian is a curmudgeon’ reviews put you off! There are so many excellent virtues this library has to offer, that you must enjoy them, if you’re in Hoboken!
– Great location — right opposite the park… grab a book, a cup of coffee and read under a tree.
– Beautiful building — one of the finest in Hoboken!
– Free Wi-​Fi
–Good selection of books and DVDs, that’s updated regularly — it’s not the largest, but you can order from the BCCLS system and pick it up.
– Order books and Blue Rays online and pick them within a few days and at times on the same day itself! (Helloooo Homeland and Downton Abbey binge watching anyone??!)
– Decent selection of e-​books too
– Very quiet + large reading and research space upstairs and the latest magazines to browse
– Did I mention everything is Free?
Now coming to the librarians — yes, at times they can be a bit curt, but not all of them are of the same mold. I’ve met a few nice and helpful ones with a sunny disposition too! Looking at the list of pros the library has, it’s easy for me to overlook this minor hiccup.

This building is gorgeous and it’s only going to get more gorgeous. When I last was here, they were working on renovations outside so I am excited to see what it will look like. It’s worth a pop in just to see building’s design itself.
This place is more for those who are looking to study or use the internet than drown themselves in books and other circulation materials. With three floors and the second floor being almost completely devoted to table space and quiet, I was in heaven since most New York libraries rarely have either.
The staff were overall nice enough, but I have to agree with everyone that it was hit or miss. But it wouldn’t be a library without the curmudgeonly librarian! You can bet I’ll keep studying for the GRE here now that I know about it!

Plain and simple, some of the women that work at the Hoboken Library are PURE Misery. I’m not a big fan of small talk myself but if you can’t respond to «How are you?», «Thank you.» or «Have a nice day.» You deserve a foot up your ass. After another non response today I asked the woman «What’s wrong?» «Did someone steal your broom?» I’d drive to Princeton to avoid these hags.

I wonder when was the last time this place got new books! Pretty outdated with a small selection. As a Spanish nerd, I was very sad to see that there were only a few outdated Spanish/​English dictionaries, and NO Spanish textbooks available. The music section is pretty good though. Take deep breaths when dealing with the surly staff!

Libraries are so great! And the one in Hoboken is adorable and in a cool old building. It always blows my mind, a library is a totally free resource. Well I suppose ‘free’ is a stretch since our taxes pay for it, but it is a good thing to pay for, and I am happy to do it. The Hoboken library doesn’t have the biggest selection but it always has something I want to read, so that is cool. And it is right on the nicest park, so it is just a serene place to go. I love Hoboken, and this is one of my many reasons why!

As a graduate student, the Hoboken public library has been my oasis in a city that offers few other places to study in a relatively low-​key environment. The building itself is charming; an old structure on the north end of the park, packed in tight between apartment buildings. The inside is bright and open, and though there are always a number of adults and children running about in relatively close quarters, you never feel claustrophobic. I give credit to the staff who may come across as strict, but keep the chatter to a minimum and the space clean. Spend enough time at the library, and you’ll notice the «regulars» who don’t miss a single Saturday morning, with their crosswords or study materials. Though I can’t bring in my morning coffee, I’ll choose the library any day over the usual undergrad haunts on Washington Street.

Maybe I’ve been spoiled by awesome libraries but this one has a lot to be desire. While I feel that their awesome and vast collection of DVDs and books are excellent, I find it extremely hard to find anything upstairs (above the fiction books), in what seems to be some sort of rickety storage area. It’s dank and dusty and the shelves are not well labeled.
The staff is hit or miss. Even if there is someone lovely to check me out, I am acousted by the loudness of the staff during my visit. They speak very loudly, even yell, and constantly toss things around with bangs. I also don’t like that I have to wait in line each time I want to return a book. There should just be a drop slot.
I also wish it was open til 9pm Monday-​Thursday and open on Sunday as well. Since the taxes have nearly doubled in this town, I’d like to know where it has all gone and why the library must stay closed on Sundays «due to budetary cutbacks» per the sign that was on the door.

I like to think of Hoboken public library as my slow but free Netflix service. Unlike other libraries in the area (Jersey City I’m looking at you), they don’t charge for DVD loans — and you can use intralibrary loans for DVDs. Nice. The online system for requesting books works reasonably well as well.
The only downside is that the staff is of uneven quality. There’s some really great staff members; and some real dunderheads.

I love libraries.
I’ve loved libraries since I was old enough to read. I used to ASK my parents to drop me off at the library on a Saturday morning while they ran out to do errands. The library was the perfect babysitter.
I worked my way through the entire children’s and young adult section at my childhood library. When we moved, I worked my way through the new library’s young adult and sci-​fi/​fantasy sections. My biggest disappointment was when they wouldn’t get new releases in for over a year. I was ecstatic when they installed the do-​it-​yourself check out machine. Yes, I am a nerd.
So when I moved to Hoboken, one of the first things I did was get a library card. The nice librarian lady gave me a verbal tour of the building and then I was off to explore.
This library is in a building (which could have almost been a house once upon a time) that was built just before 1900. It’s got three floors and I’ve only seen the top two floors twice. (I’m not into stairs and I believe they just recently got an elevator.) But it doesn’t matter, because everything I need is on the first floor and the half floor above it.
The Hoboken library has EVERYTHING. They have cds, dvds, books, books on tape, new books, old books, new movies, old movies. They even have sheet music! And if they don’t have it, there’s a 99% chance you’ll be able to request it from another library. For free.
The one thing that weirds me out all the time, though, is that the librarians are never quiet. They’re usually the noisiest people in the building. But maybe the upper floors are reserved for quiet. I wouldn’t know, since I never go up there.