Los Angeles Public Library – Memorial Branch

Love this branch. Very friendly staff and great service. A bit small and can be noisy at times with all the little kids but that’s part of the charm. Pretty good dvd and graphic novel collection.

Waiting for slave girl doing some stuff so instead of getting baked in the car, I figured it would be smarter to chill inside. Best decision ever.
The staff in here is super friendly, once you get their attention. The unlimited use of public bathroom is fantastic, as long you don’t mind the bolted down window. Decent collection of books and open playground in the front with an ice cream truck stand by. With all that, you also get free WiFi! (that’s what I am using to write this review.) This is a pretty awesome location to hang out and all they need is some coffee at the information desk.
The only bad thing is, if you are here to study and need that peace and quiet environment, you are royally screwed since the foot traffic is high and the whole location is pretty open spaced. As I just finished last sentence, I heard the toilet flush and kids crying from the other side. Just what I need during my library napping session. I mean, reading session.
By all means, come in, come hang out. If I lived close by, I would be here all the time cuz one of the librarian is kinda cute.

It is a building filled with books, which is something I very much look for in a library.
It has as decent a book selection as a public branch library gets these days; is kid friendly; has public wi-​fi; and is clean and comfortable.
And it’s walking distance from my apartment which, for me, is super sweet.

To the young Caucasian female with curly brown hair who works here, SHUT UP!!! I don’t know if you know, but you work at a LIBRARY. No one else is speaking here but you. So irritating!!!
Otherwise, the location is pretty nice considering the ample amounts of parking. The inside isn’t too bad either. However, they should really talk to the worker (s). If you’re bored, don’t talk. Read a book.

As an LA High Alumni, and (former) resident of the neighborhood, this library has been a part of my life as far back as I can remember.
It’s been about a year since I’ve been here, and almost 8 since I last checked out a book so I had decided to renew my library card as it has been expired for quite some time now. The librarians here are very nice, friendly and helpful, Though not the biggest library in the city I would still say it is one of the best. There are plenty of Books, videos and computer terminals to use.
Also, the park outside is very relaxing to just hang out, sit under a tree or just read a book from the library, listen to an iPod, or just sketch… or just take the little ones to the jungle gym area.

I like this library, but it can be really noisy if you go there after school hours when the LA High School students across the street come over to socialize there.
If it wasn’t for that, it would be a nice little library.
The librarians that work there are great… super helpful and super cool.
You know, I think librarians are some of the coolest people around. Seriously, when’s the last time you met a librarian who wasn’t a nice, good person?

So far, so good. I’ve just moved to LA from a small Midwest college town. One of the things I missed the most was being able to walk to the local library to work, pick up some easy post-​work reading and DVD, etc. This place, as it turns out, is just a little over a mile from my house! Small inside (only a handful of work places and computers, if you were going here to work for the day) and a little dark even during the brightest hours of the day (it’s a Tudor-​style building, so a lot of the windows are stained glass and the ceiling is vaulted – hence, not a lot of light). Small-​ish selection of fiction books, but did do a good job stocking newer titles. And you can always order from other branches to be sent there! Staff was a little surly when I obtained my library card (I dunno why, tired? volunteers?). Overall, excellent neighborhood library in awesome small park setting! Go!

Every time I come here, TIME STANDS STILL! –In a bad way! This branch is full of bumbling workers who do not know how to make a visit as SIMPLE as possible.
Let me make this clear, first: I love libraries. I even worked at one, in high school. I patronize many branches in my L.A. area: Palms, Playa Vista, Mar Vista, Roberson – and this one, Memorial, is the only one that consistently tests my will to live!
Last time I was there, this lady was holding up the line with a huge stack of books, asking the clerk to go through each one for some reason (checking her renewal status? Overdue fees? –God only knows!). This wasn’t the library’s fault, but they lacked the resources or initiative to help the increasingly growing line of patrons who were waiting to be checked out. What’s even worse, is that there seemed to be THREE workers behind the counter. Besides the one who was tending the patron from hell, another worker was tied up with a different patron at Information. The third? Who knows. I’m guessing she was a volunteer and wasn’t allowed to check patrons out? Finally, after ten minutes, another worker returned from break, and checked me out.
Today, I had another bad experience: their computers WENT DOWN! There were two patrons before me, and there were two workers. The clerk at the checkout counter kept trying to log in to both computer. She restarted her computer too. She should’ve given up on logging in early on, but she just kept trying! Finally, she had the sense to just write down all our bar codes from our Library card and the items we were checking out. The other worker was helping a patron find a book that apparently didn’t exist; she was incredibly slow, and therefore not able to help check out items for the growing line of patrons.
I had to wait a total of 15 minutes, to finally be checked out. When you are standing in line anywhere for something as simple as checking out 2 – 3 items at a library, 10 or 15 minutes is EXCRUCIATING!
I have a simple motto: SIMPLE things should NOT take time. That’s why they are SIMPLE. In any business, you want your customers to feel like what they are doing is incredibly SIMPLE. We have LIVES outside of your service. We don’t want to over-​complicate anything, more than it has to be! Please simplify your service. I come for simple things, and yet I feel like the energy and time that is put into these simple things, is incredibly inane and unnecessary!
This library does NOT get it. They lack efficiency, initiative, and common sense.

I love this library… don’t get me wrong but they need to get their stuff together!!! They need to get toddler story time back!!! The library across from LA High has several story times, game nights, classes… stuff for sale… etc etc. They need more stuff for their community and their neighborhood. I miss volunteering and I’m sure the kids miss Story Time… :/

Love the bilingual selection for kid’s books.

I’ve attended this library since childhood. There’s a certain older short lady with short wild/​messy looking hair whom I’ve never really liked, because of such attitude she’s always carried. Recently she’s gotten extremely rude. I was trying to get my loud toddlers out of the library and she decides it would be best to stop me? (seeing that I was trying to run out of there) & «kick me out»… By the time she was done talking, my kids would’ve been buckled up in my car. She’s also been rude to my mother when she’s asked for help. Today I had it with her… A customer asked for help and the librarian snapped and said she was on the phone to ask the cashier for help. The customer was very embarrassed. This lady needs to retire!!! Seems like she hates her job.

I like this branch a lot.
The precise area and patrons are so indicative of «L.A.».
Right across the street from Los Angeles High School, this branch gets high school kids, families and singles. Situated at the north end of a park area, many people (and even taco trucks) come here often.
The selection is good. Notably, books and DVDs in other languages (predominantly Spanish and Korean). Good movie section, plus the DVD documentary selection is good; you can find stuff on Mozart, WW2 and Yoga.

It’s a library— I don’t know what else.
It feels sort of dirty just because there are lots of people that come and go and touch books and touch their faces and then touch books again…
I am somewhat… er I am a mysophobic…
The staff is very nice, helpful, and the books are there they stare at you wanting, longing to be read by you…

PROS: easy parking, comfy chairs to read in, decent selection of books/​dvds, quiet, good a/​c, beautiful old building with stained glass windows.
CONS: Ugly lighting, slow internet connection, very bad bathroom (smelly with no TP/​soap/​towels)

I have to thank Unilocal for helping me discover this branch.
It’s a pretty location next to a park and across from a high school. I needed to get some books that the closest library (the Durant Branch) to me didn’t have. This one is about 15 minutes away so I figured I’d check it out after seeing it’s good reviews.
This library isn’t huge put it has plenty of books. All the books I was looking for. Tons of DVDs. The building itself is gorgeous and the staff is friendly and nice. I’m spoiled by having a branch with such great parking near me but street parking here was a breeze.
With my usual library across from two schools attracting lots of kids I worried that this would be the same (since it’s across from a high school) and perhaps be loud like some can be but this library was quiet. I think it’s part of it’s success is the playground right outside, all the kids that would usually be loud while their parents peruesed the stacks were playing outside.
There was a big group of teenagers there, but get this, they were studying! I was impressed! Go dedicated studying in July kids!
I’ll be back.

gorgeous, nearly 100-​year old, gothic-​revival library nestled among large trees & rolling lawns.
‘memorial’ in the name refers to veterans of world war one, with an imposing series of stained glass windows, two of which list the war dead.
these jewel-​like windows are worthy of a cathedral.
too bad most libraries, this one included, use fluorescent lighting everywhere. it casts a depressing glow over what would otherwise be amazing reading rooms. i dread the change-​over to the curly, long-​life light bulbs, all of which cast fluorescent light… a guy in germany has already hoarded 5,000 incandescent bulbs in anticipation of that day, and i’ve considered that myself…
good variety in the dvd section, i scored a few bollywood epics that i plan to watch tonight.

It’s very strange that I went to high school across the street and good friend of mine lived across the street and I’ve never been in this library until today.
It’s small and calm with nice comfy armchairs. Too bad they are making me sleepy and I won’t be getting much work done. It’s got big windows so there is so much natural light that comes in. It’s a little worn looking but hey it’s just a library.

This venerable LAPL branch reminded me of Sesame Streets. There was education, multi-​ethnicity, friendliness, and the smell of books and possibly diapers. It’s a beautiful old building, in a nice family park that is busy in the best kind of way. I don’t envy the staff though, come 3pm weekdays, when the high schoolers stream out from across the street. Adolescence, the bane of librarians everywhere!
Oh, but watch out on saturdays afternoons though, because they have this like new age campy boot camp drum circle thingy going on from 2pm to 3pm. Weirdos…

After a long day…
Food adventures. Work outs. Fighting off a cold. Walking around on a broken foot, I thought to myself what do I have to show for my day?
Then in my car, waiting was a book I checked out from this library hours previous and had forgotten about. Like a forgotten treasure. The most important treasure of all, knowledge. Not just any knowledge, just frivolous knowledge. The best kind of all. The book of knowledge!
The library is quiet. Great people working their. A family library like the kind I grew up with in the suburbs of Oregon.
It’s so easy to make a library card. So easy to find something. They have book signings, free classes, clubs, its just cool.
I mean its like Unilocal.Cept its a physical location. And there are children there. And there’s books. And there’s books about everything. And nice people who work there. And there’s people tutoring. And computers. And DVDs. And its very nonthreatening. And there’s no food allowed here. And no drunk people. So it’s just like Unilocal except for all that.

Located in the park across from Los Angeles High, the building has a charming English Tudor exterior and is surrounded by greenery. There’s only street parking, but there’s plenty. It’s also right down Olympic from where I live, so I could walk on over.
Best of all: the staff at this branch is super nice! All three staffers who helped me were always smiling and did their best to actualy HELP. In fact, they seem to go above and beyond what is necessary to be a service to their patrons.
Next time I go in, I’m going to tell the head librarian how wonderful the staff is at Memorial and how bitchy and unhelpful they are over at Pio Pico.