New York Public Library – Muhlenberg Library

The staff here are pretty miserable. Of the handful of times I’ve come to this branch, the counter people have either been on their phones or talking amongst themselves, too busy to notice me waiting on line.
The space itself is clean and conveniently located near the corner of 23^rd and 7^th. Unlike the other reviewers I have yet to encounter any homeless people hanging around, but I try to make my visits here quick.

Long lines. Every table filled with homeless. Bathroom in full view – often odorous. Okay fiction section.

This is a pretty decent branch of the NYPL. It’s one of the original Carnegie libraries, and the historic building is lovely. It was also fairly recently renovated, so it’s got all the modern amenities. Pleasant and clean.
I only browsed through the adult section on the first floor; the children’s room is upstairs. The selection is small, but like most of the branch libraries, the idea is that you can have your requested materials delivered to the branch for free.

I really like this little unassuming branch of the NYPL. Whoever picks the new books has great taste, or, if you prefer, a taste congruent with my own; I’m always able to get my hands on the latest quirky/​dark/​underground novel. They also have a very good selection of DVDs. I pretty much stopped renting movies and TV series after I discovered that the library offered this service. (Call me out of date but I just watched the entire first season True Blood and it was amazing.) If they don’t have exactly what you want, don’t forget that you can put a hold on materials from other branches. In my experience it’s usually a very quick 2 – 3 day turn-​around to receive your request, unless there are a lot of other people waiting for it. The employees are nice and I’ve never had any trouble here. Reading is fundamental! Train your brain!

I visited this library because I was in the area and wanted books. The staff was very helpful, and answered all my questions. I like that this branch displays staff picks.
This location has about 5 computers on the first floor. However, there is only one designated solely for library catalog use. This may become a problem when other visitors want to Unilocal at the library. ;-)

At this quaint NYPL location you can find a good amount of computer terminals (with printing station) on both levels (there are two floors — with the upstairs being dedicated to kids/​teens.
It’s a decent location to work, there being desks with outlets on the second floor, and round tables with chairs to spread out papers, big rounded plastic seats to read in, and even a children’s storytime reading area.
All NYPLs supply WiFi, which is dandy, but what you need to watch for — the onslaught of rude children who have no idea what library etiquette is. They begin to infiltrate from 3pm on, and are relentless with noise and running. AWFUL.
So I’ll be here during the earlier part of the day, where there are nice windows looking out onto 23^rd street to work from and pretty good silence.
Another nice thing — this particular branch is SIX days a week, from 10am M-​Sat, and closing anywhere between 5 and 8 at night.