Century Branch Library

I can’t believe people are coming on here to slam on the library. Look into all the cutbacks the City made on the libraries, the reduced hours, and be grateful they kept it open at all. Yes, it’s a pain in the butt to get in and out of the parking lot, but I order my books and DVDs online, receive an e-​mail when it’s there for me to pick up, and it’s by far (for me) the most convenient location to go pick them up, so I was relieved when they City didn’t shut down the branch altogether. I live right by Burton Barr, but this small location is the easiest one to just run in and pick up my items, and the staff is always very friendly and helpful. I have also had good luck with picking up Culture Passes at this location.

All of my Culture Pass issues were taken care of by contacting Act One directly. They have called and explained to Amanda, and hopefully all other employees of this branch, how a Culture Pass works.

I’ve only been inside this library once as I mainly use it to drop off or return books. This is because it is rather difficult to get to, being directly across from the 51N exit on Highland. You have to turn into an empty shopping center, navigate through the large parking lot, and then park in the tiny library parking. Since this is the back half of the shopping center, it is mainly empty stores and seems kind of strange to have a library here. The actual library building is concrete block/​brick and a little dreary looking (if you ask me). The inside had a recent upgrade, but that doesn’t make up for how small the library seems. Overall, it’s a decent library but I’d much rather visit a different one if given the choice.

I’m one of the few who still loves the feeling of holding and reading an actual book vs an ebook, but I’m also trying minimize clutter in my house. So the library is perfect! They have a large selection of books even new releases. If you’re on top of things you can put yourself on a waitlist for the newest releases in books and movies. I started getting more reaquaitned with library when I had my son. I wanted to get out of the house and do something but found that every time I left my home I spent money. I wanted to be able to leave my house and not feel pressured to spend money. So one day I stopped by the Century library. I had forgotten how many resources they have. I was able to get books for my son, a book for me, and a movie to watch with my husband later.
I also found out they had free baby and kid programs so I started taking my son to those as well. I loved it! Ms. Tracy is typically the librarian who leads the programs at Century which include, story time, songs, games and child playtime. Ms. Tracy is excellent! She’s very patient with the kids and offers lots of ideas for home play. These programs are also great ways to meet other parents. They have weekday and weekend programs.
The library also offers culture passes. These are passes you can check out to visit local museums such as The Science Center, the zoo, the art museum, and the children’s museum. Each library only has a limited selection per day so get there early if you want to check one out.
The library isn’t just for those who love paper books as they offer ebooks you can check out as well. They even have Nooks you can check out.
The Century Library may be one of my favorite places to go and kill time. I highly recommend checking it out and utilizing all the amazing resources they have.

The security guard who works at the front desk is rude, unfriendly and offensive as can be. He seems to think he owns the place and bosses people around.

I really like this library. They have a pretty good selection, although the place is pretty small. But anything they don’t have, you can have it sent to this branch fairly quickly. They have a great graphic novel selection compared to a lot of libraries I’ve been to, also.

I’m not sure why no one gave this library branch five stars!
Yes, this library is not big, but it’s nice, cozy, and the staff on hand are amazing. My daughter and I come here every Tuesday to get library books and movies. It’s located a block from where we live and we love it. It’s not too big to where we get lost finding something we need. If you don’t find something you need, you can always go online and put it on hold and designate the hold item to the library you want.
They recently renovated this library so now it has a teen section and a study area. The only problem I can think of is that it isn’t really quiet. The kid section is located near the study area and I can see how that is a problem. But as I recall most of the libraries I go to now, it’s usually really noisy. Apparently no one respects the whole don’t talk in the library thing anymore (that goes for adults too!).
The staff is amazing. They are always helpful and are informative about when reading contests starts and when events are happening in the library.
The had a Dr. Seuss event a couple of months ago and even though there were only a couple of staff on hand it was amazing. They had a reading session, balloon animals, and face painting. Yes, the face painting line was long (and my daughter didn’t get her face painted), but there was only ONE person face painting and he did a wonderful job (all free hand).
After reading all these negative reviews, if you don’t like it — obviously you can drive a couple of more miles to Burton Barr. I prefer a smaller, cozy library where the staff is on hand and have time to help their customers.
They are closed Sundays and Mondays. Tuesday to Thursday they are open from 9 am to 7 pm and Friday and Saturday they are open from 9 am to 5 pm.

Shout out to a fellow friend on Unilocal!Thanks for the tip on renting movies here. Ssshhhh, I know, it’s okay. Got our library card here today. The librarian was very nice. Explained all the details and even told us about the free tickets you can get to places in Phoenix, i.e., The Phoenix Zoo, The Botanical Garden, and more. It is a little small, but the selection is pretty good. Watching movies tonight!

For people who want to hang out in a library, go to the main branch. This is a utility library; it doesn’t have any frills or extras, but it serves a very useful purpose. I order all my books on-​line (via the hold request) and then pick them up at this branch. It is very convenient and the staff are always friendly.

If there was ever a prime candidate for the public ax in these lean times it would be this library. It really offers nothing more than some air conditioning, a couple of 1990’s era Sports Illustrated’s, and some half empty book shelves. My illiterate nephew has a bigger book collection than this place. The middle of the Sonoran desert has more electrical outlets and workstations than this «library».
I’m sorry. I love libraries and books and all but I just don’t see much learning coming out of this place. There are some great alternatives in the area (Burton Barr and Scottsdale).

Yeah, it’s true that this branch is tiny and smells old. But it’s a public library in the middle of the city– it would be disappointing if it didn’t smell like funk or have weirdo’s hanging out. I always order my books and movies on the library website and they send me an e-​mail when they are ready for pick up. It’s a great system and even better because you don’t have to pay for the books. Usually when I buy a book I’m such a cheapskate that I will force myself to read the entire book even if I hate it. They have a pretty big selection of classic and current DVD’s. I do wish the library had longer business hours. Right now it’s closed on Sundays and closes early on Tues and Thursdays. Everyone should support the library, that way it can be open longer and continue to have a good selection of books and DVD’s.

I am a total fan of Century Branch… I most like how EASY it is to park, get in and get out. This is a TINY TINY library, really not a whole lot to it. But the staff is very nice and helpful. I put my books on hold on-​line and always pick up from Century Branch b/​c of the easy no-​fuss access to this library.
I also seem to find better audio book selections from this branch as well, I think it’s a great place to return items to b/​c of the location. So I can always fill my audio book addiction easily!
SUPPORT YOUR LIBRARY!!!

Truly the saddest library branch I’ve been to in a long time, even within Phoenix. I don’t feel great about giving a public institution 2 stars, especially a library of all places, but this one really isn’t up to snuff.
SPECIFICATIONS
— — — — — — — —
* LOCATION: It sits by itself in a non-​descript manner in the back parking lot of the Camelback Colonnade, with a fine view of the the no-​longer Mervyn’s.
* UPON ENTRANCE: If you haven’t noticed from the outside, you will immediately notice upon entrance: it is truly the size of a shoebox. Check-​out counter to the right, circular tables scattered about on the main floor with older folks reading or dozing off (and no nearby outlets), a kid’s corner, a computer area with teens checking their MySpace, and a magazine reading area with a few armchairs. Given its miniature size, understandably not the greatest selection of books, music, etc. Doesn’t look it’s been getting love from the municipal library gods much.
* SEVERELY LACKING: Desks. Scratch that. Even one desk. I came here simply because it was the closest library to my place and I thought it would be a great place to get some quiet work done and study. Until upon walking around the entire periphery of the library I realized there was absolutely nowhere to do it. I kept thinking if I walked around in circles more often a desk would magically appear. Maybe rise up from the floor. Who knows. Didn’t happen. I found this a little off. I wasn’t requesting that the library have a great selection of, say, Laserdiscs because I still couldn’t give up my Laserdisc player. Or even a book on Swahili because I wanted to start learning it today. Just *a* desk. This simple amenity is usually available at other libraries so I don’t think I was too off the mark with my expectations.
POSSIBLE BUT UNSUCCESFUL COMPROMISE: I did walk into the small conference room thinking I could maybe get some work done there. I asked the one guy in there all by himself with his laptop if I could share the space. He just glared at me and said, «No.» Uh, ok. I wasn’t about to break out into a Bollywood song & dance number or anything and disturb his Zen. Looks like I was out of luck.
* IF NOT THIS LIBRARY, THEN WHERE?: Fortunately, out of the library branches I’ve been to in Phoenix (not to mention Burton-​Barr), the Century Branch seems to be the exception in as to how subpar it is. I ended up driving down to Burton-​Barr, which was my primary instinct to go to anyway, until I thought, «Why not give this ignored branch a try?»
* CONCLUSION: Shows you that sometimes one should just listen to their gut (apparently recent research by some random behaviorist backs this theory up). And unless all you need in a library is a place to do some light reading or check out a book for your kid, you’re not going to find too much here.
* RATING: Two-​ish stars. Sorry guys.

this library is just plain depressing. its small, old and smells of it’s age.
i would avoid this library. no fun will be had here.