Provo City Library

Love this place. It’s well cared for and they have a good selection of biographies I especially like. They also have lots of magazines each month and are always holding classes and events for the community. I’ve been coming here my whole life and credit my love of reading in large part to their Summer reading program they do for kids. I still participate each year in the adult Summer reading program and look forward to it each year. :) Nothing better than winning prizes for reading books!
The building is also really nice, the ballroom upstairs is beautiful and the librarians are really nice and friendly. Plus I like that they have self-​checkout when you’re wanting to rent a book because sometimes you’re getting something that is somewhat embarrassing and it’s just nice to have that privacy. ha!

Gorgeous building! I’ve only been here twice – for a wedding reception and for an author lecture/​book signing event. Parking is good. There weren’t floor or room number signs inside the center south entrance; the elevator only went down, so I wandered around for awhile. An employee retuned my phone call about the book event. There were several classrooms, study rooms, art galleries, and even a ballroom and kitchen. I love the woodwork, tile and staircases. The outside is beautifully architecturally. Classy.

This is my second review because my computer hates me and the backspace key. Which has nothing to do with the library. Just wanted to passive-​aggressively snipe at my computer.
Back to the library. It’s pretty awesome. Fairly good selection of books, though they have a tendency to get rid of older books periodically to make way for the brand new ones they order constantly. Separate sections for adult, non-​fiction, young adult, children and DVDs. Actually, there’s a whole separate wing for children, which is great because you can sit and read your adult books, knowing that small children won’t be screaming at you while you do so. And small children aren’t required to be AS quiet as they would in a normal library.
The DVD selection is also fairly good, though they tend to not have brand new movies on hand, understandably. There’s also a lot of natural light here, so it’s a nice place to hole up with your books. They also have a few study tables for people who are interested in that sort of thing and free wifi for card holders. I’ve even seen some people conducting ultra-​secret business meetings here, which why? Not really sure the public library is the best place for you to discuss the patentability of your new idea, but if you really want to, you can do that here.
All that is pretty standard, in my opinion, but what sets this place apart is the ability to put books on hold online and have the librarian put them on a shelf for you to pick up within 3 — 4 days. Which means no looking for the book, no checking back constantly to see if the person before you has returned the book yet, etc. Granted, this only works with books that have at least one copy checked out, so for others, you’ll have to go the traditional route of actually going to the shelf, but this is amazing to me. And makes me so happy. Just so happy.
There are also a few solid programs here, mostly for teens and children: author signings, slumber parties, etc. For adults, they’ve got a few events here and there, the summer reading program, which is usually pretty fun (I say usually because 2015’s was… interesting) and the Valentine Day’s Ball.
Great place to kill some time and get your book fix.

Oh Provo Library, how I could sing songs unto thee. Let me try.
«OOOOOHhhHHHhhH There ONCE was A MAIDEN froM PROVO and SHE LOVED READING BOOKS. BUT WHEN SHE COULDN’T FIND ANY… SHE… WENT TO THE LIBRARY.»
Okay, so it’s now apparent that I have no future in song writing and should never try that again in a Unilocal review. But at least I tried.
The Provo library is one of the most beautiful librarys I’ve ever been in. Granted, I’ve only been in like 6 or 8 at the most, but my opinion is still valid. It’s historic and beautiful and looks like a castle.
I spend most of my time in the fiction section and the biography/​non-​fiction section. These sections are always neat and well-​organized and generally have what I’m looking for. The librarians are really helpful, and a lot of them look like young, librarian students (is this a thing?) which makes it nice to talk to people my age about our love for books.
I only have a few gripes about the library and they’re not entirely the library’s fault. The first is anything new or vaguely popular is checked out, and only has one copy so there’s a hold or wait list that goes to at least 60 or 70. Now, this isn’t really the library’s fault and is just a fact of life. BUT, I wish that they would get more copies of books that seem to be popular so the love can be spread about.
The other gripe is the weird hold system. It is run almost entirely on the honor-​code system. You reserve a book (I reserve mine online) and when it’s your turn, they print out a little receipt with your last name on it and put it on a shelf in alphabetical order. At first, I was like «hmmm… what if someone sees the book they want on the hold shelf and just takes it… is there any sort of system that will make it impossible for a book stealer to check out the book under a different name than the hold name?» Then, I found out, there is not such a system. I reserved a book and waited for WEEKS because the wait list was so long. I finally got off the wait list and the book was supposedly waiting for me on the hold shelf. Couldn’t find it anywhere and even enlisted the help of 3 librarians to help me find it. Apparently, some rude BOOK SNATCHER took it off the shelf with MY NAME!!! and checked it out.
So… I love the library and love the plethora of resources there, but I do not love making it easy for people to snatch my books on hold or waiting 50 years to get off a wait list.

great fiction & non-​fiction section. Spacious, plenty of space to study or read. I love their summer reading programs. The reference librarians are wonderful. Easy-​to-​use website.

The Provo City Library is a magical wonderland.
The building itself is the original Brigham Young Academy and it is old and lovely.
They have a great selection of books, DVDs, magazines, etc., and I can generally find what I’m looking for. The only downside is that sometimes I have to put things on hold to be able to get them, but even that is a very convenient process — I get an email when the item is ready to pick up, and it is waiting nicely for me on the hold shelves.
The library also offers programming like classes and concerts, though I haven’t partaken in too many of them.
Overall, I have had nothing but good experiences at this library.
It is a beautiful place.