Riverside Public Library

Ehh, what can you say about a public building that is open all day and really can’t turn anyone away? It’s going to have a bit of a smell and some odd creatures roaming around.
As far as the books go, they have a great children’s selection upstairs and they’re just opening up a new young adult area too. The staff is pretty friendly and helpful here as well.
If you’re going to a library in Riverside, I’d suggest the Marcy library. It’s new and small but typically much cleaner.

Well, we came for the lunar festival, and it’s right up at the library. The library was open as usual, and we visited the bathrooms. The library seemed to be clean and nice; it didn’t feel dilapidated. Compared to this, Irvine libraries feel not as spacious. I did see a couple of homeless persons (but they looked clean, not grubby). Women’s restroom was ok; it could be cleaner, but was not as bad as I expected. Maybe I got lucky today because of the lunar festivities.

Staff is friendly and helpful, nice quiet atmosphere, printing is 10 cents, internet is fast, they have DVD’s as well as books/​magazines/​comics.

I’m not sure why this facility has such low reviews, My family and I come here all the time and I’ve never had any issues.
We come here for baby story time almost every week, Bryan the host is so amazing with all the kids. He’s the reason why our baby story time class is so huge! Everyone loves him.
I’ve asked questions from other employees here and never had any issues.
Getting my library card was quick and easy too.
Again, not sure why this place has such average reviews.

Picked up my library card easily, staff was friendly and helpful, what more could I ask for? I’ll update this review as I go.

This place used to be so awesome. Before the recession, the city invested a lot of money into the main library, but after the recession they gutted the library. It’s a skeleton of what it once was. All the main library is today is a place for bums to bathe and do drugs.
It used to be a really nice place.

Why were all the staff, I talked to 3 staff, all extremely RUDE? I like coming to the library but they made for a really unpleasant visit. You shouldn’t talk down to people no matter what their age or what they look like.

Quite possibly the worst library I’ve ever been in. Where do I start? How about the men’s bathrooms. If you have small kids, don’t let them go to it alone. They always smell awful. And you can bet that there’s a transient or meth addict using the water in there to wipe himself down with toilet paper and «clean up.» As for the library itself, it’s okay but there’s a really rude security guard there with fake red hair. Always rude. This place would get no stars if it wasn’t for the (sometimes) friendly ladies upfront and if Unilocal!would let me rate it no stars. I feel sorry they have to work at this crummy place. This place gets a big thumbs down. Have to leave now before another methhead ask me for change.

This is NOT a safe place for children. Homeless people and obvious addicted people hang out in front of this library everyday. Whenever I bring my small children here, I get called out by these people, asking for money and if I dont give them money they begin to harass me.
Then, the library staff is no better. The volunteers who work the second floor in the children’s have always been very rude, bitter and angry people. They do not like children to play with the toys (even though one side of the room is filled with toys), they also do not like the children to engage in the free activities that the library sets up for them. When my son was 18 months old, he grabbed a handful of beads while doing crafts. He was sitting on my lap, so obviously I was right there to correct him, but before I could this mean old lady grabbed my son’s hand and squeezed it until he released the beads. I complained and and let the woman know that I am capable of caring for and correcting my son’s behavior, but the woman just gave me a dirty look. This person should NOT be working around children as she acts like she hates children. I’ve seen her behave this way several times in the past, but she had never grabbed my kid’s hand before.
That was last summer. We havent returned since, until today.
Upon entering the library with my husband and children, my son accidentally bumped into an elderly woman who looked like she just got out of the hospital. I apologized to her and she gave me a disgusted and very nasty look. She then told me that I need to watch my children better. I again, apologized and said it was just an accident when she insisted that my son did it on purpose and that he was going to cause her to get hurt again. I told her if she’s that injured than she should stay home. That’s when the library employee chimed in and told me that I was out of line and that I was rude. I asked her if she heard how mean and nasty that old lady was to me and told her what the woman said that that I repeatedly apologized but the employee said that didnt matter because she’s an old lady and my son bumped into her.
So This place allows vagrants, bums, drug addicts, and people with nasty personalities to patronize this establishment, but not law abiding, tax paying, decent citizens. It’s nice to know that my tax dollars are going to pay for places like this to stay open instead of places where my family could feel safe and welcome.
AND THEIR BOOK SELECTION IS HORRIBLE!!! You can find books very cheap on Amazon for the same cost as gas and late fees at the library.

Ahhh the Riverside Library. I have been going to this library so long, I remember when it was a nice place, AND the fountains out front worked, as well as the fountain water deal on the second floor. She was a grand old gal back in her day, and I even remember the Dewey decimal system and card catalog. omg yah, that old!!!
Fast forward to 2014. Human feces smeared on the sidewalk on the side, the usual high number of bums and homeless that inhabit downtown Riverside flock here. Staffing has been cut to bare minimum due to budget cuts no doubt. I recognized one bitter-​ish gal working reference from way back and I do not blame her for looking bitter. It used to be an okie doke place to be.
Books were rather limited back in the day, no different now. It IS better than the Los Angeles library which has nothing newer than the 80’s. I did check out about 6 – 8 books on one subject, just for old times sake, but alas, my fond childhood memories of this place are pretty much all that remains. It breaks my heart that books are being replaced by a lot of junk on the internet (tip: Blogs are not reference material but opinion pieces) and well, I guess getting old just sucks as you see all the places you loved as a kid changing into things you no longer like.

I’ve been using this library often for past two years. This library has a good collection of books as well as Audiobooks, movies and TV shows (which UCR library doesn’t). The good thing is that books and media can be requested from any other library at Riverside (instead of you having to drive there) and it’s usually available for pick up within a day or two. The check out is fast. The shelves are organized and easy to navigate.
Riverside is very diverse (as mentioned in previous reviews) and so is the crowd in the library. Somehow this library manages to be welcoming to a very wide range of public. The security guards are there all day to ensure the safety. There is one study room upstairs which I used to tutor a high school student in the past. There is also free parking available for up to 3 hours behind the library. It is also great that this library is open till 9 pm on Thursdays for workaholics like me!

There’s a very limited selection of books here, but it’s pretty accessible as it’s right in Downtown Riverside. It is pretty ghetto looking, and doesn’t really have the atmosphere that invites you to sit down and read awhile, so usually when I come here, I grab my books and go, never stay long. I’ve come here plenty of times and left disappointed at not being able to find what I wanted .(I know, I know I should check online first.) Given that this is Riverside though, I can’t really expect much more.

When I heard they were offering tax assistance I jumped at the chance. I got here at 8AM, and they opened at 11. There was a flood of people outside and everyone rushed it like one of those shopping days. It was complete chaos. They could have organized lines better.
The library seems organized, and is well stocked with plenty of material, it is full of unseemly people. Don’t come in expecting a high or middle class environment.
You can tell it is an older library because it is not technologically friendly. There are hardly any outlets available. The computers they do have available are far outdated and they limit/​monitor your usage too closely. There is no privacy. Even when I check my emails I still want that personal space, and don’t want employees checking what kind of statements I receive in email. There is also VERY limited seating so you will see many people standing in random spots around the library.
As I am writing this right now the security guard is walking from one end of the table to the other, reading this review on my screen. A 24 year old student with a macbook wearing a blue Hollister shirt must seem suspicious. But at least if security is patrolling it muse be safe?
The basement has its own wifi network but apparently there are no phones or ipads allowed. There are many more outlets available to use in the basement but security guards say that nobody is allowed to use any outlets in the basement, even staff. I thought that was very suspicious. Why have so many outlets if nobody is going to use them? There is so much overflow from the first floor that there should be more spaces/​outlets available.
The same rule goes for the second floor. nobody is allowed to turn on their laptops/​ipads, or use outlets.
There is only one restroom available, and that is located on the second floor. Don’t expect the restrooms to actually work. The closest one is 15 min walking distance. Some of the staff is nice if you strike up a conversation with them first. They warm up to you after you talk with them for a few minutes. But most staff are very rude.
If you have ANY other options for a library, use that one.
n any way to the owner or employees.

I used this local downtown Riverside Library often while I was in Riverside back in the day.
Sure, it has bums, rude people, etc that surround the area. It’s downtown Riverside, what do u expect???
I lost some VHS videos on some old classic movies that I check out back in the day and had to do «library community service» to pay off my debt to them. I spent hours erasing pencil marks from books, helping library patrons check out their materials, and etc.
I don’t remember how many hours they required me to work to pay off my debt, but I learned my lesson… don’t lose your materials or you will do the time for the crime.
Nuff Said.

While the Downtown Riverside library location is well-​stocked and organized, it is fairly ghetto. It is old, out-​dated and typically full of a strange mix of students, bums and ghetto people talking on their cells phones or corralling their children.
WiFi is okay but there are only a few areas if you have a laptop. Plenty of computer stations if you need to use their computers though.