Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library

love this place worth the wait for the remodel better and better

I do agree with some of the reviewers here. The library is a comfortable place to come and enjoy some good reads in a semi quiet enviroment. How ever it is like a homeless camp during the day. Not sure why this is. Hopefully this changes soon.

This is the worst public library I have been to. I was about to do my home work at this library, when I came in, the library is just like a shelter to the homeless people. Kids are talking loudly and the same the adults with them. The table is dirty, I have to clean it myself. The internet is horrible-​slow. I mean, horrible slow. It takes half a minute to open Google and the same each page I want to open. When I go to
, it shows the speed is 0.86 Mbps while the Ping is like hundreds. I barely can do my research under this internet. Never come to this library, or you will regress in the rest if ur life.

Partially functions as a daytime homeless shelter. There are tables with outlets but they’re mostly used for people to charge their phones while listening to music (often at an audible level) or taking calls in the study areas. Staff is not geared towards managing this and allows them roll cigarettes/​joints at the work tables and then go smoke weed in the parking lot.
Cheap printing and copies, space for bikes, at first glance is a great place to work. But then you realize there are no signs or staff that set the tone for a library.
I understand why it’s this way to a degree (aside from the fact that staff *could* be enforcing the rules that do exist) and think it would be optimal if there were places for people who live on the street to go to rest or get out of the sun/​rain/​cold and talk besides the place that was intended for studying or reading in quiet.

«Rhyme, rhythm, and song. For infants up to 18 months and their caregivers»
… on Wednesdays
… a full hour of it.
Somehow this library schedules song singing sessions with 2 year olds INSIDE the library. This would be cool if they were all singing along in their own separate room but just imagine how much fun is to read or get anything done with a bunch of people singing out loud next to you. You’d think that someone would have figured out that a such a small library like this one is not the best place for this …

SMALL neighborhood library. Crowded, NO study rooms

I hate to leave a grumpy review, but to help others avoid feeling the same way I do right now…
What is it with libraries having programs for children out in the open with the rest of us who are trying to get work done? Since when did public libraries turn into kindergartens and nurseries? All I can hear is about 5 different kids screaming and crying, and the adults trying desperately to manage them.
Granted, this is my first time here, so maybe this is a weird occasion? I won’t be returning to do work again.

A couple of years ago they gave this place a make-​over. What a success!
Beautiful new looks, nice landscaping.
The staff, as always, is helpful and knowledgeable. So many great books et. al.
Come check it out.
Enjoy!

Why, hello fireplace, fancy meeting you here.
Relatively recently renovated, this library has a fresh face, bright light, clean bathrooms, and a comfortable seating area without that old book library smell to accompany it.
Hands on or hands off, however you like it. Staff are friendly, but can be avoided if you choose a self-​checkout terminal.
Easy return slot (when the library is closed) accessible by walk-​up, bike or drive-​through in their mini parking lot.
Not a big library, but a large LGBT section as well as children’s books. With a library card, access all SF libraries and any «holds» can be sent here for pick-​up, making the library much bigger than its physical space.

I’ve come here once a week, at least, for the past 2 years. I love this place. There are the occasional crazies who flip out over absolutely nothing, but 99% of people are super nice, the librarians are laid back (not always super friendly, but they are busy working), the selection is pretty nice (especially considering how small it is), and the space is really welcoming (a fireplace!). Whenever I have things put on hold, too, they are there within 48 hours (even if from other branches), as long as everything isn’t checked out. So glad this place is in the neighborhood! And free wifi ²⁴⁄₇ is great in a pinch!

A small & quaint library thats peaceful & a nice break from the main library.
When the location went under renovation 2 thumbs up when their DVD’s increased in size & their cd collection got larger. 2 main reasons why I come here. The Staff on duty is nice and their spots of computers that lots of patrons comes for went from 4 to 8.

Nice little library tucked right off Market and just a little away from the busy and bustling Castro. Good amount of tables for the space, although they usually all seem to be taken. Good that they’re being utilized, I suppose. One aisle for the LGBT materials. Always seems to be well staffed.

This is a sexy library. It’s in the Castro, so this makes sense. Plus, books are sexy. Well, some books are sexy. Those Danielle Steel steamers certainly are. The positives: clean bathrooms, large LGBT section, cozy chairs, clean lines, bright spaces. The negatives: I am a Berkeley resident and actually using this library as more than a place to kill time when in the area is not so feasible. If you do live near this branch and you don’t have a library card, then shame on you. Get one!

Great little library. The kids section is pretty good; it seems to take up half of the library, much to my daughter’s delight. The fireplace and couches set up a nice ambience. Though the selection of books is limited, I usually put a request/​hold on specific titles and pick them up when they’re ready.
Staff is helpful and friendly.
I knocked off one star due to the really slow wi-​fi.

This is a great little neighborhood library.
I just wish the hours were longer, or at least less random.

Recently re-​opened after being closed for renovations, and it is a really nice, little library! Not really the place to go if you have a particular book in mind and just want to get it and get out (unless it’s a fairly common, popular book). It’s a small branch, so the selection is not that big, but it seems well-​curated. It also offers a larger than average selection of particular genres, like graphic novels and LGBT books. It’s a good place to come browse and maybe discover something new. It also provides a pretty pleasant atmosphere for sitting down with a book for an hour or so. Throw in a decent dvd collection, and it’s a solid local branch. Excited this is so close to my house!

Can someone explain the name of this branch?
I stopped in to use the internet here when I first moved to the city. Great atmosphere, nice staff, good library!

I’m bookish and nerdy, so I use the library a lot. The staff at the Harvey Milk Branch are top notch — helpful, friendly, erudite — basically everything you look for in a librarian. My only complaint here would be that the books in the children’s section are often misshelved, but this is really not the fault of the staff so much as the fault of parents who let their kids put the books back on the shelves when really they should be teaching them to use the reshelving carts.

I visit the library at least once a week. I don’t have tv, cable, tivo and I am not a member of netflix. My library provides all my entertainment. This place reminds me of the old libraries I used to go to as a kid. Kind of quaint looking. The staff is all very friendly and helpful. The location can’t be beat (though I wish there was no uphill walk on the way back home).
Bike Parking: designated bike rack out front on 16^th St.

first off, some comments on libraries in general: in our current age of information/​entertainment/​education/​media on demand at our fingertips, the continued existence of libraries in our society makes me really happy. you have to leave your house to get what you’re looking for. you may have to interact with an *actual person* to complete your transaction. you have access to rich archives of information and resources that you DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR*. they basically still believe in the honor system! and each library branch at least attempts to take a pulse on the interests and needs of their distinct community and then stock their shelves accordingly.
while many branches are renovating and updating, this one in particular, built in the late 50’s/early 60’s, feels like a step back in time to the 50’s. it makes you momentarially marvel at the value of the real estate used here at the corner of 16^th and market for this antiquated building with a PARKING LOT! a PARKING LOT, people! this could be one HUGE pottery barn!
so, i typically step out of the library with my stack of borrowed books, feeling very warm and fuzzy about the investment the city continues to make into the library system and feeling like a bit of a throw-​back to a time before the internet. but that’s just the END of my experience. getting to this point actually has a very high-​tech angle to it. we’re talking about the library website. i log in. i make requests. i transfer books from one branch to another for my own convenient pick-​up. i keep a list of things i’d like to read. i get email reminders of when things are due. i renew my selections, promising to return them at a later date if i can just keep them now to finish them up. it’s really quite a good system.
my only complaint, which is addressed to great extent by the online reservation system, is that the actual stock of books is surprisingly limited for a city the size of san francisco. new releases and popular books will have you waiting a month or more before they become available. walking into any given branch and expecting a selection of current titles is a losing proposition.
* i am aware that as a tax payer, i AM paying for use of the library system. but it’s a service that i pay for that i actually ENJOY using, so i feel like it’s almost a favor that the city is throwing in.