Ortega Branch Library

Closest library branch to home. Enjoy the new rebuild and the staff is helpful. Many internet computer terminals and good selection of books and magazines too.
Avoid between 3:30pm and 5pm on school days with many AP Giannini middle schoolers hanging around there and monopolizing the internet computers with their online gameplaying (violent shooting games and time consuming role playing games) and their penchant for loudly announcing all of the game moves they make or if the characters they control «die»…very irritating. I suppose those kids have to hang around there since there are a lack of after-​school activities at Giannini. It is a far cry from the days when after-​school activities were plentiful and the library was used for studying instead of as a game arcade.
It is particularly sad on the rare days when the library internet is down, to see some familiar «gamers» turn around and leave rather than taking the time to check out what is on the book shelves and to sit down and have a good read.

Clean, nice staff, & etc. but it’s loud. Not a studying space for kids either. So many kids are just on computers playing MINECRAFT! My 3^rd grade daughter no longer goes here because it’s just distracting (and tempting).
How and who do I make a formal complain that LIBRARY should not have kids playing addictive, computer games!

This is a nice library but the desk area where people with laptops can sit and do work is almost always taken up by old Chinese people reading the newspaper… I don’t think a desk is necessary to read a newspaper. If only they had the courtesy to move when people needed that space that would be nice.

I seem to be on a mission to collect as many library cards as possible (I’m up to 4!) so when I saw that several of the San Francisco libraries are open on Sunday’s I seized the opportunity to add another library card to my collection. The SF library system has an excellent collection of e-​books available to borrow, you can find most popular titles. I filled out my library card form online so getting a card was quick and easy. The library is next door to a school so there was plenty of free parking on a weekend. When you walk in the have laptops you can borrow with your library card, not something I’ve seen at other libraries.

I really llke this branch. The librarians are really nice and helpful. As others have said it can get noisy when the next door A.P. Giannini middle school lets out at about 3:00 pm. I have however seen library staff ask the students to keep the noise down. It is generallly a really
good branch

Very pleasant place to study and read especially during a nice day outside with beautiful view

I like the library.
It is in a convenient location and has a community events room. I haven’t tried to reserve the events room, hopefully its not too expensive.
The printers are good in a pinch, although it is a hassle when someone is hogging them for long periods of time.
Minus a star due to the lack of reading/​workspace. Not a necessary thing for a library to have, but a rather traditional one. Overall the space does feel cramped. Also it doesn’t seem to have much in the way of a community newspaper rack or bulletin boards.
I do feel as if the library was better before the redesign in ~2010. (It is better than the «closet» space it was based out of in 2011, although that room did have its charm. ;))
Also, best to avoid it during times when swarms of APG teens are there.
I haven’t had much of a chance to check out its book selection since the redesign, but pre-​redesign I think I found the selection fairly sufficient.

Few days ago, as I was about to pick up the books I had on hold, I noticed that a couple of them which were listed on my library record online were not on the hold rack. So, I went up to the help desk, which I rarely do, as I prefer to self checkout the books, and waited while a librarian was checking out a long line of people.
As I waited … and waited, I noticed that there were 3 people behind the counter, glued to their computers, and another sitting not too far from the checkout line also doing the same as if her life depended on it.
I walked over to the librarian sitting near the checkout line to see if she would be able to pitch in as there was a slew of people waiting and needed help. When I walked up to her, she didn’t even bother to look up, and when I asked whether she would be able to give me the remainder of the books I had on hold, without so much as a word, she pointed to the librarian at the checkout line, indicating that she would be the only person who’d be able to help me.
I went back to the line and waited … needless to say, extremely annoyed, and when I finally got to the head of the line, I asked the librarian why the person I just spoke to couldn’t pitch in and help out, to which she replied, «She’s a librarian; she’s not suppose to check people out.»
I’m baffled by this response, and even more so that in these tough economic times while there are budget cuts and mandatory furloughs throughout the state, how can a library afford to keep 4 librarians just sitting and staring at their computers all day?

As a frequent user of the branch libraries, I am disappointed with this branch. While it’s lovely with new terminals and great seating, the library staff here is amazingly rude. One told me that phone books are obsolete so they don’t stock them; one is apparently deaf and yells when speaking. No librarian ever tells a patron to stop talking loudly. The quiet study room is very poorly managed.

Great spot-​until school gets out! Avoid after 3 (weekdays).

Baby story time review:
Street parking.
Fairly new and bright library.
They used props (scarves and building blocks)

Where the kids at?! Where the kids at?!
ALL OVER THE PLACE.
Next to school and playground. O MY. So many kids.
Staff is friendly. Machines /​computers work .
Enough check out stations to not have to wait.
DVD’s are in the back where the window is.

Love this library! It’s my favorite spot to go to when it is holiday. «A Home Library»

Just a fantastic library. Remodeled in 2011 and is amazing. Storytime for babies/​toddlers, free kid events in the summer, movie afternoons. Great kids section and helpful librarians. We head to the playground before hand to get the kids’ energy out and they relax at the library after.
Also enjoy checking out instructional DVDs for the kids.

Library is awesome. Great renovations a few years ago made this place a nice community hangout right in the West Sunset Playground and Park. It has a community room where programs run such as TeenTech and other. Good selection of books, though it is not as large as the other libraries around town. It’s a bit noisy if you’re looking to study, but hey, it’s right next to a playground. Overall, this is a great, modern and fresh area for the community and it remains to be my go to library for research and renting books.

Nice place but so loud!!! I told the worker and he said that’s just how it is. Seriously???
You piece of shhhhhh… ush!

After the re-​opening in 2011, the Ortega Library looks fantastic, inside and out. I remember coming here as a little tyke, running around, getting scrapes… fast forward twenty years and I am back again.
There is a jungle gym, landscaping, and a great library for the nearby students to hang out. And let me tell you, they are loud. And if they are not loudly talking, they are loudly practicing step routines. This branch is high energy with children of all ages. There are computers with wifi, group and individual seatings, study rooms, and homework help. Librarians are very friendly but promptly kick everyone out at closing time. Good library for children, but bad library for peace and quiet.

I only come here because it’s the closest library to my house. There are a lot of kids at this library and can get pretty noisy when you want it to be quiet like a library is supposed to be. The librarians don’t tell them to keep it down too.

Libraries are awesome. I stopped by last week to check out the newly renovated library. I can’t say how much better it is from before since I can’t remember ever coming to this branch before the renovation.
It’s clean, very well-​lit with a ton of windows, and kind of small. I like going to newly renovated libraries because they have a ton of books, CDs, DVDs etc. I even found a couple of books off the shelves to check out. I haven’t found books off the shelves in years. I usually put books on hold online and pick them up from my neighborhood branch.
There are a bunch of computer stations, which can come in pretty handy.
Oh, and also, the book return drop is outside. They don’t have one inside. I found that weird. We didn’t know that so we asked a librarian where the book return drop was. She told us it was outside. We asked if we could give it to them. They responded, «Yes.» And then the head librarian (I think?) said, «THIS time!» Geez. Is it that big of a deal?

This library reopened on September 10 after a renovation project. I visited it one evening last week to check it out, and I am impressed by the big difference compared to before. The most noticeable thing is that there are more computer stations. The DVD selection is greater, which is important because the majority of the videos I watch I get from the various library branches.
The biggest physical change about this building is that the entrance is now closer and more visible from the street, right at the entrance to the Sunset Playground. Before it was hidden and for some people that fact may be a bit intimidating during the night.
All that is very good because, now that I moved to my new place, this branch is only a few blocks walking distance. I can now make a point of walking here for some exercise.