County of Los Angeles Public Library – San Gabriel Library

Business as usual — computers malfunctioning all the time, staff letting adullts and kids screaming and running around, …

This may be a small library with loud kids, but it is an amazing library! I come here at least once a week unless I’m busy. I live very close. The only way to make this library better is if they adopt a cat or dog and make it a library companion. Do not mess with my library!!!

it’s my library i like this place the staff are very friendly and nice.
good place to study or read a book. it’s the best place to keep cool when theres
no AC at home. printing is free here. last time i didn’t know i when to the copy and print, like
ups store they charge you money! why pay if you can get it free. oh yeah free WiFi too.

This is my favorite library. Even though the place is small, it is usually not crowded. The place is well kept and clean. A computer is usually available for use. Don’t forget your library and pin to check out and use the computer.
It is not the quietest library, but much better than other places. Bring a jacket cause they blast the AC. Also, come early for parking.

except for the exxxtreme cold AC, it’s a much better place than Rosemead county library.

It always have kids running around and making loud noises ! It feels like a playground after 3:30pm each day, doesn’t feel like a library it should be. Told the librarian and they don’t care. It used to be a place I can study, now I would aware this is not a library anymore. Very disappointed

The best place, «library-​wise», to study! It is a small library that has everything thats needed to study without the loud high school crowd, loud English music (i.e Starbucks) or loud Asian music (i.e Tea Houses).
The librarians are helpful. True that you wont get the super-​highed-​up-​w-​coffee joker smile from them, but they get things done. I see a similarity between them and the Chinese waiters and waitresses around this area: grumpy, bored with life, and mean. The differences are that they arent Asian and they dont scream (shhh.its still library after all).

Tried to speak with a librarian and when I walked towards her all she did was point me towards another librarian desk. Which was quite rude and all I could think was maybe you can direct me verbally?
Anyhow it seems like this place is a bit small and the furniture is used and abused (but that’s the community’s fault I assume).
But the main reason I came here was because I wanted to study a bit before work and it was the closest library (walking distance). But to my dismay, it was extremely noisy and difficult to study at.

This library is for little children and their parents. If you want a quiet place to study — look elsewhere.

Looking for a quiet place to study?
Ahahahahaha — keep looking.

Wa ～how wonderful that I can live close by enough to attend this library family story time, Saturday family programs and toy time. I know these encourage my children to read more, want to learn more and start to social properly with other kids.
All children programs are well planned. Thank you so much to all San Gabriel librarians put together for us. I love the wild animal awareness event & summer reading program ice cream celebration. Learning should be fun!
I know children and Moms could be loud to impacts people who come to this library to study. From bottom of my heat to say sorry here, but please endure our children for just 1 hour laugh and learn. The new kid story time schedule is coming out. We should all check it out.

Los Angeles is blessed with a lot of libraries, and I have to say I prefer the Los Angeles county network of libraries (COLA, county of Los Angeles libraries) over the Los Angeles public libraries (LAPL, which includes the Los Angeles central library downtown).
Sure, there are libraries with better science fiction collection and graphic novel collection (that would be the Glendale central library which belongs to the pasadena/​Glendale library network). But the staff in general ranks among the nicest and most helpful, though the individual libraries of the COLA are small, you can always find some rare books at a different branch, book requests from a different branch is FREE, and the library staff don’t accuse you of damaging their books and demanding a king’s ransom like the bitchy staff at the Alhambra library (I will remember that forever! You old Chinese hag!!)
What makes this library so kickass is they have a 10 page per day FREE printing on their computers! No other library that I am aware of does that!
They also have a fairly decent collection of Chinese books here.
If I have to nitpick, the parking is kind of limited and you sometimes have to park a block or two away and have to hike all the way to the library, which can be a royal pain in the ASS in the scorching summer heat. That is not enough to bump the overall grade to 4 stars, however.
清倉令郎聽湯

If you need a quiet place to study, this is not the place. There’s playground upstairs with kids stomping their feet. I approached the librarian to sarcastically ask if there is a playground above. She repled, «Yes, there is.»

EXCELLENT customer service. The handful of library staff I interacted with were extremely timely in providing helpful and friendly customer service in a timely manner. Was able to sign up for a temporary printing card in no time. Thanks, SG Library!

I miss coming to this place as a kid. I used to come every Saturdays and after school I would stop by and wait until closing. I remember that the childrens place got swapped near at the door but now its more like the adult place and foreign language section. Nice staff. Good books selection. Now with wifi connection. Especially download free music. I miss those childhood memories.

How can you not love a library? It’s got AC, internet, and tons of information. Not sure if a book is worth buying? Stop in the library and check it out. All of these resources, believe it or not, are for free!
The SG Library is very well maintained, looks practically new. There is a free private parking lot, however that can get filled fairly quickly. (Alternative is street parking or the 20 min green parking zone right at the entrance if you’re just running in for a quickie.) They have self check out machines so you never have to wait in line. And if you prefer having a librarian help you out, they are readily available. There are computers for you to surf the net. There is also a small children/​family area for parents who like to read book to their children.
Overall, great library. Definitely will be back (since I’ve got books that soon will be overdue)!

The BEST part about being an LA county library member is that you can sign in online, search for the book you want, and have it sent to your closest library! They also e-​mail you when your books have arrived or almost due. Did you know this? I certainly did not! (Considering I haven’t stepped foot in a library since middle high school)
Also, the check out process is so easy, fast, and convenient! At first I felt like an idiot trying to figure out how to scan the book, but afterwards, I still felt like an idiot considering how straightforward it was. When I want a book that’s already there, I’m in and out of there in less than 5 minutes. 5 stars for convenience.
Overall, this is one of the smaller libraries I have been in. It’s a one story library located on a busy street (Del Mar) with a small parking lot in the back so parking is easy to find. My only gripe about this location is that it may be difficult to get distraction free studying done. There were a lot of young kids getting tutored when I was there. I am guessing mid afternoon on a weekday are bad days to come if you want to avoid this.

How can anyone say they’re not a fan of the public library?!
The San Gabriel Public Library has always been my go to public library to check out books. I frequently bring my little sister here to get all her favorite books.
This library is definitely not as big as some of the other major libraries. It has a smaller more intimating feeling to it. The staff is always very friendly and excited to help if you’re not to familiar with the Dewey Decimal System. They also frequently have used book sales where they sell old books for a few dollars.
My only complaint is that the parking lot is quite small. It only fits about 10 cars and can be quite cramped on busy weekends.

How long has it been since your were in a library? For me, it has been too many years to mention, but, what a great experience!
First, they didn’t make me feel dumb, when I didn’t know the ropes of how it all functioned. Patience and lots of kindness. I am now an official L A County Library member. Yahoo!
After walking in the door, off the back parking lot, the books directly to your left, would be books called «Friends of the Library». It’s a used book section on all topics that you can purchase at a great valued price. How cool is that? I have found some great novels, and a diet book or two.
With the internet, Kindles, and all, why would you want to go to a library? Well…
I love the fact it’s a community landmark, opening in 1915 and in the older section of San Gabriel, across the San Gabriel Police Dept, and near the Del Mar Café. It’s small and personal.
It’s a great place to research information, and has enough computers for those who need them. Movies to check out too. And if you are looking for social interaction, they offer baby, toddler and family story times. Just check for dates and times.
So go pull up a chair, grab a book, and have some fantastic quiet time. Or take it home, and when done, use the drop box in front of the library on Del Mar Ave.

I’ve decided this is a really nice community library and I want to bump it up a star for the following reasons:
Every time I come here I get good service from the volunteers and librarians. For some reason my card doesn’t work when I try to use the self-​checkout kiosks. So I have to ask for help whenever I go… Everyone’s really friendly, though, and nobody seems to mind the inconvenience.
Today there were two kids waiting for help from the librarian, waiting to check out two books (one each)… also there was a little kid who was checking out her own books at one of the kiosks. Super cool that these kids are getting the exposure to books that they should! Also I noticed a library calendar entirely full of fun activities and events geared toward young children and teens. And adults, too, like origami and meditation… That’s what libraries are all about! I love it.